Did I spell that correctly? Are the worlds still in Webster's dictionary? Could someone please check!

Gosh, I tell you, it does not exist. Truly does not.

I ordered jeans from a local Coldwatercreek store (I need the long stretch jeans) in person, gave my current address, phone, credit, etc. Have not received them yet. History: about 2 weeks b/4 ordering I went to the store to try sizes and ensure I could order them at no extra fee and free shipping. Yes. So 2 weeks later when I found my $25 off $100 coupon, I called the store to ensure the jeans were available and "Tammy" said we do not sale long sizes! Well, bull hockey, they do! I told her to check on it, she huffed and puffed and finally confirmed. I went in the next night and ordered and purchased another item to total the $100. I never received them, turns out that "Tammy" sent them to my old address of 6 years ago! That Witch! I've had two other phone calls with Coldwatercreek, who apologized and noted the situation, yet still waiting on my jeans! Geez.

Took car to Ford dealership Friday as I called 2 days ahead and made an appointment for new tires, 4-wheel alignment, coolant system flush, and check the brakes and call me w/ status of brakes b/4 going forward w/ the later. 5 hours laters and several phone calls w/ no return calls, they are finally taking a look at my car. Long story short, when arriving to p/u & pay for car, they kept me there for an entire hour b/c I complained I had been overcharged $30, I was right! But it took 3 people and the cashier to figure it out! I was fuming! I told them I'd never purchase another vehicle from them! They're response was it had been a busy day in observance of Veteran's Day. I told them, well I'm a veteran and served the Gulf War, thanks for keeping me hostage for an hour for your mistake and horrible customer service.

Locally is an outdoor furniture store that carries Lloyd Flanders, very nice and very expensive. I went in one evening to inquire of future sales, went back during the sale and the salesperson identified me as that woman re: sale dates, and no one would help me, the salespersons just hung at the sales counter talking amongst themselves. Nope, did not make a sale off me!

Wal-Mart employees move so much merchandise, they don't know where anything is! And, I was called a white woman in Wal-Mart! A cashier actually said I had better return the shopping cart to the appropriate location, and called a white woman! What does that mean? Another recent occassion at Wal-Mart, I was in the hunting department looking for socks and no other customers where there at that moment (for horse-back riding), I asked the salesperson if they carried smaller sizes, where he replied very loudly we don't sale hunting equipment for women! Where I very loudly replied that I Do Not Hunt, It Is For Horseback Riding During Colder Weather, by that time the hunting department was full of male customers!

Contacted a local furniture store about sofas and after talking to the saleslady, turns out she had worked at a local Talbots and she described me! I'd not seen her since Dec '04. I told her I was at the web site, yet had questions. She said she would maile me a package. Upon receiving the package, it did not address the question, afterall the furniture store is about an hour from my house, so I called her back re: info she mailed me, and she was very rude saying "and I told you to check the web site" where I replied I have, I'm there now, yet have questions about the sofa! She could not grasp the concept. They do not have that sofa on the floor, so the only way to get info is from the salesperson. Again, no sale there!

Also, I've noticed that when shopping at Victorias Secret and The Limited, the sales associates assist younger ladies.

A local feed/tack store where I purchase horse goods works a saleslady who "hugs" the cash register, rarely moves from that position -- they should pay me for having to move and lift my own large purchases!

Customer Service = self-service.

Customer service has become something they say they offer but really don't.

Return your cart where it's supposed to go? I would have asked for a manager. I always go over their heads when I'm upset.

Maybe the universe is trying to save you money by not allowing you to shop!

Mustang - I love you first line.
Dianne - Maybe the universe is trying to save Mustang money - great thought.

When I am at the checkout, and get no thank you, I find myself saying "Thanks for shopping here!" and then replying "You are welcome!" outloud. It gets some very strange looks.

We need to complain, but rather than complaining about an individual, we need to ask the management to teach the sales people how to provide service. Until management demands it, teaches it and finds a way to reward good service, it ain't gonna happen.

"I told them, well I'm a veteran and served the Gulf War, thanks for keeping me hostage for an hour for your mistake and horrible customer service"

Yeah! give it to 'em, Mustang Gal!

