Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The dying art of customer service

I went into a store today to get a couple small accessory things for my crossbow. I walked all the way through the store front to back and no one greeted me. I wandered around in their archery dept. for 10 minutes not finding what I needed. No one employed there ever came near me. I walked over to the gun dept. and it was empty, although two associates were coming out from the rear area. I asked them if they could help me in the archery dept. The man who was apparently assigned to cover that area came over several minutes later. I asked him for arrow pullers and a cloth case for my crossbow. Didn't have either one. So it took me 15 minutes of no service to find out they didn't have what I needed. This in the biggest shop in the area.

I don't even mind so much that they didn't have it. What bugged me was it took 15 minutes for them to even realize I existed.

This seems to be a common thread at many retailers. I understand better why guys go to the LGS fully knowing they might pay a little more, but also know they'll be greeted warmly when they get there, and their needs will be met.

I had some repairs being done to my car so I lined up a rental expecting that because I was using a local body shop not one in the city I'd have to play logistical games getting my car dropped and the rental picked up at the office.

I called Enterprise and the college girl who answered the phone asked if I'd like to be picked up. I said sure and she asked the location then put me on hold to check.

Remember I'm not expecting to be picked up.

I sit on hold for a few minutes listening to their recoding telling me over and over how "Enterprise picks you up" and "loves to go the extra mile" so I am thinking "cool I will get a ride!"

A kid comes on and says sorry they can't pick me up, and I said that's funny I just sat on hold for a few minutes hearing how you go the extra mile and pick me up yada yada yada. Check again cuz yer recoding said you would. He checks, and again the hold tells me how they'll do it, and again he comes back and says he can't.

I said they need to change to muzak cuz I didn't expect to get picked up but after hearing their hold recoding I'm pissed that they're not picking me up.

Not that he cares.

The last time I was in Best Buy they had a sale going on and two registers open with 25 people waiting while four employees chatted with each other.

I asked if they wanted our money, or were they happy enough to see us stand in line and wonder why they'd come to work.

I'm glad I'm not an employer with the current labor force.

Not in all circumstances, but how you're treated depends on how you're dressed. When I go into a store wearing jeans and a plain blue shirt I might as well be invisible, but dress up and I get immediate attention.

If you want to shop without being bothered by store workers then wear plain work clothes, but if you want attention wear a suit or dress like you're going gulfing (sunglasses tipped up on top of your head gets extra points).

a by product of our education system....

kids of today grow up thinking the world is all about them.... so they can't be bothered taking care of a customer...

business accountants are also to blame....

they pay their employees the least amount of money possible... so ya buy the cheapest, ya get the cheapest..

one would think they would have learned by now that doesn't work out real well..... or they expect the general public and customers to just put up with it....


year ago, worked customer service during Christmas ( when I was single post divorce)... for a company that was subcontracting customer service for Readers Digest....

They had all of these old people calling in because they had ordered a "book" and it turned out to be a VCR Tape... their complaint was they couldn't figure out how to open the 'book'....

When they were told it wasn't a book they'd want to return it..... and all of these young 20 something bimbos that worked there would argue with these senior citizens, stating they ordered it, so they are stuck with it and if they are too stupid to know what a VCR tape is, then that is their problem....

And they were calling this customer service.... I use to tell these bimbos that these were seniors like their grandparents and why were they arguing with these customers any.... it wasn't even their money, so what was the problem...

we were instructed not to argue with these people, just process the return for them to send it back and get a credit or their money... yet still these bimbos and the few Beavis and Butthead guys in their would still argue with these seniors....

I'd ask them why did they argue with these people? their usual answer was "they are old people and old people suck"...

yeah the term 'customer service' is pretty much a joke punchline at best anymore.

i went to walmart and with 15 registers they had 2 open. the store manager was standing back near the back of the line i was in. i asked why they have all those registers if they were not going to use them. he said they were a little short handed . i said well why don't you do it to get the lines moving. he said'oh,'i dont do that' i then unloaded the items in my cart right in the floor and told him that i dont shop here anymore.

Just my thoughts on the subject:

A customer should not have to wait at all for assistance, if it is desired.

