AND THE WINNER OF THE COAL IN THE STOCKING AWARD IS...

While I write about customer service problems all the time, the last week seems to have been a marathon of people vying for the Worst Customer Service Award. Take a look:

1) Supermarket. My local Giant is known for poor customer service. The Dairy section was a mess—wet milk bottles, sloppy shelves. When we pointed out the milk issue, the clerk took note. And did nothing. As we checked out, the apathetic cashier told me that she didn’t have any paper bags when I asked for them. Having experienced this scenario before, I asked if there was paper at other counters. “I have no idea!” she replied. Bland look as she handed me the receipt. No “thank you” as we left. And, I saw a pile of paper bags at the underside of the end of her counter as we walked out.

Why is this an issue? I don’t need to be BFFs with the clerks, but the lack of appropriate service just makes the quotidian task of food shopping unpleasant. What did I do? I contacted the Regional Manager and the Executive office. I was assured that there is a new store manager, and customer service training would occur. I had noted the name of the cashier, and they were going to educate her. Do I have any faith in any of this? Probably not. Howard has declared a current boycott on this store. 

2) I have a beloved red Coach bag that needed a new zipper. I took it to the store for replacement in mid-October. I asked if it could be buffed since it showed its age a bit. The associate said that it could be restored, so I went ahead with the repair. Last week, I realized that I hadn’t heard from Coach. When I called, the associate said that the repair was completed. Why didn’t she call me? “It only came back recently.” Seriously!! When I picked up the bag, tightly placed in a pouch and shopping bag, I had the good sense to take the time to untangle the package. Zut alors! The leather looked worse than when I brought it in. Steaming from lack of phone call and poor delivery, I told the that day’s associate that this wasn’t acceptable. He polished the bag until it looked almost new.

What did I do? I spoke with the manager, commending the current associate and asking that the one who handled the earlier interactions be flagellated with a wet noodle. The manager apologized, acknowledged that the bag had been sitting there for 2 weeks, which was unacceptable, and took note of the shabby delivery. I now have her cell number, and do feel that she gets it and will be addressing this with the lax associate. So, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Or, more aptly, when I worked as a psychologist, I had a client who used the term “to hell in a handbag”. So apropos in this situation.

3) And the piece de resistance—my car. Dead battery on a Sunday. I didn’t need the car then, so on Monday, Howard called the dealership, who sent someone out to jump the car, and Howard took it over for battery replacement. When they called to tell us that the car was ready, the price was a whopping $481.

My usual modus operandi is to get a price up front and then negotiate a discount prior to the service. Things were a little chaotic for us that day, and as a longtime customer, I thought that I could deal with price at the time of pick up. Not this time. The advisor who handled the payment knows us well. I asked about discount. He promised to apply a discount to a future service. I reminded him that we always manage a discount, so that doesn’t work so well. How about a coupon—is there one out there? He shrugged and didn’t really answer. Howard wanted to move on, so we paid the bill. But was I finished? No way! When I got home, I also realized that they’d forgotten to give me the standard free wash coupon. I left a message for the advisor, asking him to drop a wash coupon in the mail. And, I left a message for the Service Manager to discuss a discount rebate. No response from either. Hey there! What am I? Chopped liver?

While I know that the dealer charges are always a little high, this was unacceptable—the price, the non-response to request for discount, and the lack of return calls. Planning to take this further, I went online to check average prices for battery replacement for my car model. What did I find? I found a coupon, specific to my dealership, for 15% off of a battery service. What the hell was going on?!

The next morning, I went to the Service manager and explained the problem. He graciously took the coupon, but no apology for lack of action at the time of service or for lack of call back. So, I saved a little money, but still felt devalued and exploited as a customer. Did I stop there? Of course not! I called the General Manager, who was new to the dealership. (We’re now getting to know each other.) He heard me, and while I asked that no one get coal in their stocking, he acknowledged that this was a teachable moment. His demeanor and the specifics led me to trust that he will address the apathy and non-responsiveness. (I hope that I’m right. We’ll see.) And, for future, I’ll never deviate from my former price up front/discount negotiation up front strategy.

Are these life or death situations? No. Are they representative of the devolution of the consumer world? Yes. Why such apathy? Too much cyber interactions causing people to forget what it’s like to deal with real people? Maybe. Either way, if we don’t get back to a more civil world, we’re in trouble. 

Is anyone else experiencing ongoing bad service? Are my experiences the norm, or do I have a sign on my back: “Ignore me/Abuse me”? Think about it. I’d love to hear your comments. And:

AS ALWAYS, IF YOU’RE EXPERIENCING POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, REPORT IT. AND, OF COURSE, MY MANTRA—IF NO ONE SPEAKS UP AND NO ONE ACTS ON PROBLEMS, NOTHING CHANGES!