I hardly ever believe a sales man or lady.
90% of the time they don't know their own merchandise. I always go looking for myself, and usually find it. (Not the small shops, I mean the big chain stores) I've given up telling the sales people, "I told you so". Can't waste my time with that.
This has been one of my favourite gripes. It's the same thing here in Germany. Although Germans always praised the service in the States, but times have been a changing. I noticed that after my last visit.
I agree with Anno, where are the managers? Don't they realize they lose so many sales through there untrained personnel?
They must earn too much…there's no other explanation.

Mustang Girl, you are not alone. I've noticed the decline in customer service for a decade. Management doesn't care.
They say they do, but they don't. I think the chain stores have too many sales and make too much money to care. Unless the sales people work on commission they do't make enough money to care. Maybe it was just the last full moon...

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit....

Mustang thats just the way it is and I doubt we'll see a change in our lifetime, if ever....Now you all know why I shop the catalogs, no jackass's to mess with. At least not so far...

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit....

Chatty, can I steal that line from you?

I can't believe this is happening to all of us...across the U.S. and even out of the country.

I just had a screaming match with AT&T phone service tonight...yep, tonight. I got off the phone which has horrible static for 8 days with a customer service rep that was yelling at me through my sentences. I finally said, wait...aren't I the customer here? I have had 4 service calls, 2 of which I had to take time off from work and STILL, MY PHONE IS NOT FIXED! Oops, I am screaming again! Sorry! They have to send a new crew. One guy said he doesn't even believe that the lineman ever really came.

Then, last week I had a little "talk" with assistant manager of the local food chain here in town. This is a large food chain that stretches from Boston out to PA. I was on line with all my groceries on the belt. The Assistant Mgr. was talking with the cashier loud enough for me to hear the whole conversation. He was reprimanding her in front of all the customers. I took him aside and told him that HIS behavior was inappropriate. He should never had spoken to her in public that way, whether he was right and she was wrong, or otherwise. He should have taken her into a private office. He said, "I didn't see you there". What??? My groceries were on the belt and he was making ME, THE CUSTOMER, wait for him to reprimand the cashier for a prior mistake. He then simply walked away, and never said he was sorry.

Finally, this past Sunday, after Mass, I stopped at a bagel shop for coffee and a bagel to take out. The young fellow (about 20) behind the counter began ringing up my purchase and stopped in the middle to turn and horse around with another employee about the fun they had the night before with all their friends. Again...what the heck is going on? No one is considerate with customer service any longer. Seems to me that our work ethics were much different than today.

People no longer expect good customer service. At Rick and June, I'm really fast at replying to emails, getting out orders, answering questions, etc...just what every business should do... and here's a sample quote from one of my customers:

Kathy,
What an absolute delight to actually talk and communicate with a REAL person. You take care also! Elizabeth

See, I think we are just shocked nowadays when we actually DO get good service. Sad, I know.

When I'm a customer, I try to lighten things up with the workers a little. Some of them do get cheerier, but others almost seem like they resent that I'm making the effort to get them out of their doldrums.

Kathy

That's so cute...Chatty, I want to steal your quote too. Can I huh?huh?

Kathy, that's what divides the peas from the pods..(another good quote). I can't have any unanswered email either. When I get a house in to sell, sometimes I do house showings on the very same day. The sellers are always astounded. But it's no big thing, I just do everything right away. Because of this I get a lot of house sale referrals, more than other agents,...now if only the market were better.
Are you an Aries?

Really classic, Chatty! Never heard that one before. Can I quote it as well? Royalties???!!!

Have at it ladies, I got a million of 'em....One for every occassion. I do write greeting cards you know...

Hannelore, I'm an Aquarius - totally. But a card reader once told me my rising sign is Scorpio, which (according to him) means I should have gone crazy long ago since those two signs are opposites and should never be together.

Chatty, my neighbor says that line as well. In fact, her dog is named Biscuits from that line.

In fast food, it's so hard to find good help. Most kids don't want to work or don't need to. So, if you're lucky enough to hire someone, you just pray they stay on, regardless of their work ethic. My girlfriend had five fast food restaurants and there were days she couldn't even open the doors to two of them because there was nobody to work in them. It's very difficult.

I've gotten lousy service from upscale stores at times and I always go to the store manager, if I haven't gotten a good response from the salesperson. I don't know if it does any good but it makes me feel better.