The customer should be allowed to browse and compare as long as they like without being bothered, with assistance being readily available if it is desired.

The minute...no, the very second that the customer is done shopping and wants to pay for their goods the business should do everything in their power to allow the customer to pay and be on their way with the least delay possible. Excess wait time to pay feels about the same as sitting in a traffic jam caused by a broken traffic light.

Making a customer wait unnecessarily to pay and be done is disrespectful and poor business, in my opinion.

Complicated check-out procedures, problems entering SKU's into the computer, waiting for manager assistance at the register for stupid reasons, even waiting for the chip-card reader to cycle through its process are all anti-customer service problems that a smart business should address.

Having enough cash registers and enough employees should go without saying.

I get irked when I am in a hurry and I jump into a store to get one or two items and get delayed trying to pay. Sometime it is two minutes to find the items and reach the register line, and then ten more minutes before I am walking out of the store.

Which brings up one more "irk". Some stores let the employees have all the nearest parking spots. I was at a big-box store recently, twenty minutes before opening. There were no customers present besides me and another guy. We watched employee after employee arrive, park up front, and walk into the store straightening their uniforms. By the time the store opened the front third of the lot was filled with employee cars, except for the handicap spots.

When inside I found an assistant manager and asked about the parking situation. He said nobody had ever said anything about it before. Good grief...

I own my own company. We supply building stone, concrete products, masonry and landscape supplies. Occasionally, I'll take some time to check out my competition. One time I was out on a spying expedition and went to a couple of places where I spent an hour or more in competitors stone yards and not one single person asked me if I needed any help. Guys rode by me many times on forklifts and never stopped. I learned something that day.

I went back and told my guys about it and made a steadfast rule that they are never to go past a customer without asking them if they need help. If they're busy, simply tell the customer that you'll be right back after you finish loading the customer you're with. In many cases, the customer is just looking, but it sends the message that you care. In other cases, by the time you're free, another co-worker has them covered.

I have signs up in the office that say:
RULE#1
Help the Customer
If we don't, our competition will.

I just love to call a business at 9:30 on Monday morning only to get a recording that tell me to call back during their regular business hour of 9 am to 5pm.

Well I ain't calling back.

Sounds like a Dunhams store....

I manage a small office and it's f'ing ridiculus. You're not allowed to manage anymore because everyone is offended and/or has a chitty attitude.

Two of my employees are wonderful, one does a very good job but has a pissy attitude and another one does a crap job and is offended by most anything constructive you say.

I've been dealing with paper work the last six months to get rid of the one and the other one has a few months to loose the attitude or she'll be gone. Only saving grace on that one is she's still on probation.



In regards to store employees I was just visiting with another forum member last night and we were speaking by the lack of help a person gets. I hate to be bugged, but at least acknowledge me. Few months ago I was in Scheels in Rochester, MN. Was in quickly the day before and went back to potentially buy two rifles I thought I might need. Hardly anyone in the store and I couldn't get helped. Walked out, same thing has happened a few other times there.

Was in HOM furniture a couple weeks ago, I was one of I believe two people in the store. Half a dozen employees and not one person asked me if I needed help.

Know one gives a chit anymore.

Couple of years ago I chatted up the manager at a Walmart, talked to him about why they had 19 checkout lines and only two open, he replied he didn't have enough people. So, I asked, why not hire some more. He let me know right away that he would be delighted to hire some more if he could find applicants who could pass the drug test.

I believe it depends on the business and the effectiveness and attitude of the manager. I went to Best Buy yesterday to investigate a new router. Was approached almost immediately by a young lady who spent the next 10 minutes diagnosing my problem and demonstrating solutions. Most big box store have worse attitudes and service.

The standard in retail was set long ago by F.W. Woolworth. Every customer must be greeted w/in 15 seconds or 15 feet from the entrance.

I think many businesses have learned that customer service can give an advantage in a very competitive world. The difficulty is motivating, training and compensating employees to achieve goals.


mike r

We do everything, find food, bag groceries, select fasteners, check out, weigh produce, get cash at atm, check book at library, pay for and pump fuel, seat ourselves, trouble shoot Fios...and you want service.

