Expecting poor customer service these days

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This discussion started over on another post:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2976752&page=1

I felt it deserved it's own thread since it was off topic in the other from the original post.

I think it's crazy that people expect poor customer service these days and put up with it most of the time. The argument is that "you shouldn't expect good customer service from minimum wage workers". Sorry, that doesn't fly with me. I am paying their salaries to wait on me while buying products in their place of employment. It's like the argument you see in old movies when someone is angry at the cops or at the local government: "I pay your salary!". They have a job for one purpose... to make me and other customers happy. That's really their only reason for being there.

Home Depot here is 99% self checkout now. The only fully manned checkout is the contractors checkout. I will say in Home Depot's favor, their workers are very nice and courteous. I had a very rude worker at Lowes and no longer shop there. It used to be my primary source for hardware and such. They lost me for a woman who shut down a checkout line, after I was already in line, without saying a word to me. Her rudeness went so far as to have the customer in front of me close the gate. She never spoke a word to me. I threw down the cardboard box I had (empty one, the moving boxes they sell) and walked out. Sure, it was a $1 sale that day... but over the years I've thousands probably. To me, that's a lot of money. I don't have to throw around. Anyhow, I have never set foot in since.

Well, I take that back.. slightly. I did walk back in right away and attempted to cancel my store credit card on the spot but they claimed they couldn't do it, I had to call. Shortly after I filed bankruptcy (mind you, I had $0 balance on the Lowes card) and they terminated it anyway. They actually sent me a letter and expected me to pay postage to mail the card back to them. I tore the letter in half and throw it in the trash.

That is the sad fate that comes with corporate stores, large or small. The owner is not there to witness what is going on... and usually they're rich enough not to really care. They can simply fire a very bad worker and replace them and not bat an eye about the damage that worker may have caused to their customer base.

I don't expect to have the red carpet rolled out have them kiss the ground I walk on, but I expect common courtesy which is often lacking in many corporate chain stores.
 
The attitude that people should only be required to perform the function of the jobs they choose to work at up to whatever level they feel is commiserate with their pay is why many (not all) work a minimum wage job in the first place. It is a general lack of pride in ones job. People used to take pride in performing their job to the best of their ability particularly in the customer service industry. Today it is just a paycheck. It is the exception rather than the rule to find someone who takes real pride in their job anymore. Finding someone to work on your house or car nowadays and perform the required task to the fullness of their ability (many are quite skilled) rather than just doing the bare minimum to collect a fee is frustratingly difficult. Even hiring someone expensive doesn’t guarantee quality anymore.
 
That's the price you (not you personally, but society) pay for wanting things cheap. Stores have to hire the cheapest labor they can find, limit what they can do to service customers, and have things like self check outs. Because if they don't the guy across the street will and most people will just go there to save fifty cents.

And to be honest sometimes I'd rather just not deal with anyone and self check out. There's nothing like giving a five minute explanation to someone who is listening as best they can, and then at the end they have absolutely no idea, or an even dumber idea than I have.

If you want good service and are willing to pay a premium you can probably find a hardware store and/or lumberyard that's locally owned. To be honest there isn't always a big increase in price, but the "one stop" convenience of a 250,000 sq ft store is.
 
Cubey, reading this thread and the other one, it seems like you get bad service almost everywhere you go. There's probably a reason for that, and it's not the employees.

Throwing something on the floor because you got a little miffed? Are you in kindergarten?
 
Exactly. And as a society, it has been allowed to happen.

Cheap prices means cheap labor. Cheap labor means the workers can't afford to spend much which calls for even cheaper prices. They also have to work longer hours to get by. This causes worker fatigue and poorer customer service at times. It's a downward spiral. Eventually something has to give.

Henry Ford paid his workers well enough to buy what they made.

Most Sears employees can't afford to shop at Sears. My mom worked for Sears off and on for about 8 years. She was full time with health benefits around 2000-2004 and even then it wasn't very good pay. The same goes for all shops you find in the mall.

Heck, even Wal-Mart workers have a hard time shopping at Wal-Mart.
 
Retail is tough biz. The customer wants it for free, but they'd like a thank you when they walk out the door. Management pushes sales goals, but employees aren't paid on commission.

I would have complained to management about that cashier, that would be considered gross discourtesy and that's an immediate termination. At least where I work.

