I personally think that customer service is one of the biggest issues small business should strive to achieve. There is no easier way to get rid of a customer than by bad service. I just returned from dropping off a couple of VHS tapes to copy to DVD. Of course, this probably might seem an easy task to most, but I would rather pay someone to do this rather than try to figure out how to do it on my own. I have used this company for at least a year for various similar services, and was told this would take 24 hours. Well, there I am 24 hours later in their office ready to retrieve my DVDs when they inform me they are not done yet and won’t be done for another day. They give me a short sorry under their breath, and off I go.
I return to their office the next day, and as promised they hand over my DVDs and VHS tapes and take my money with a smile. Great, I say, no real harm done the service was a little late but hey, it happens. I get back to my office and decide to try my DVDs out. I put in the first DVD, great, it works…I put in the second and nothing. I try again…. Still nothing!! I change computers…nothing…nothing…nothing….
I call their office when the receptionist states if I bring them again they will recopy it for me and I can wait for it. I ask to speak with the manager/owner. Not available, he will have to call me. Meanwhile, I have to have this DVD and so back down I go. They take the VHS/DVDs from me and tell me to call back to check on them later that day. Ha! I say no way, you need to call me when it is done and I need to speak with the manager. Who is never seems to be there. The receptionist says that she will call me, and have the manager call me. As I leave she says another sorry under her breath, and that is that. As I leave I am taken away by a poster on the wall that states: IT TAKES MONTHS TO FIND A CUSTOMER, AND SECONDS TO LOSE ONE.
I now wait for the DVDs and the phone call. They have already taken my money, so I guess they don’t really care about customer service or read the posters on their own walls. They have definitely lost a customer.
tstc1 posted on Jul 13, 2006
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Comments
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nospace said on Jul 13, 2006....
The biggest problem with customer service is employees who aren't paid or treated well enough to care. While I sympathize with your problem and agree you should go somewhere else, customer service is the most thankless job. In most cases, you get minimum wage to get pissed on by all sorts of malcontents. From simply people who are having a bad day, to people who think they are better than you simply because you are in the service industry. Most of the time, if you're lucky, all you get is yelled at for something that is completely beyond your control. Companies are set up to never really deal with problems. Case and point: phone help lines where a computer is set up to deal with you. In the store? As I have already said, underpaid workers or indifferent high school kids. I have worked in customer service for over 10 years, and would rather commit grievous self mutalation than ever return to it. The best you can ever hope for is timely and accurate service, and when you don't get it, go somewhere else. Because, quite frankly, Everyone's thought process is the same (not limited to customer service): "I have my own problems, and I can't be bothered to care about yours." -
tstc1 said on Jul 13, 2006....
Thank you for enlightening me. You are right; the customer service problem can be linked to a great multitude of problems within the business; low wages, poor moral, and yes, even employees sick of taking it from the customer for something that is out of their control. I certainly wouldn't blame the receptionist and perhaps an under the breath mutter of the words sorry was all she could offer, and perhaps they are words that she speaks quite frequently. I understand customer service positions or being the first in line to take on the customer complaints can be a difficult position to be. I too have worked in customer service positions and could only offer my sincere apology. My problem here is definitely with the owner and management, whom I will be quite sure to voice my opinions and concern before I switch services. -
nospace said on Jul 13, 2006....
Accountability...That's what I was trying to think of... Most businesses are set up to avoid accountability... Give'em hell... -
tstc1 said on Jul 17, 2006....
Well, finally I received a phone call from the owner who apologized for being out of town and unable to handle the matter. He also apologized for the time I wasted, corrected the problem, and is bringing the DVD's out to my office along with the check I wrote. All in all I guess he answered my question! -
sweetums0001 said on Jul 17, 2006....
There is nothing that ticks me off more then horrible customer service. I remember all too well what it was like when I bought my jeep. There wasn't anything they weren't willing to do to woo me over and give them my cash. As soon as the papers were signed I was rushed out the door, on to bigger and better. When I developed a squeeling noise 2 days later, there just wasn't enough time in the day for me! Lesson learned, on my part, next time I buy a new vehicle, I question their customer service methods right up front. -
nospace said on Jul 18, 2006....
sweetums0001, totally agree. when it comes to vehicles, dealerships are evil...
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