Does anyone believe in Customer Service anymore?

I wanted to get some new sports bras for use at the gym and decided to stop by the Leggs/Hanes outlet store near where I live. I knew they had some nice stuff in there and thought I'd get those items and a few other workout clothes. I had to be in that store for awhile because Ramsey called me on the cell phone and we chatted while I was deciding which items I wanted to buy.

When I took a 2nd trip to the dressing room I noticed a sign on the wall which was about their rewards program and how I could get 20% off of my purchases. Now I'm not sure, but I swore the sign said if I filled out the card I would get 20% on my purchase now, but I'm not 100% sure.

So when I go to pay I decide this time I would fill out for a rewards card (this isn't any type of credit card) and I mention the discount. Well the lady told me that's not what the sign said and the best I would get was a 20% off 1 item that would be sent to me in the mail after I sign up (plus other discounts down the line). Now again, not 100% sure what I read and knowing that there was no one other customers in the store being held up as I questioned what I saw, I asked if we could go back to the room and she could show me where the sign said the discount wasn't for when I filled out the card today. Mind you, I thought I read it differently and I figured if I was wrong, I'd sheepishly apologize and pay for my purchases.

But instead of showing the sign again, a lady comes up and says that I was wrong and she should know because she was the one that put up that sign over two years ago and it never changed. Her snippiness made me decide that although I really needed a few of those items, that I was not about to plop $80 down for these items from a store that was that rude to it's customers. We were like half way through ringing up and I just walked out of there and said I wasn't interested in buying anything from a store that is rude to its customers.

Fortunately there is a Vanity Fair at this outlet mall and I was able to find the things I needed. And happiness prevails even more because I found the best Eagles shirt that is made with the material used in the jerseys but cut for a woman. PLUS I got the grey hoodie I wanted but instead I found a nicer one with the Eagles logo on it.

So the question of my long-winded rant: Does anyone believe in customer service anymore

:mad:

Proud of you. It is clear that customer service is no longer important in our nation.

...treat service/retail employees like crap. You get what you pay for.

*trying to dismiss mental image of LynneAin in nothing but a sprots bra from my mind*

Definately went the extra mile for my customers.

More people for jobs than jobs for people. It was a bitch under Clinton when they knew they couldn't get fired....not enough people to fill the jobs.....thats the official repug spin.

maybe i'm just getting grouchy in my old age, but it is especially hard to get good service over the phone. I don't know how many times in recent years I've had to ask to speak to somebody's manager.

I recently had to write to the president of Wachovia when a local affiliate tried to gip us out of $368 they promised us in waived fees up front (and, Wachovia supposedly is known for good service!)... first, the original mortgage rep denied it, then her boss said there was nothing more he could do... then, the regional manager said he'd look into it and then sat on it for 3 weeks. This was after we had it in written email the waived fees.

Then, there are the incompetents. My wife will keep calling customer service types until she gets the answer she wants, as none of them seem to know the actual rules or how to do basic math. So, 1 person will say one thing, then the next will say something different, and the 3rd person will say something different still.

A lot of times in big companies, one department is told one thing while the other departments are told something totally different.

I've been trying to get them to send me a replacement for a defective item or a refund for almost a year, and they refuse to do so. I finally had to get the Illinois Attorney General's office involved. I haven't heard back yet.

I know what you mean, and the "customer is always right" generally should apply, but having worked retail and fast food as recently as 9 years ago, I can tell you that the CUSTOMERS are becoming awful. I used to have to deal with beliggerent people, people who would insult me merely for working the job I was working, people who would say "Do you know who I am?" and expect special treatment because they thought themselves so important.

I still see customers in the supermarket berating the checker because they didn't get the 5 cent discount on whatever, and cause a huge logjam of people while they argue with the checker and call a manager. - all over some trivial discount.

I'm not saying that any of this excuses rudeness, but please keep in mind that the people in this jobs are getting minimal wages to serve an ever-increasing number of increasingly difficult customers. You may be right about your complaint, but why get all irate about a buck or two on your bill. You're a human being and so is the person behind the counter. If you come at it with an attitude of superiority and confrontation (which many customers do) and the employee gets a bit snippy, well, what do you expect?

I try to treat all service-industry employees with a great deal of patience and understanding. If you haven't worked in their low-wage shoes, you can't imagine what it's like.

I'm happy to see this thread today. I just SOOOOOO needed to vent.

