Friday, October 9, 2009

The lost art of customer service

Mom wants to buy a couple of Nintendo Wiis as Christmas presents. And she wants to put them on layaway -- yes, some retailers still do that. But at her age, she can't get out much anymore.

So I told her I'd inquire about putting Wiis on layaway at the nearest retailer that offers it. My experience:

Waited at the customer service counter for what seemed like 10 minutes. They were busy with at least three prior customers, both in front of me and on the phone, but an acknowledgment of my presence (such as, "I'll be with you as soon as I can, sir. I'm sorry for the wait. Thanks for your patience!") would have been nice.

When it was finally my turn, I explained what my mom wanted and asked how I can go about doing that on her behalf. I was told that they were out of Wiis. And that they're not taking orders for them. And that it's up to me to find out when they come in, and it's first-come, first-serve from there.

So ...

You're not going to give me a rain check for them, nor let me pre-order them.

You're not going to take down my name and number, to call me when they come in. I have to call you three days a week -- since that's how often trucks show up with new merchandise -- to find out if any Wiis were even on the truck.

You're going to sell the Wiis to whoever buys them first. Meaning the buyers will likely be those who are fortunate enough to just happen to be in the store when the Wiis are restocked, rather than those who have been trying to get their hands on them maybe as far back as last Christmas.

Yeah. You know, just because demand exceeds supply doesn't justify poor customer service. So if we DO get Wiis, we're not getting them from YOUR STORE. 'Kthanksbye. ;-)

Now I'm not naming names -- *cough cough* KMART! *cough cough* -- but customer service seems to be a lost art no matter where you're the customer. I shouldn't have to fly first class, stay at a five-star hotel, or eat at a restaurant that requires a dinner jacket in order for you to treat me like you actually WANT my business! You don't have to bend over backward. Just treat me the way I would treat you: with common human decency.

And this particular store is within walking distance of the Domino's restaurant where two employees videotaped themselves doing disgusting things to customers' orders and posted it on YouTube. That restaurant closed two weeks ago, nearly six months after the video incident. A sharp drop-off in business after the incident was cited as the reason for the closing. You'd think this Kmart would have LEARNED something about customer service from the Domino's incident. Guess not.

The Wii experience, the Domino's incident, and the overall lost art of customer service were conversation fodder for me and my visiting cousin, after picking up her and her husband from the airport. She shared her own experience -- which is a much better way to wrap this up, since it's much funnier although it did permanently cost a restaurant chain two customers:

She and her husband were eating at a restaurant I won't name -- *cough cough* IHOP! *cough cough* -- when she ordered a breakfast item because it was supposed to come with warm walnut maple syrup. Said so right on the menu.

The order arrived. No warm walnut maple syrup.

She told the waitress what was supposed to come with her order, and was the deciding factor in her order. Said so right on the menu.

Waitress response: "Sometimes the menu lies."

The menu LIES??? Not, "I'm sorry, ma'am, let me go get you that"? Not, "We're out of warm walnut maple syrup, but let me bring you some other warm syrup"? Not, "I'm sorry, but we have no warm syrup of any kind. Can I get you something else?" And most importantly behind these "Nots," not "The customer is always right"? Just, "Sometimes the menu lies"?

Needless to say, cousin was not pleased. "I think I'd like to speak to your manager."

Waitress response: "Sure, just a minute. DAD!"

:-D

Friday, October 2, 2009

... And absolute power corrupts absolutely

So let me see if I've got this straight, David Letterman:

  • Admitted cheating on your wife and the mother of your children.
  • Played it for laughs.
  • Didn't apologize.
Got it.

I've been a fan of yours all the way back to your guest appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and your short-lived daytime NBC show in the 1970s. But tonight, I think you lost that fan.