Customer Service Mini Rant

[nerdrock]

All I've been doing lately is complaining, lol. 

I went to visit my parents yesterday and my mom offered to buy me some dry cat and dog food. I'm on a very limited budget right now, so she's been offering every few months which is very nice of her and greatly appreciated. Anyways, we went to Pet Valu because it was closer than Global and we weren't planning on going to the other end of town so didn't see the point in wasting the gas. We should have just gone to Global, we've always had problems at this particular store since the ownership changed a few years ago. My parents don't have any pets any more though so we always forget until we're in there. 

We walked in and went to the dog food first, they had a 5.5 lb bag of NV Instinct Rabbit on for $5 off because it was close to expire (April 7th). Woohoo! My dog's favourite and cheap! Next we went over to the cat food. They had a 15 lb bag of NV Instinct Rabbit with no price tag on or anywhere near it. The girl was standing at the counter a few feet away reading a magazine so I asked her how much it was. Her response, "It's on the tag underneath". I politely told her that there was no tag underneath or anywhere near it and that's why I asked. She sighed loudly and kind of stomped over, picked up the bag and brought it over to scan. It was almost $10 more than I can get it for here in London if I get one of the stores to order it for me, so I thanked her and told her I was just going to get the smaller bag of Instinct Chicken.  I picked it up and brought it over to the counter. I was looking at the dog and cat treats while she rang my mom up, I heard the total and asked her if that was right because it seemed high. She said it was and my mom paid. As I was going to pick up the bags of food I noticed that the $5 off sticker was still on the dog food, so I asked her again, politely, if she had given us the $5 off on the dog food. Her response, "Oh, no, I didn't see that. Do you want me to refund it all and then ring it through again with the $5 off?". Umm... yes, why would I not want the $5 off the food?! She made a big deal out of it but finally did it. 

We have had problems in there with the staff before, when the ownership changed all the old staff was let go and only one of them was rehired. We've been ignored while the staff was talking to their friends on the phone, told that there were no other proteins available in a grain free food except chicken, duck and beef (when a bag of NV Rabbit was sitting right in front of us), over charged, talked down to, etc. This was the last straw and I think we'll both finally remember not to go in that store anymore. I have complained to their head office quite a few time about this particular location and I always get an email back that basically says we hope you'll find your next visit more enjoyable. 

What is wrong with companies now? What happened to customer service? If I treated a customer that way when I was at work, I would be written up for it! 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Oy I dunno.  I've had that problem with a company I used to work for.  The location I was at our manager was pretty hard.  We had to mind our P's and Q's and she had no problem letting employees know when they weren't working to her standard.  But we used to have customers come tell us that they came to our store over this one across town because of the employees there.  After I stopped working there I on occasion went into that other store...and they were right!  Big difference!!

Looking back on it; I'm glad I worked for someone like her.  Even though she could be a pain sometimes; it taught me a lot about being a good worker.  I learned skills that have applied to every job I've had since; even in completely different fields.

 

[angels mommy]

Wow! Yea, that sort of thing seems to happen more than it should these days! I hate to say it, because I don't want to put them all in this category, but young people seem to need more training these days. It's like their generation would rather text a WHOLE conversation, than just make a call. Technology is great, but it has also crippled us in ways. Young people today seem to not have the social skills we used to have, OR, they are simply not being taught. AND I'M ONLY 42!     -Another example, when I stopped working @ day spas & started taking some clients in my home office. All I would here is "Your so professional."  I thought, "what else should I be? I am working, that is how it should be."  Of course living in a beach town, I thought, "are most people so laid back, that their not professional?"  It's a real shame!

 

[zohdee]

Honestly, if all customer service reps do their job as they would want to be treated on the customer end (did that make sense?) things would be so much better.  I work in Customer Service and I am paid well and do an excellent job.  I treat all of my customers like I would demand to be treated.  Sure I make mistakes but I take ownership and fix it. I don't blame someone else or pass the buck.  I have gone back and worked in production to get an order out on time.  I rarely get crotchety customers because they all know me and know if a mistake was made I will fix it.

I think alot of the bad service boils down to work ethic.  Many just don't have any.  "I don't get paid enough for that" seems to be the norm.  Want to get paid enough?  Do you job to the best of your ability and someday you will be well compensated.

 

[angels mommy]

Well said!   Ohhhh, your avatar is scarry.

 

 

Honestly, if all customer service reps do their job as they would want to be treated on the customer end (did that make sense?) things would be so much better.  I work in Customer Service and I am paid well and do an excellent job.  I treat all of my customers like I would demand to be treated.  Sure I make mistakes but I take ownership and fix it. I don't blame someone else or pass the buck.  I have gone back and worked in production to get an order out on time.  I rarely get crotchety customers because they all know me and know if a mistake was made I will fix it.

I think alot of the bad service boils down to work ethic.  Many just don't have any.  "I don't get paid enough for that" seems to be the norm.  Want to get paid enough?  Do you job to the best of your ability and someday you will be well compensated.

 

[swampwitch]

It seems to me attitude trickles down from the manager or owner; really good employees don't stay if the manager doesn't know what he's doing, they move on to better working conditions. Unfriendly and unhelpful employees seem to stay on. It's the same with schools: good principals tend to hire and keep on the decent teachers. When you have an idiot running a place, you can't expect consistently good service, it just doesn't happen that way.