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I am tired of poor customer service

Fitzriley

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I have decided that I will no longer meekly accept poor customer service. I shopped at Kohl's on Monday with my 9 year old daughter. I brought my puchases to the register and greeted the cashier with a "Hi, how are you today?" and a smile. She never looked up or acknowledged me. She rang up my purchases and I handed her my 20% preferred customer coupon as well as my Kohl's credit card. She never said a word or looked at me. When I had completed the transaction, I said thank you to her. She, again, said nothing and moved on to the next customer.

I promptly took my purchases to customer service and asked to speak to a manager. I gave him the story of my treatment and the name on the ID card of the employee. I told him I was tired of poor customer service. I told him that going forward I was going to report to him on each transaction, good or bad. He agreed with me and said that each employee is trained in customer service and he would speak with her.

I was a bit nervous as I did this, as I am not one to generally make a scene, but I am sick and tired of people who hate their jobs pushing their nasty attitudes on me.

Was I wrong?

Are any of the rest of you tired of this? I heard someone on CNN the other night say that they were tired of being treated poorly by the guy that can't even make his sandwich right and than having to support them with their tax dollars. I agree. I have had enough.

Joan
 

Luanne

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Was the salesperson surly or rude? Was the problem that she just didn't acknowledge you? Had she waited on you before? Personally, I wouldn't have reported her. Unless there was something really horrible in the way I was treated I'd let it go. I don't think this was "poor" customer service, just kind of indifferent. You never know what kind of day this person was having and why she didn't talk to you. For all you know she could have just gotten some bad news.
 

Beaglemom3

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I hope that this wasn't a person with a functionally emotional, mental or even a hearing impairment condtion who is just trying to earn a living or regain some footing in life, "imperfect" person that she is.

I have a second cousin who is schizophrenic, but functional to the point that he bags groceries in the local large supermarket. He rarely engages in conversation or eye contact. He cannot bear it, but he does eek out a little life with his job and they understand and protect him there. He is trying to fit into a world where tolerance isn't always present as his "disbality" isn't apparent. He's a good employee, been there for 20 years and out only once when a car backed into him in the grocery parking lot. He get the job done without complaint.

You asked if you were wrong. IMHO, yes, to the level that you carried it, I think you could well be.

Have we become so entitled that we rage at every miniscule whatever and that it becomes a personal crusade/vendetta with righteous indignation ? " I told him that going forward I was going to report to him on each transaction, good or bad."

I'm all for customer service, but I agree with Luanne here.

The cashier won't win "Miss Congeniality" in the near future. She was only ringing up your purchases and nothing beyond that. Do we really need to have a personal exchange with every service person we encounter ? I'm not anti-service, but there are sometimes things afoot that we're not always aware of.

There's customer service and lack thereof, but
to what point do we carry this and is it worth it jeopardizing someone's job ? A simple word, in the way of an observation, might have been the way to go.

The RMV & IRS folks are the worst, but do we report them ? No, because they can hurt us ! :rotflmao: (at least in Massachusetts).

I like Patri's signature sign off: " Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. "


Just my take on this.

B.
 
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Rose Pink

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Was I wrong?

Joan

I don't know if you were right or wrong but I agree with Luanne. I would have let that one slide and saved my emotion for someone or something more noteworthy.

My DD works in a customer service position. She tries her darnedest to be cheerful and helpful at work. Then she comes home and dumps it all on me--isn't that what moms are for? :rofl: She tells me about the rude, inconsiderate customers, the ones who steal (or try to), the ones who let their children run rampant and bother the other customers, etc, etc. It goes on and on.

From listening to her I realize that I have not always been a pleasant customer and have made the clerk's job harder. That wasn't the case with you as you were polite but I'm just saying there is no way to know if the clerk had been having a terrible day before you came up.

Of course, it is easy to say that the clerk should not carry her own problems to work but we all know that humans can't always do that. None of us is perfect. Maybe telling the manager will help her. If she is having a problem, he might be able to help. If she was just unaware of her body language, he can help her with that, too. I think alot will depend on how the manager handles it and, of course, on how teachable she is when he talks to her--if he bothers to talk to her.
 

bsheets326

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I think you did the right thing. Many customers that receive poor service just quit patronizing that business. By informing the manager of your experience you gave him the opportunity to work with the employee and correct the behavior. Who knows how many other customers felt slighted and just moved their business to another department store.
Every manager needs feedback from their customers. Sometimes it's positive, and sometimes it's negative. Both types are helpful when you are running a business.
 