Funny, true story:

I was on a long returns line at Home Depot. I was watching the clerk's every move. When it was my turn he walked away. I was livid. So, I picked up the scanner and successfully returned the item for credit to my credit card. The register is clerk proof and was easy. The clerk came back and I handed him the item stating it was his. He asked if I wanted to return it. I said no I returned it already. He turned to the nearby store manager and told him what I did. The manager said that was a no no. I said I saw the abandoned register with a light on and thought it was self service like everything else in the store. He smiled and offered me a job.

This is a good point, but they should still provide good service. Reminds me of the guy that used to run the little fishing camp we went to up in Canada. He needed a new bulldozer. He went to a couple dealerships and ended up buying one. With a garbage bag full of cash. Knowing Jean, I'm sure he went in wearing the same pair of jeans he'd had on for several days, looking like little more than a jackpine savage. As the old saying goes, never judge a book by it's cover.

It wasn't, and the thread's not about any one chain. It's about customer service and the lack there of.

An example of some good customer service comes to mind. Every get a sub at a Jimmy John's sub shop? We have quite a few of them up here in the Twin Cities. Every time I go in there, literally the second you are inside their door, you are greeted, and the associate has a smile on their face. I will return to a place like that because not only the product, but the service are very good.

Once I was standing in a grocery line in a store that had just installed self-checkout registers. A little tootsie assistant manager came by and told me to try the self check. When I declined, she says, "oh it's easy", like I was afraid to try it because I thought it would be difficult. Then she grabs my cart and drags it over to the selfcheck and starts unloading it. Unfortunately, she couldn't get it work, and had to call for backup.

Ordinarily, I would've taken her head off for grabbing the cart out of my hands, but it was so comical, I let it go.

The opposite, equally annoying side of customer service is when you can't make a sharp turn in the store without snapping some sales associates nose off in your azz.

Good customer service is so rare that you remember when you actually receive it.

Very common for me to walk out of restaurants these days.

After I eat.




Travis

Stopped at a fuel stop, fueled, then went in and happily handed the clerk a 100 dollar bill for $99 and a few cents worth of fuel, stood there with a smile and my hand out waiting for my change.
She, with a rolled eyes smirk placed it down scattering it all over the counter, I raked it all up and off the counter into my hand, turned and threw it so hard it bounced off the wall in the rear of the store, then said, "you pick it up bitch!"

Gee when I walk in to my Rolex dealer at Ala Moana Center I
am greeted and offered a hot coffee.

Then the Assistant Manager asks if he can be of some help, like free steam cleaning my watch. I usually accept, 'cause
that was my purpose of the visit.

If I go in during the month of July, they offer me one year
of no interest on my in house account purchases.

Well I guess the different CS is due to the products sold or
the amount of mark up.

Or possibly because I bought three watches from them.

Customer Service no longer exist in our country. Big business now purposely makes it difficult just to contact them much less help you out.. here's a experience I recently had with Polaris.. .. I have a Polaris 4 wheeler.. 2010 850XP it only had 966 miles on it. one of the issues this model has is the timing gear is pressed on to the crankshaft,thus be being susceptible to slipping,wrecking the valve train and ruining the engine. this happened to mine this past spring. So I got poking around on the internet and found the Polaris sometimes will help owners out with this issue. I called the dealer and he said. "it's long past warranty but call Polaris you never know I've seen them pay for the parts before"..$3900plus for a new engine. So I figured what the heck I'll give it a shot.
after going over some of the details about my wheeler,and what I knew was wrong with it. Polaris tells me "you need to take it to a dealer to get it verified". So I'm thinking great their gonna help me out !!! now the dealership is flat out busy and they did the best to work it in and have their mechanic look it over, take some pictures and send 'em off to polaris. Well four weeks later and two 75 mile trips back and fourth.. POLARIS tells me it's to far out of warranty .... well no F^%^&king Chit!! why did you have me bring to a dealer, waste his time and mine to tell me that... NEVER AGAIN. will I ever purchase ANYTHING built by Polaris industries

plab

Very good customer service hear locally.



I love our local CarQuest and nearby implement dealers.

A good partsman is one of my favorite people on Earth.


Couple local mechanics who will show on up the random Saturday to help a guy out.



