Your Customer Service Stinks

With all the technological advances that allow us to shop anywhere online, if we remove price out of the equation it is the customer service that stands out. What would entice or make a person refer or become a loyal customer is the service. How you literally speak, your tone, greet, smile, listen, patience and know your merchandise really helps.

I am astounded by sales associates in stores run up and greet "Hello", then disappear or when you ask a simple question, they point you in the direction or give you directions through a maze of isles, and or when they have zero knowledge about their product and do not even make an attempt to get the answers. They reply with,"I DON'T KNOW!" That type of service is not good. The sales associate should take a moment and walk you to the isle and show you the product and they should either find the answers or find a person who can asist you better This saves the customer time, frustration and shows you care.

Restaurants-How about when you are at a restaurant? I have always believed that no matter what you should tip at minimum 15%, 20% if exceptional. I remember one waitress was annoyed that we asked for Ketchup. She also frowned the entire time she took our order. She also never checked on us during the meal. I left her a 10% tip because she had such poor attitude. I have worked in the food industry and know, a smile goes a long way as does checking the customer during the meal to see if anything else is needed. A good waitress knows when to deliver the check, to say, Thank You and to collect payment. Now there are exceptions like when a restaurant is short staffed. It is obvious that service suffers a little. You can be sure the waitress that is smiling and friendly will garner a larger tip. Waitressing is a not an easy job some customers are rude. You have to have thick skin and don't take anything personal. If you don't like people, you should not be waitressing.

Billing Issues-Try to resolve a bill over the phone? It is horrific when companies make a customer listen to recordings of what they offer to help you and then tell you to do it yourself or go to their website. I think that is a disservice. I know when I call the Cable company I cringe. They tell you to go to their website to find your answers because their lines are busy.

Warantee services-Ever buy a bad laptop and find that when you call to get service under warrantee, you are calling some far away place where they are not english speaking. I once owned an HP lap top. It went bad in a month. I got stuck talking to some gentleman in a foreign country who was condescending to me in tone. It was clear to me that because I was a woman, I did not have any authority to call and complain about my laptop. The problem was never resolved. The customer service man got me so angry. I had to hang-up and call the company again, in hopes I would get someone else that could speak english. I finally got the issues resolved, but it took 2, 1 hour conversations. 2 years later, I bought an Apple after that for my kids. Apples customer service is IMPECCABLE. Iwill never buy another PC as long as I live.

Auto sales-If you are a woman in car dealership, go to a woman sales person. The men seem to think women are not smart enough to understand a car. I think that is insulting since women are better shoppers. In one dealership, this salesman tried to tell me the the grumbling of the engine was normal. The sound was sharp and loud, like a meat grinder humming. This auto I test drove was a 2011. I did not appreciate the fact that he could not even tell me anything about the car. I purchased my current vehicle from a woman. She treated me with respect and as a an educated equal.

Company will call you back- When a company says they will call you back after they review your account and never do. Do not promise what you can not deliver.

Gov't agencies- are inconsistent with resolving problems because they do not want to physically research and actually work to solve the problem, so they bounce you from one dept, to another leaving the customer angry.

Contractors- are notorious for never showing up on the job and never calling. This just infuritates a home owner. It is common courtesy and a professionl courtesy to inform the person you are doing a job for. It is a surefire way to never get a referral with poor communication.

The list can go on and on. I have to think that if you are in a service position, that you actually like people and want to help. People buy from people they like. I for one have worked in various industries where your service is what makes all the difference. And in that, sometimes business relationships build as does referrals. I know I will pay more and do business with someone, drive the extra distance, just because I like the service and the person. I will also tell my friends to about the great service.

Where were you when you had great customer service? If you had bad customer service would you go back?