Am I the Only One to Notice that Customer Service A Thing of the Past? (crime, cost)
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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.
A return policy is not the same thing as customer service.
A documented and properly displayed return policy is good management. Following the return policy is good customer service.
What else do you need customer service for?
Let's see. Having properly stocked shelves. Taking special orders for things not in stock. Helping you load your car with your purchases if needed. In retail clothing, helping you find your correct size or even suggesting garments that you might like. In a hardware store, understanding your problem and suggesting various ways to solve the problem. The list goes on and on.
Let's see. Having properly stocked shelves. Taking special orders for things not in stock. Helping you load your car with your purchases if needed. In retail clothing, helping you find your correct size or even suggesting garments that you might like. In a hardware store, understanding your problem and suggesting various ways to solve the problem. The list goes on and on.
I don't consider stocking the shelves to be customer service since that takes place when the store is closed. Online shopping renders most of those irrelevant. And the reason we are losing tehse such things as "customer service" is because many people, like myself, don't want to pay for them, directly or indirectly. It's up to YOU to know what size you wear or what you like. What are you, an 8-yr-old that needs mommy to pick out his clothes?
I don't consider stocking the shelves to be customer service since that takes place when the store is closed. Online shopping renders most of those irrelevant. And the reason we are losing tehse such things as "customer service" is because many people, like myself, don't want to pay for them, directly or indirectly. It's up to YOU to know what size you wear or what you like. What are you, an 8-yr-old that needs mommy to pick out his clothes?
In a broad sense, stocking shelves does relate to customer service. Let me give you a couple of examples.
I do most of my grocery shopping at Kroger stores (it happens to be King Soopers here). Lately, I've walked away from my weekly shopping very annoyed since some of their sale products and even regularly priced items were not stocked.
Kroger has a person that stands near the checkouts and directs people to the fastest line; in my view a rather silly job. So I went up to the person and said, "I'm looking for "product x", but the shelf is all empty". The item I was looking for was a rather obscure product. She immediately said, "Oh, sorry, we're all out." There is no doubt in my mind that she had no idea whether there was more back in the stock room. It was just a lie.
Another time I asked to see the manager. I said, "A&W root beer is my favorite soft drink. Please don't put it on sale any more." He said, "That's a strange request." I said, "Every time it's on sale, the shelf is empty." He said that couldn't be true. I said, "Every time".
Another time I asked the produce manager where the "fresh white mushrooms" were. He said, "They're right here." I said, "No, those are brown and mushy. I want the fresh white ones you advertise and show in picture." "Well, you know it's winter, and mushrooms don't grow well outside in the winter." I said, "Do you think customers are all stupid? Generally, mushrooms are not grown outdoors. They're grown inside in conditions that are sort of like a hot house, except the environment is controlled in a different way." He didn't know what to say. I continued: "And so now, since I really want mushrooms, I have to drive to Safeway or Fresh Foods where they almost always have MUCH better mushrooms than here. So, here -- you can take my grocery cart and put what's in it back on the shelf while I go elsewhere." Well, he sure didn't like that.
So, in the broader sense, the stocking of shelves is customer service. And time and time again at various stores, including Best Buy, when their shelves are empty of what I want I get the, "We can order it for you," to which I generally reply, "Or I can go on Amazon and order it for myself and have it delivered to my door. Which is just what I'm going to do." They get a customer, and they blow it.
To be fair, despite my bitching about our Kroger chain, Kroger runs a good ship, and -- other than Wegmans -- may be the best supermarket chain in the country.
In a broad sense, stocking shelves does relate to customer service. Let me give you a couple of examples.
I do most of my grocery shopping at Kroger stores (it happens to be King Soopers here). Lately, I've walked away from my weekly shopping very annoyed since some of their sale products and even regularly priced items were not stocked.
Kroger has a person that stands near the checkouts and directs people to the fastest line; in my view a rather silly job. So I went up to the person and said, "I'm looking for "product x", but the shelf is all empty". The item I was looking for was a rather obscure product. She immediately said, "Oh, sorry, we're all out." There is no doubt in my mind that she had no idea whether there was more back in the stock room. It was just a lie.
phetaroi:
Regarding the bolded part in pink...
The reason why Kroger does this is because Senior Management does not want any customer to spend more than 2 minutes waiting in line. Senior Management wants the checkout time to be as quickly as possible. Senior Management wants the store to make as much profit as possible, and in their eyes, long lines means less profit.The reason why I know this is because I work at Kroger as a cashier, and several weeks ago while I was working on a Saturday, I saw a report left at the register I was working at.
The report used metrics to measure several data, and one particular data type was the wait time at the registers during certain times of the day.So that is why there is someone directing customers to the fastest line.
What are you, an 8-yr-old that needs mommy to pick out his clothes?
I'm referring to a high end boutique such as might be found on Rodeo Drive.
Heck - even away from high end boutiques, customer service can address women's brassiere sizes. Estimates are that over 80% of women wear the wrong size because they don't know how to select a proper fit. Customer service most certainly helps with such things.
Is it customer service that is a thing of the past, or is it simply human being f'ing it up these past decades? I tend to feel it's the latter, as people suck at taking care of other people (in general).
Another example of good customer service is at, say, a plumbing supply store. You bring in a failed part and a knowledgeable counterman is able to find a replacement part.
Or you want, say, a replacement sacrificial anode rod for your water heater but the tank is in a closet so you ask how can you get the part out and put in a new part without pulling the entire tank out of the closet ... and he tells you that you don't need to pull the tank; you should be able to run the worn-out rod up through the flue and he has a special sacrificial anode rod that looks like sausage segments connected together that is bendable so you can use that as the new rod.
In contrast, some place without good customer service... well, the employees know how to operate the cash register and not much more. Ask them any question of substance and they get a blank look on their faces.
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