Luanne

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I still don't think it is necessarily "poor" customer service when the cashier doesn't speak to the customer. Now, if you'd been asking a question and they refused to answer or gave you wrong information, that's something else. If this had been a high-end department store I might also expect a higher level of courtesy. Or, maybe I just have low expectations and as long as someone doesn't spit at me I figure the service is just fine. ;)
 

Rose Pink

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.. Or, maybe I just have low expectations and as long as someone doesn't spit at me I figure the service is just fine. ;)

We're happier that way, aren't we? :D
 

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I had an opposing experience one time. I was purchasing some electronics gear at a major box store. I gathered what I needed and brought it to the register. The cashier says "Hi, how are you?". I say "Fine, thanks". She says "Did you find everything you need?". I say "Yep!". After a few more of her obligatory questions and a few more of my brief, but polite, monotone answers she says "You could at least smile." in a snotty tone. I about lost it. I wasn't there to exchange pleasantries, and I wasn't so joyous over my purchases that I couldn't keep a smile off my face. I just wanted to get some gear and get on about my day. To me, business is business, and socializing is socializing. Not that I never socialize when doing business, but as a customer, I consider that my prerogative, not a mandate. Anyhow there's another side to "customer service".
 

Luanne

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I had an opposing experience one time. I was purchasing some electronics gear at a major box store. I gathered what I needed and brought it to the register. The cashier says "Hi, how are you?". I say "Fine, thanks". She says "Did you find everything you need?". I say "Yep!". After a few more of her obligatory questions and a few more of my brief, but polite, monotone answers she says "You could at least smile." in a snotty tone. I about lost it. I wasn't there to exchange pleasantries, and I wasn't so joyous over my purchases that I couldn't keep a smile off my face. I just wanted to get some gear and get on about my day. To me, business is business, and socializing is socializing. Not that I never socialize when doing business, but as a customer, I consider that my prerogative, not a mandate. Anyhow there's another side to "customer service".

I wonder if she reported you? ;)
 

applegirl

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Unless a customer service person is outright rude to me or gives me incredibly bad service such as a server at a restaurant, I won't talk to the manager. I try to save it for the really important times. If someone has given me exceptional service I will sometimes seek out management for that too!

The person the OP described was not rude but was not cheerful or engaging. I would have asked myself "I wonder why this person seems so unhappy/unfriendly?". Maybe her dad just died a few days ago and she's struggling just to make it to work. Maybe she just lost her car to repossesion. Maybe she just found out she will have no place to live in 30 days.

These are real possibilities and I think the world would be a better place if we just all had a little more compassion.

Just my two cents, since you asked.

Janna
 

Beaglemom3

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I had a bank teller press me to say "Merry Christmas" back to her once.
I didn't.
 

DeniseM

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I also think different areas of the country have different expectations of levels of friendliness and service. When we visited my In-Laws in Arkansas the level was so different from California that it was almost strange for me.

Example - My MIL bought 1 loaf of bread - nothing else, and the clerk carried it out to her car!

Another time we were on a shuttle bus at the airport in Texas and everyone was chatting away merrily to their neighbor. I asked my husband, are all these people together? Do they know each other? And he laughed at me and said, no, people are just friendlier in the south.

In contrast - we were once on a city bus in San Francisco sitting near a family visiting from the south. The father began cheerfully (and loudly) discussing his trip and saying how wonderful San Francisco was and was trying to strike up a conversation with the strangers sitting around him. He was met with a stony silence and no eye contact.
 

sandesurf

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I don't think you were wrong! I used to be a salesperson at two well known dept. stores. We had "training" on how to greet and speak to "Guests" (not customers). Now, when I go into these same stores and have the same exact thing happen, as happened to you, I get irritated! I usually don't have time to find a manager and complain, since they're never around either!, but twice in the past year I have sought out a manager to compliment a employee! All because they were doing what they were supposed to be doing, and that's hard to find these days!!
More customers ("Guests" Ha!), should complain!
 

Luanne

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I don't think you were wrong! I used to be a salesperson at two well known dept. stores. We had "training" on how to greet and speak to "Guests" (not customers). Now, when I go into these same stores and have the same exact thing happen, as happened to you, I get irritated! I usually don't have time to find a manager and complain, since they're never around either!, but twice in the past year I have sought out a manager to compliment a employee! All because they were doing what they were supposed to be doing, and that's hard to find these days!!
More customers ("Guests" Ha!), should complain!

I would be interested in the training in customer service a cashier at Kohl's gets vs the training someone who works for a well known department store gets. That goes back to my earlier comment about how I may expect more depending on where I shop. For instance, if I walk into Nordstrom and had someone who refused to talk to me I'd have a very different attitude than if the cashier who was ringing up my purchases, the items I had most likely found myself, didn't speak to me.

But heck, complain if you want. I wouldn't.
 

ocowner

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Wow, anyone ever see Michael Douglas in Falling Down? - "The adventures of an ordinary man at war with the everyday world."
 

