I have major issues with people and sucky customer service!
WHY do people behind a counter seem to think that they can treat customers like their bugging them. Or that they have something better to do than work at their job and help the people that are paying for their salary.
I had an interesting experience over the past 2 days of shopping...which I might add is EXHAUSTING! I have never been big on shopping, and still I con cour...it bites.
I don't want to ruin the reputation of any store that I went to for the past few days so I will use initials of their names.
O.F.F.I.C.E. M.A.X.
(does that count if I put a period between the letters?)
MOnday: I traveled an hour in to tucson to get some copies made. I had over 600 copies to be done and knew it would be a long draw out process. I walk into the store and immediately notice the copy center is surrounded by at least 7 people. Two little oldies sitting at a table just waiting it out. 2 people standing at the checkout counter, 2 men standing back like they were waiting on their projects (come to find out...they were waiting on faxes to come through), 1 man shoving his paychecks through the self help copier only to get them stuck, 1 man watching the oldies sit there....and then ME and my two boys walking in to the madness.
When I reached the counter I was pleasantly greeted by the ONLY employee behind the computer, copiers, and all that machinery. She looked right at me from the back corner of the work station and said "Miss, I will be with you shortly". I smiled and nodded with the thought in my head "this is going to be a joke". With in minutes she stood in front of me smiling and ready to help. I made a gesture that the two people that were actually, literally standing in front of me were first...she reassured me that they had been helped and were just waiting for their projects to be finished.
"what can I help you with?" she said.
I handed her my project which was like 80 color copies with 20 on card stock and the rest regular paper. 520 black and white copies all on regular paper.
I felt overwhelmed for her and asked "are you the only person back here?" She shook her head in a fashion that I knew was a exhausted yes. I asked "should I come back in a few hours?" She instantly told me that the copier makes 100+ copies in 1 minute and this will only take a few so don't go far. I was flabbergasted by the thought of her helping me with my order and all the others standing around. By the way...behind me were now 4 or 5 more people.
I returned in about 20 minutes and just like she said...they were completed, cut, stacked, boxed and ready to go out the door. I was very impressed!
I was even more impressed with Jo annie and her polite, efficient service when I returned the next day to have my project bound.
O.F.F.I.C.E. M.A.X
tuesday: I walk in feeling confident with my trip the day before and was sure that this day will go off without a hitch. I enter the store immediately looking toward the copy center to see what I am up against as far as customers.
YES....there is 1 person standing there waiting to be helped and no one else in sight.
YES...there are 2 employees standing behind the counter waiting on customers, actually...on the one customer and now ME!
It looked promising.
I walk up to the counter and stood there while the male employee walks the only customer over to the computer and assist her with her needs. This took maybe 2 minutes. So, I stand there with a smile, shoulders back and taking it all in. The male employee finished and then I was next. I stood there watching the female employee fidgeting around with some hand held machine in the back of their space, like "it's not working what ever should I do".
I hear her tell the male (Marco) "it's stuck, call so and so to come fix it". So Marco calls on his little FBI ear piece for immediate backup help on the 3 hold punch. I was still standing there with my smile, but not my shoulders are starting to slump. I am amazed that they haven't even acknowledge me. Actually, Marco has already made eye contact with me once and is now avoiding me.
It's now been maybe 5-6 minutes of me standing there watching/eyeing these two employees point their backs to me and pretend they have a clue on what they are doing. I am now feeling my face turn hot and red!! Finally, the back up help had now arrived and she went straight to the jammed machine. She makes eye contact with me from across the big space and asks her TWO employees..."Has she been helped?"
Marco again makes eye contact with me and says "NO". So it's now been possibly 8 minutes....WHAT!!!!
You don't realize how long that is until you are the ONLY person standing in a line watching 2 people avoid YOU and avoid doing their job!
The lady that came to help them finally came over and asked me what she could do to help. I gave her my project and asked that the items be bound.
Her reply "oh, our binder is broken. I can possibly bind a few of them, by hand,now but not all of them." I was happy with that answer and I agreed to come back in 30 minutes for 3 of the 10 items. The remaining items would be bound within the next 2 days. I later found out that the lady that was helping me was the management supervisor. She went to the back and started punching holes in my paper and asked the female employee to get me a project slip so that I could leave my items and come back later. They needed to have it filled out so that they would know what they were suppose to be doing with MY things.
