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Poll: Does it pay to be stingy in customer service?
I've been to a pizzaria and ordered a couple slices. Half the slices were just covered with dried tomato sauce without cheese and the crust was burnt. I don't know if they were being stingy of just ignorant or lazy with making that pizza.
I also went to a Subway and asked for olives, sweet peppers, etc. They hardly put any on. When I ate the sandwich I mostly couldn't taste it. The other Subway down the road on the other hand, I haven't had that problem.
I can see maybe they're trying to be modest and save money on ingredients but it ruins my experience as a customer and if I'm going to pay 6 dollars for a sandwich, it better be what I expect it to be otherwise I'll eat somewhere else or not at all. And I'm likely to casually pass the word on to others to inform them or make funny conversation.
Does it pay to be stingy with your service?
People probably assume a Franchise, like "subway" now the biggest chain in america is a cut and dry business. But it isn't. Customer service could make a big difference. This subway also had one of their entrances locked and while I was waiting to have the sandwich made, the subway lady ran a customer out of her store because she only had check... Now I understand not accepting check, but did she have to say "stupid, don't come back here" in front of the customers? Does that make her look smart or like a jerk?
I think it depends on who your base customers are.
If they are people who value the deal/price vs the service, then it probably pays to cut corners. Which is why dollar stores and discount stores can get away with how they look and the crappy service.
However, around here, where people can buy whatever they want and price is less of an issue, SERVICE is king. It's all about the service, presentation, and product quality.
The person at Subway you described should be fired no matter where they are located and who they are serving. Period.
I think the lady who ran the girl out was the owner or family of the owner. They were arguing for a couple minutes. lol. I wouldn't argue as an employee or owner. I'd state my point in a mono-tone and carry on with my work. I once got in trouble for being so mono-tone because my manager said people prefer u to symthathize.
The subway is right between 2 big colleges, but no parking so it relies on students mostly and there's another one a couple blocks away that also caters to students.
First of all, distinguish between quality of product (the amount or quality of ingredients on sandwiches) and customer service (being polite, treating customers well, handling complaints professionally).
If your quality is really good, people are a little more forgiving on customer service (remember The Soup Nazi on Sienfeld).
If your product is average...like Subway...then customer service is more important. If you are selling your personal services (consultants, CPAs, lawyers, realtors) then service is #1 unless you are known to have a specialized expertise that is hard to find elsewhere - which gets back to quality.
The person at Subway was probably not well trained or supervised. I blame the owner/manager for not encouraging/insisting upon consistent product quality and better customer service. In this market, no business can afford to run off their customers.
On-line shopping sites require great customer service. You can buy stuff from almost anyone right now and you can change suppliers with the click of a button. Products, prices, and locations are the same. If your eShop doesn't offer free shipping, free returns, real live customer service people to talk to, why would anyone keep shopping there? I always buy shoes on line from Zappos because they have great service!
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