Hoc

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I personally have never made a scene or pursued it until Sunday, when it got really bad.
 

Luanne

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I personally have never made a scene or pursued it until Sunday, when it got really bad.

Yeah, I've been following your saga. That I would consider poor customer service.
 

barndweller

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I don't know...this is a hard call for me. I held a position at my last job (pre-retirement) that centered around customer service. It was a position created by my employer because he felt it was extreemly necessary for the survival of his business. In retail sales, often the only thing that sets you apart from a competitor is customer service. To many folks, myself included, it is as important as price. At a place like Kohls, you are buying the same crappy made in China junk that every one else has for sale and probably at the same price. If one place has friendlier employees than the other, I'll choose the pleasant sales staff any day!!!

As a customer, I would probably not have gone to the manager about that particular employee. As others have said, she was not rude, just indifferent. But her attitude does in fact effect future business at Kohls. You will not go there as often. You will mention the "poor customer service" to others. That employee will continue to turn other customers off as well.

This may just be another example of how our American society no longer knows how to be polite. It's such a small thing but so few seem to even care anymore. Just so they get what they want, when they want, that's enough. No "thank you", no "have a great day". nothing. We are so disconnected from each other that what was once considered rudeness in polite society is now considered indifference and is accepted as normal.
 

talkamotta

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I dont know what the particular circumstances were with the employee in the situation of the OP, I wasnt there. I have worked face to face with customers before but not at this time. In my present job, I do go out of my way to help the other people I work with. This is one of the things I am known for.
************
So the last time I had poor customer service. The agent said "Whatever" and hung up on me.

Needless to say this irritated me. I did have her employee # and I emailed the CEO of the company. I explained the conversation and then I informed him that not only was I a customer of 37 years, I owned a great deal of stock and I was an employee for 28 years. That type of behavior would not be tolerated by my superiors or coworkers so why would it be for her.

It made me feel real good. She was a contracted employee with no time invested in this particular company.

There are so many companies that produce the same product and the only thing that stands out is customer service. Customer Service in many companies is an entry level job but they are the face of the company and therefore, hold the security of all employees.
 

Beaglemom3

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I'm thinking of all the so-so service I've had before: banks, surgeons, locksmiths and oh,
RCI guides (and I paid them to be indifferent to me !), to name a few...............:D
 
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mterra

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Walmart has a credit card swiping machine at the checkouts. The first thing it asks you is "were you greeted by your checker." Or something to that affect. I have marked NO on occasion. Good customer service goes a long way. I don't have a problem with you talking to the manager. The other thing you said is that you would comment on interactions with all the check out people good or bad. This way it is not like you are "picking" on 1 person specifically. It is a good study anyway.

Mary
 

Icc5

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Forced where I work

I don't know how customer service is taught anymore at other businesses but when I started where I work 39 years ago you were taught to treat people with respect and the way you expected to be treated.
Today, it is different. We are told what to say, how to say it, how to make eye contact, etc. It is not done anymore because I want to it is done because if we don't do it the way the company demands we get written up and or fired. It is not genuine anymore but a taught response.
I'm not a loud person so if I say hi but the person didn't hear it loud enough and they happen to be a spotter, again, I can be written up.
Where I work, none of us enjoy our job anymore. If we enjoyed it I'm sure mgmt. would again, write us up.
Bart
 

cdn_traveler

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As a manager of a retail store, I love receiving feedback from customers about the service that they have received- both positive and negative ones.

Positive feedback lets me know that a member of my staff have done their job well, and any negative feedback is an opportunity for training.
Good for you OP for speaking up about the service that you received!:clap:

I agree with DeniseM, customer service expectations and the service that's offered definitely varies depending on where you live. It also varies with which store that you are shopping at. The service provided to HOC was an example of a very poorly operated establishment and a poorly trained manager. As far as I know, most stores have an established standard of what good customer service entails.

I don't believe that the customer is always right, but I do believe that the customer is entitled to be treated courteously, and with respect. If a customer has a problem, I personally will do whatever is necessary to help them solve it. However, I do have to say, I am more willing to help customers that reciprocate the courtesy and respect that I give them. ;)
 
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UWSurfer

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Frankly I'm tired of poor customer service and think you were perfectly correct going to the manager.

I spend a great deal of my time being polite to those who I encounter and I don't think it's too much to expect the cashier to acknowledge your presence. Another offense which drives me crazy is when someone rings me up while talking on the phone, especially their cell phone. It means they are not paying attention to me and often prevent me from asking a question because I'd be interupting them.

In reality I rarely complain to a manager about poor service, but on ocassion I'll mention it when it's very poor or more often write an email to the president or owner of the store or chain.
 
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