As a former cashier nothing is worse when your close sign is up and your light is off and people keep coming down. Particularly when your supposed to be clocked off.
 
I honestly don't want "service" at a store. I always know what I want and I just want to go in, get it and get outta there. No chit-chat or talking about the weather.
 
Quote:
I had a very rude worker at Lowes and no longer shop there. It used to be my primary source for hardware and such. They lost me for a woman who shut down a checkout line, after I was already in line, without saying a word to me.


Consider yourself lucky--I have had such rudeness at Lowe's I wrote to the CEO about it. I have been yelled at, and more. And don't blame me, I am a very easy person to deal with.

John
 
Originally Posted By: Cubey

I don't expect to have the red carpet rolled out have them kiss the ground I walk on, but I expect common courtesy which is often lacking in many corporate chain stores.


I don't like bad service either, but I also wonder why you have all the bad service and for me it is rare.
I do have some advice for you though. Judging by your posts, you are a young man with zero experience running a business. My advice: Start your own business, deal with your employees and the government red tape on a day-to-day basis and report back to us on how easy (or hard) it is. You also seem to think that there are absolutely no repercussions with firing an employee, even if they are completely worthless. I can assure you there is.
BTW, please tell us how many businesses you run or own, either past or present.
 
Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
Cubey, reading this thread and the other one, it seems like you get bad service almost everywhere you go. There's probably a reason for that, and it's not the employees.

Throwing something on the floor because you got a little miffed? Are you in kindergarten?



1) I was more than a little miffed. I am high functioning autistic and it can take a mere 30 seconds (or less!) to get me to the breaking point when someone is being insanely rude to me for no good reason. There is a good reason I am on disability and have been since I turned 18 without being denied.

If you think I should be in kindergarten because of that,. then pass the crayons, please. That's how I am and it's never going to change. All the meds in the world only make me worse. I broke my hand when I melted down badly while on medicines a couple years ago. Driving down the highway at 55mph, having left a salvage yard that I had an issue with. (in this case, I admit.. I was in the wrong.. mostly at least) I melted down and beat the steering wheel of my truck out of frustration, fracturing a bone in my hand. Went to the ER hours later when the pain didn't go away.

2) I don't get it everywhere I go. You clearly did not read the other thread entirely. I pointed out unprovoked rudeness from employees with no justification what so ever. I did *NOTHING* to cause them to be rude to me. Most people just put up with it. I cannot and to a point, WILL not.

"Cannot" meaning I melt down (not something I can fully control), chew them out and leave.
"Will not" meaning I refuse to ever give that store business ever again.

(Oh, and I'm not much of a road rager actually in case anyone wonders. I blow my horn at the jerks who nearly cause a wreck but that's about it. I know someone who is a major road rager and he's gonna get shot one day with how he acts... especially since he claims he's gonna get a gun and shoot people for cutting him off in traffic or some [censored]).

Dang, it didn't take long for THIS topic to get way off topic too.. haha.

It could be you get better service because the people where you liev are simply nicer. Who knows. Or you just have better luck. The root beer thing? My only crime was trying to buy a can of soda and they began telling me how gross I was for buying it. If you think that's a flaw in who I am.. then dang....... that's messed up!
 
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
I honestly don't want "service" at a store. I always know what I want and I just want to go in, get it and get outta there. No chit-chat or talking about the weather.
Especially at a place like Worst Buy.
 
Originally Posted By: Cubey
I am high functioning autistic and it can take a mere 30 seconds (or less!) to get me to the breaking point when someone is being insanely rude to me


Ah, this explains a lot. Now before you say that I need to be in your shoes, I will say my son has Aspergers, so I am familiar with autism and the related fields. I think a lot of things have now been explained and I will no longer be posting on why you have bad service.
 
It can be frustrating. I think as as long as i can rememember only 2 or 3 times was i treated rudely in a retail store. Usually it is just one or two lines open and having to wait long perids of time.
 
I want service at a store. That's part of the experience of shopping. I don't expect to hear the person's life story but if I have a question, they should be able to answer it without being rude.