The female employee walked passed me, got a paper out of a drawer and pushed it in front of me....BLANK, and then walked off.
I was shocked at her nastiness!
I had NO idea how to fill "their" document out for "their" employees. I took a look and did the best I could for not getting any info on what they wanted. At this point I am so disgusted by the original 2 employees. The supervisor was actually doing something for me so I couldn't be grumpy towards her. But in my mind i knew that this had to be addressed... just after my things were bound and in my hands. I didn't want them ruining anything because I made a comment on their POOR service.
As I was being helped I overheard the male helping 2 other customers. With both of them...he sent them away not being able to help them at that time. "come back tomorrow in between 12-5 and I can help you then". I didn't understand!
Finally I left the store only to return 30 minutes later to retrieve 3 of the 10 items I went in with. I will have to drive another hour, for the 3rd day this week for the remaining items.
You better believe that this neglect of customer service will be mentioned at check out! I will talk that first employee up for her wonderful service and I will try to be dignified in tearing apart the other two. Seriously though....I am not that mean.
R.O.S.S
(still trying to protect the stores reputation)
tuesday: I should of known better than to walk into that store at this time of year. There was
NO way of using a cart because the aisles where full of items so deep that you couldn't push through it. So, cart free I wandered the store in search of the perfect item. I was in luck...I found it. I slowly meandered to the check out to find about 6 people in line and 2 cashiers open. It was looking like no bigger deal....
and then......I got up to be the NEXT person to be helped. All the cashiers signs turned to the big
X indicating they were no longer open.
One cashier even walked away from her station and the other one started counting her money for a break. I turned to see if possibly I was the only person in line and possibly they didn't see me...only to find about 10 people behind me waiting as well.
There was this ONE cashier that was just standing at her register poking at buttons on her computer and then looking with a blank glazed over look. She did that same thing about 3 times....till finally her manager said "what up with your register?" She said "I just don't know".
I stood there feeling like I had this bad spell on me and I was not going to have much luck in the service department today.
W.A.L.M.A.R.T
tuesday: entered the store feeling discouraged and tired and knew that I had to return some items from a previous days purchase. With the "return department" in mind....that spells TROUBLE. I had to have the store greeter put a little sticker on my items and then proceed to the returns.
I found the gentleman at the front of the store. He was an older man in a motorized scooter. I noticed his jewelry right off the bat. On one arm he had 2 watches and a bracelet and then probably 4 rings on that hand. The other arm I didn't notice his wrist but he had maybe the same number of rings on that hand. I couldn't help but notice his black Beret that he was wearing. It was decorated with possibly 10 military awards.
He had an award that was obviously a purple heart, he had another that I didn't recognize and another lined up perfectly with the other 2 that was a golden Eagle award.
My body told me to be grumpy and just get the job done...but my mouth didn't have ears and so it just started talking to this very interesting man. I asked him about his rings and his awards and his service. He was such a neat and nice man. He informed me that the other awards were for bravery and good behavior. I told him that there needs to be more people like him around us. But in my mind I was saying "there needs to be more people like you working at those other stores".
That man changed my attitude for the rest of my shopping experience.
He was kind and willing to help.
My thoughts from the day came to the conclusion that AGE has everything to do with service. Just about everyone that helped me on that day that was under 25 was there to do their time....but the remaining people were there to get paid for their services. They seemed grateful for their job. There is differently a mindset that comes along with costumer service...it's hard...but then again
SO EASY! It's called Kindness!I also realized...that the service I receive can start with ME and if I am hot and bothered....well you know the rest.
hope your holiday shopping experience it full of wonderful service.
All in all...I THINK it was a wonderful December...I can't be sure. BUT from the looks of my house not being cleaned, the kids being overloaded on sugar, the miles on the car, my black luggage bags under my eyes, my pant size going up a full size and all PHOTOS that I have looked through...I would dare say it was a SUCCESSFuL, FUN filled Month!
