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Lulz did someone just use custome service and then Walmart in the same sentence?
Haven't they replaced the 90 year old greeters with robots now?
I remember those elderly greeters being quite nice and decent. It was a brilliant move; these people were pleasant and dedicated, a generation that knew how to work hard and provide good customer service.
Anyway, the "retirees hired as greeters" thing is pretty much over. That was back in the 80s-90s when Walmart was becoming big.
We should all be so lucky as to live to 90 and still be able to get out of the house and work. Instead of mocking them, maybe try a little humility and respect.
I remember those elderly greeters being quite nice and decent. It was a brilliant move; these people were pleasant and dedicated, a generation that knew how to work hard and provide good customer service.
Anyway, the "retirees hired as greeters" thing is pretty much over. That was back in the 80s-90s when Walmart was becoming big.
We should all be so lucky as to live to 90 and still be able to get out of the house and work. Instead of mocking them, maybe try a little humility and respect.
They still have them in Arizona. Other times they are younger. Perhaps it is an Arizona thing...
Underpaid employees? Poorly trained employees? I don't think so. I think it is just the changing cultural norms of our society. These norms are learned from parents, teachers, and peers.
When was the last time you received a thank you card from someone? I was shocked the other day when I received a Facebook message to thank me for a gift. I was NOT shocked that they thanked me via Facebook. I was just shocked that they thanked me at all!
The world keeps revolving, norms keep changing, and we just have to accept that things are not going to be the way they were when we were children. Do I like it? No, but there is nothing that can be done about it.
What you are seeing in some areas with bad customer service at WalMart and other retailers, is the problem a lot of businesses have. Their employee pool, comes from their area. Where we live, we have great customer service, due to the type of available employees. But you go into another area, and they do not have the same type of potential employees available.
Put a WalMart or any store into a poverty area, and you can only attract workers that are not used to giving or receiving great customer service, and they simply do not understand the concept. They do not have the same feelings of what and how things are done in the higher income areas of the country. Poverty does not teach people how to give great customer service.
The problem is, that the poor people need the same services as the high income areas, but employees from the same group of people, do not really know now to give great customer service.
We have it very good in the U. S. for customer service and returning of purchases, compared to many other countries. Many of them, whose citizens buy the same products we do, have no option for returning anything, in some cases, even if it's defective. This same situation exists for many other things, such as human rights, where we are the best in the world, but small infractions are met with great outrage.
This is true. Here in So. America, there are no returns no matter what. And you need to check your plastic packaging to make sure no one has pre-opened it and stolen a part. Defective, who cares. Not complaining, just one of the trade-offs. Customer service is not really a concept that's caught on.
It is a problem. I find low level managers to be useless. If I have a serious problem, I write the better business bureau and the president of the company.
I very rarely have problems with customer service. Why? IDK Some ideas...
- I don't have overly high expectations on levels of professionalism for low wage jobs.
- I tend to shop where customer service is known to be good. I'll return to the same shops so have a rapport with some of the workers (and get the best prices/service).
- I shop/call/chat at off-peak hours.
- I often online/app order or call ahead my purchase so it's ready for pickup (most stores accommodate that even for small purchases).
- I tend to thoroughly inspect purchase (e.g. open box, check receipt) before leaving store.
- I try to come across as understanding (rather than angry) when I'm dealing with minor problems (and they are minor in the scheme of world problems).
- I know enough about order/return processes, troubleshooting, point-of-sale systems, etc. that I am often able to correctly direct the worker on how they should handle my issue (all with an appreciative smile and a hint that they'll get a good review).
- I tip well.
- I'll find/pick the right person who can help me... E.g. If I'm talking in the phone to a service person who is not immediately savvy, I'll hang up and call back for a better one. Or, I'll call another dept. within the store I'm already in. If another store worker is more helpful, I'll transition to that person.
- I'll bypass the long checkout line whenever I can. E.g. Seeing if someone will "walk me" to a register, or asking them to hold items at the desk and I come back when line is shorter, etc.
Well first off, I would never take issue with a lot of the American posters who are agreeing that customer service is not what it used to be in the U.S.
They live there, they see it their way, I can only say that IMO customer service is virtually non existent in the U.K. compared to how I get treated in the U.S.
I can't say much about how things are now in the U.S. for you guys, but store employees and counter clerks all seem to politely help me with with any query I may have when I'm over there a couple of times per year, maybe they just love my London accent.
However, one incident sticks in my mind.
I was in L.A. with a friend of mine around 1980 or 1981, and back home at that time, my friend had a Triumph TR6 sports car.
He kept noticing other TR6s in California with unusual hub caps, and one day we were in a gas station with our rental when a TR6 pulled in, he asked the guy driving it where could he get the same hub caps, the guy referred him to a British Leyland dealer in L.A.
When we went there, the clerk said that unfortunately he only had 3 in stock, but recognising that we were British by our accents, asked where we were staying.
We told him the name of our hotel on the P.C.H., and the following evening he arrived with 4 hub caps.
My friend was overjoyed, paid him cash, and gave him a $25 combined tip and gas money.
Now THAT is customer service.
I'll tell you why I disagree a bit about customer service going downhill.
It used to be that it was darned uncomfortable to return something to a store. Nowadays, many retailers (such as Costco and Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Kroger have VERY liberal (often no questions asked) return policies.
Good customer service is definitely dead. Usually when you call companies you are calling a call center and the reps working there don't get paid enough to care.
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