But then again it's a small town and a few people actually have respect for one another.


Edit:



Plab, I didn't get the best impression at the Polaris dealer where we went to buy. 150 miles away and a pretty good sized and busy place.


Bought a new Ranger and my wife noticed that the keys for the canvas doors weren't with the machine. I didn't really care but still called them up later and asked about it.


That was 2-3 months ago and still no keys.

Very minor issue but makes a guy wonder how they'll deal with warranty work if need be.

Sounds like the OP went to Dick's!

It's like there are no people on the floor any more specifically to help customers. You have to go bother someone who is stocking shelves or cleaning to get some help......

The Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse business model. Worst plucking service, on purpose. They underbuild for the demographic, making customers wait to be seated is the goal. How often do you see people waiting, while there are many empty tables. They always seem to have a seat at the bar where you can wait? Big money on overpriced alcohol?
One of us jumps out of the car and asks about the wait. When told 30-45 minutes I say "no thanks, someone else will serve me now."

Yes it makes me mad, rant over.

Almost the same thing happened to me except I threw the change on the floor behind her and told her to keep it for such good service.

IN 2010 I was hard up and needed a job. The only place that called me back was Walmart so I threw out all of my pride and became a Walmart Associate.

It became obvious at the time the only thing the CEO of Walmart was interested in doing was padding the stock holders and his portfolio. No clerks, no floor associates and no stockers. I was on a regular basis working in 3 and sometimes 4 departments, 2 of which by myself.

There was no customer service, there was no checkout clerks, there was no one mixing paint in hardware. Most of the time there was only one person in Electronics.

The point being, the most important person in the store is NO LONGER the customer and not even the Associates, but the stockholders and the folks in the home office. I lasted 2 1/2 years and if I were dying of starvation I won't go back to work for a large chain store company again.

kwg

I'll say this, I HATE to walk in to a store for the first time, to just browse for a product that I know virtually nothing about, with the intent of just trying to discreetly browse their selection and get a feel for what it's all about, only to have a gung-ho salesperson start the 50 questions, we-have-a-special-and-you-have-to-buy-it-right-now-or-it's-too-late bulschitt.

On the other extreme, it really pisses me off to walk up to the cash register with my product(s) in hand and no one cares enough to check me out. Or there are 10 people in line at every cash register when there's nothing special going on. It is nice to have someone let me know that they're available any time I have any questions.

That being said, I have a really good story of great customer service. Maybe 10 years ago, I decided that I had to have a Remington 700 LVSF in .223. Called around and found out Bud's Gun Shop in Lexington, KY had one in stock. I told the clerk I was leaving to head there. He asked where I was coming from. (At that time, I lived about 3 hours from there, had only recently heard of them, and was genuinely curious to see the place in person.) The clerk told me he'd see me after awhile.

When I showed up, I took my time taking in their huge inventory. It was impressive! When I finally worked my way to where the LVSF's were, there were none in .223! About that time, a clerk asked if he could show me anything. When I mentioned what I was after, he said, "Oh you're the guy that drove down from Ohio!" "I put it back here behind the counter so someone else wouldn't buy it while you were on the way." I was stunned! He didn't tell me he would, and I hadn't asked him to, but it made an impression on me! I bought it on the spot.

This is the bottom line in retail anymore. I took a job to get out of the house a couple days a week and see exactly this. there was a department meeting to try and find out why the department turn over was 84% and what they got from the GM was that corporate only allows so many hours. Payroll was blah, blah, blah. We know nothing will change with those answers. So to take crap from people and not get any backup from management is why there is such high turnover. Management just tells people good luck and get someone else in as soon as possible. The people in this department do really try but when things get backed up you can only do so much. Sorry, you probably will not get your feet rubbed when 5 people are on one associate. We're just trying to get your product rung up and out the door as fast as possible to help the next customer. It's brisk without being rude.
And then there is this guy. Spend 20 minutes showing a product and then he finally tells me he can buy direct for 40% off and just wanted to do a hands on before he bought.

Part of the problem is the customers want to lowest price and maximum service. That doesn't happen, you get exactly what you pay for.