The last time I set foot in a Wal-Mart (which was a last resort stop anyway) the cashier went off on a rant about how the gas station isn't owned by Wal-Mart. I simply asked if she knew if they had an air hose. I can almost excuse her for it... poor woman is probably worked to death by WM. I did say something to the effect of "All you had to do was say 'I don't know'. You don't have to be rude about it." as i walked away after getting my receipt.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
I honestly don't want "service" at a store. I always know what I want and I just want to go in, get it and get outta there. No chit-chat or talking about the weather.
Especially at a place like Worst Buy.


They are overly helpful, almost harassing at times. They are getting better about not doing though compared to 3-5 years ago. Sears can be that way too in the electronics dept. They work on commission in electronics and appliances at Sears, though. Not sure if BB does or not.

I went in to BB yesterday to look at a few things. There were almost no customers. A crowd of about 5 to 7 workers were grouped at the front podium thing talking... there was simply nothing for them to do.

They did their usual "hi... can we help you? ... if you need anything just ask" and they left me alone to browse. Only workers at their posts I seem to recall was the lady in cell phones and the 'geek squad' clowns.
 
Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: Cubey
I am high functioning autistic and it can take a mere 30 seconds (or less!) to get me to the breaking point when someone is being insanely rude to me


Ah, this explains a lot. Now before you say that I need to be in your shoes, I will say my son has Aspergers, so I am familiar with autism and the related fields. I think a lot of things have now been explained and I will no longer be posting on why you have bad service.


Eh.. whatever. I have more good customer service experiences than bad. But the bad ones are the ones that stick in your memory deeper.
 
I was trying to get my foot in the door in auto mechanics, so I worked P/T weekends at a tire store.

I guess they liked me, but management was so disjointed and in-fighting it was hard to tell. Maybe they didn't get to know me yet and just saw promise.
lol.gif


The training was terrible to nonexistent. I used only my wits and personal experience to avoid breaking things.

I asked if there was a wall chart or cheat sheet on how to do oil life monitor resets by make/model. No dice.

We had a store policy of having one or two techs and seven bays. So if a customer came in wanting service we'd haul their car in, stick it on a lift, and leave it there... committing them, more or less, to a long wait.

Hurry, hurry, hurry was the name of my game. I actually made decent coin for a rube tire/lube jockey. They paid minimum wage and a flat rate on top of it. Messages from corporate were self-contradictory and confusing. "Check all these seventy things" like buried air filters for the upsell, but hurry through this car to get to the next one.

The customer waiting room had a plate glass window so it was like working in a fishbowl with people staring. "Yes, ma'am, I'm going to whack your stuck tire with this huge hammer now. Watch this."

Because it was part time within my field of interest on top of a full time job that wasn't, I didn't burn out or deal with low money stress. I could see how that could contribute to one's dourness.

The person who trained me had been working 60+ hours a week as they were short staffed... and though business was better for her employer with more stable help, she was saddened to lose some of the flat rate pay. Similarly if one went to a restaurant that was short on waitresses, the remaining ones would be secretly giddy for the tips and the ability to ignore customers b/c they're "just so rushed."
 
We've all been there, but I think part of the problem is how we handle poor customer service. We roll over and take it and grip about it later on, ("Can you believe how rude that person was to me?").

How about calling the person on it in a friendly way. If someone is rude to me I don't argue with them, I ask them why they're being so rude. ("Have I done something to make you angry with me?") No one has ever said "yeah, you wore a red shirt today and I HATE THE COLOR RED!!!"). Usually, they will either appoligize or tell me they're having a bad day for whatever reason, to which I will reply, "I'm sorry to hear that, but I came here to buy 'this thing" or have 'this thing" serviced." Has worked every time but once, when the fellow I was dealing with simply turned around and walked away. He apparently had issues he didn't want to face and I found someone else to help me.

I don't demand friendly service, (you can't demand friendship or love), but I do expect it. Sometimes, I have to help that person be friendly, and that makes me feel better about me.
 
Almost 100% of the time bad customer service is due to bad management. Sleazy store managers don't know how to "manage" and keep their crews happy. An unhappy crew is what causes bad customer service. A well managed and happy crew creates a good working environment,which in turn leads to impeccable customer service.
 
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
We've all been there, but I think part of the problem is how we handle poor customer service. We roll over and take it and grip about it later on,

I did a Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces" style counter sweep in Home Depot years ago.
Thats one way to handle it.
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