My house got hit last weekend by tropical storm Gaston. Tree limb came down and hit the house. Also some shingles are loose on the roof and I have 3 wet spots in the living room and one in a bathroom. I went online Sunday evening and filed a report.

Monday -Nothing, no call nothing. So called late Monday evening, just to see if they got it. I checked the house was slightly damaged but livable. Finally someone got a hold of us and said yep they got it. A claims adjuster said they would be out tomorrow.

Wonderful news..claims adjuster comes out. Walks around, we show the pictures because we already hired someone to cut the tree branch up on Monday. Goes up on the roof..blah blah. Then he comes in and says these things, I have to check the claim from 1998. We're like ah okay but that was from a Tornado. He says they have to check what they gave out then. I said, why? Claims adjuster said it's procedure and how he wishes he could just issue us a check. WTF?
We see a mortgage company listed on our insurance form and tell him that our house is paid for and have the title. He says, you didn't take out a home refinance ? WTF? We said no, because we don't have a flipping mortgage company and we changed it over a damn year ago when we brought the title into our local office.

SO you see where this is going don't you? My impression is that this elitist claims adjuster thinks we do this shit for fun. We run around on any local weather problem and cut down tree limbs and run water hoses through our house for the big bucks. (Vegas here we come)

Thursday-no call from anyone. No answer about anything. I guess the claims adjuster wants to check to see if they paid for a full roof from the tornado. They didn't and why this matter I have no idea. So hubby and I find the full quote from State Farm from 1998 and tomorrow we go in to find out what the fuck is their problem.
Of course our local agent tells us they can't accept anything from us because it has to be issued from State Farm. WTF? This is State Farms own index of damage on what was paid for what. We keep everything like this on file. This wouldn't be so bad and I wouldn't worry so much if Frances wasn't out there but she is.

Too much damn stress for such bullshit and I hope the victims of Charlie and Frances better luck then us.

...rather than on the corporate culture and low wages that have created this environment.

I was denied the resources to be a good rep. That and the customers treat you pretty bad when they are angry at your company.

A lot of people who have never had the experience have NO idea what it's like.

I can imagine that 6 hours manning the drive-thru window at McDonald's could turn the NICEST of people a bit brittle.

so we would never be annoyed at the customer no matter what they said.

First, not only do you have to be in shape so you can pull the grocery carts apart, but you have to pull several before you find one that you can actually push.

You need to be in training to avoid slipping and falling on all the obstacles in the aisles that no one bothers to clean up.

You need to be sure to want to buy what they have, because they sure don't think they should have what you want to buy.

And, of course, when you have finished your treacherous trek through the store, you come to the 15 checkouts at the front, 3 of which are open, and one of those is an alleged express lane. You stand in line, while the cashier also doubles as the bagger, virtually begging the store to take your money so you can actually bring your food home before the frozen stuff thaws.

Oh, God, I hate grocery stores!

I love grocery shopping and there is never a line for them.

with self serve, and I stopped going there because the prices got out of control and there was even more of the "want what we have" attitude. And, of course, since it IS the only one, there ARE lines at the self serve check-out too.

we/ll get bck to you on this:

Does anyone believe in customer service anymore


:shrug:

I don't work in that department, but if I happen to pick up the phone, I am very happy to give the customer anything she asks for because I don't care, and I'm management so I'll never get in trouble. "Free shipping? Sure!" "Replacement item? No problem!" Customers love me. The customer service people have expressed other views, though.

Seriously, lingerie is like a law unto itself. I don't even think the vendors know what's what.

and I gave damn good customer service!

I probably spoke to you, back in my thinnie days. I was a lingerie junkie for years.

Now I have to make an appointment with Mr. Tentmaker.

every time I give a fee reversal, it sends an email to the boss with a BMW in the reserved parking space(no I'm not bitter)and they back the reversal out if the customer doesn't 'qualify'.Qualify means not nessarily lot's of money, just good credit(so we can keep them happy and sell them loans)

Answering customer's emails about their bank accounts is entertaining and frustrating at the same time.

First, There are some bad reps out there who don't care. That's true.

Second, there are customers who need to take some Valiums. They act as if their reason for living is a $20 gift card, and if they don't get it in 7-10 days, life will have no meaning....I will have 'patience is a virtue' on my epitaph since I bite my tongue and stop myself from saying it 20 times a day.

Third, companies know customer service reps are money pits....we have 30 people answering 2000 emails a day. God forbid they hire enough people, have computers that don't crash every hour or give us (and our manager) the authority do something about reversing fees....they won't , since it's the bank's profits.

Oh well.