Jim

LOL, that will work too Mag, you probably got the same startled OH-CHIT look I got, with hands over mouth and a several steps backpeddle away from her side of the counter.

After ordering I get my card out and hand it to the waitperson to run when they bring the food. I hate having to wait for the check, some times it takes longer to pay for the food then it takes to place the order and receive the food.

Jim

Very true. It also helps to be seen in the store some time in the recent past.

Jim

Sam,

Small town benies. When I am at the Idaho place service provided is more than I require. They are all spot on, including Home Depot. I work to not need service knowing what I want before I proceed. Having lived/worked for many years in places where I really could not shop I enjoy running every damn aisle of a store like a good gun show.

Businesses are out to make as much money as possible, so service isn't a priority in most cases.

My goal is to get what I want as cheaply as possible and I almost always know exactly what I want, so service is a luxury I don't need and don't want to pay for, so I buy almost everything online. Save time, gas, aggravation.

A bonus is that most online sellers are very concerned about your satisfaction. Almost all that sell through Amazon will email me almost as soon as my stuff arrives wanting to know if I'm satisfied. One used book dealer even threw in a free copy of the excellent hunting book he had written.

Life's too short to waste time getting pissed off or pissed on.

Ed, it is nice to be able talk to someone on the other side of the phone who can look at a computer diagram and figure out which part you are talking about. And clarify machine/serial number part upgrades, etc..

And have the right part overnight FedEx'd to the farm.



Back in the 1980's my dad had a Massey Ferguson combine. Drove to Canada to get parts. Talk about a time killer, modern day customer service rules.

Sam,

That's another world for me and most of us here I am sure. Hours are dollars, personal dollars. I am in the throes of correcting a '73 Mach 1 so I am on those forums. The guys whine left and right when their order hasn't shipped in three days. With planning being half of my career I just laugh. Of course, these days, I have nothing but time...

Ed, you took parts man to another other level.


I could never trust a translator.....grin

customer service in my part of the country is gone. Waitresses at the diners have not figured out that a coffee run every 10 minutes= tip. Go to a Walmart you are on your own. Spent the last month getting an idler pulley from LandPride mower after he parts man ordered what he thought he should order instead of the part number from their print. Yet all the dumb asses tell you to have a good one

Wait staff is a thing of the past. Hate the little electronic gizmos on the tables now. I came to eat, not play games. Families are a f-n train wreck. Took my kids out last night to a choke and puke. Both tables behind us all on their phones. One in particular didn't even bother to put the phones down to eat. Told both of my girls to turn around and just watch. Pretty damn pathetic. I generally avoid chain restaurants like the plague, but let my oldest pick last night.

All I can say is that the dinner bill was well worth the lesson learned about manners.

It also contributes to shoplifting. I hate that because it raises prices.

the worst customer service i have ever encountered was at any big 5 sporting goods store i have gone into. went in one time to buy a mauser they had on sale for 49.95 or some such. there were 4 kids that had to be maybe 18 and a day old all standing in a circle giggling and playing slap and tickle. complete with green hair and rings in their noses. after about 10 minutes i got tired of waiting for someone of them to even notice me and walked over to the managers door and knocked. the manager looked like booger, with about 3 hairs slicked over his head.
he came out and sold me the gun. as i left i saw him leering at the giggles and then going back into his office.
never even told the kids to get to work .
almost the same thing happened in another big 5 while buying binos.

This one had attitude, she gave me the FU oldman look and as I was walking out the door she was mumbling something and I didn't catch it, I'm sure it wasn't nice.

By her reaction I'm sure it wasn't the first time she had something similar happen.

"Hate the little electronic gizmos on the tables now."

Me, too.

Wednesday my wife and I met a couple for lunch at Olive Garden. The waitress introduced herself and then went into her little speech about the electronic gizmo. As soon as she finished I asked her to take it away so we would have more room on the table.

She said, "Excuse me?"

I said "Take that thing away. We are here to eat and it is in our way. We don't want it."

She acted a little shocked, but she only lost her smile for a second and she did take it away. Apparently my request was a new experience for her. We did enjoy our lunch.

No I'll come clean though, since you're the second to ask. It was Gander Mountain.