Still having that phone problem and tonight I got through to service after a 25 minute wait. After speaking to a very nice rep for about 10 more minutes, he wanted to connect me to a "specialist" I thought I would finally resolve this problem but guess what? I was disconnected!!!!! I called back and the recording said, "We're sorry, our office hours are between 9 and 5, please call back tomorrow". I am fed up tonight, I will try again tomorrow. Thank goodness for cell phones.

Oh my, this is a very big pet peeve of mine. I was one of those cosmetic sales lady at one time in my life. One of the stores I sold in was Nordstroms, and after working there you become very picking about customer service. In Nordstrom I had sold Estee Lauder and I had customers (husband's as well) who told me that they can get the same thing in any other department store. However, they will not bother because they wanted to come to me, because I was friendly and easy going. BTW, I didn't do anything special, these people were paying my salary, it's natural to treat them with respect.

I will tell you that going to a manager may seem helpful, but for the most part it isn't. With the exception of Nordstroms, other department stores I worked in wouldn't do any good. What happens behind closed doors is the manager may start to make fun of the one who complains and they all have a big laugh over it. It's disgusting really and it bothered me.

It is disgusting and I will let someone know if their service was good or bad. I even told this young girl once, "do not talk to me in a condescending way young lady." She was shocked and started apologizing to me.

There is absolutely no excuse, and it isn't hard to be of good service. If anything, it makes ones day at work even more pleasant and uplifting. At least that's what it always did for me, no matter how bad things would be outside of work. It actually cheers one up when you are good to customers.

BTW, I will vouch for Kathy, I was pleasantly surprised when I received a personal email from her after I ordered from her site. The same with her majesty, JJ. I remember she emailed me right away.

Cheers,
Cathi

I went to Micheals yesterday to buy some paint supplies. I had a 40% off coupon for one regular priced item. I gave it to the clerk right away and she rang up everything. I asked if she had used the coupon, and she pushed it back at me and said "uh, no, but if you want to go to the end of the line and return something, then go to the end of the line and purchase it again with the coupon, that will be okay."

I worked in retail for many years too, and they just don't pay the staff enough to care. There is also little training or incentives to do a good job. Service is out, for the most part.

I am home this morning from work once AGAIN for the telephone repair men. Today, they are sending an outside lineman and an inside wire man to fight in my driveway and determine who should be the lucky technician to fix my phone. This all began on November 5th and we are still at it. Of course, no one offered to take any money off my bill and if I choose to fight over it that would mean more phone calls and being put on hold for however long. I think they need to rewire my whole house outside and in but to convince them of that will not be an easy task. I hope I can get a half day of work in if they come on time, who knows. I feel like cancelling my phone and only using my cell but I still feel a bit uneasy doing that.

Last night late, I had a plumbing problem in my guest bathroom. I called a plumber and his office said they would send someone. Then I get a call from a plumber stating that he can come out tonight but doesn't have the tools he needs on his truck but he can come and see what the problem is, DAH!!! Whats with that? Then the next morning, soon I hope, when he comes back it would be an additional service charge which by the way is $60.00....I said don't come now, wait till morning and come once WITH THE TOOLS YOU'LL NEED and fix the plugged up toilet. Can you believe that? I hate when I have people over and they leave me with a problem.

Plumbing fixed. He was here all of 25 minutes and it cost me $123.00 for him to snake the guest toilet. The snake tool was $14.00 parts) and the labor was $109.00. Lordy if I charged like that in my business; I would already be on the road to riches.

Some of the people you all are describing sound STUPID, like they have no common sense.

This morning I had to call AMX because my I had fraudulent charges on my bill - $1600.00. I did have to wait, but was told exactly how long and I like that. At least you know. I talked to 2 different people and was reassured that the charges will be removed and to not allow it to worry me during the holidays. It was not a bad experience at all.

Geez, I know its all a total rip off! I cancelled my order @ Coldwatercreek. Also, not to hip on JJill b/c the store carries handbags at full price, yet sold on website on sale as clearance! The JJill stores will not honor the website sales! Yet, they will order an item from the website for you! Got really upset @ Dillards this past weekend b/c I signed up for sale advertisements via email, have not received any & the items I was waiting to purchase have done gone on and off sale! I can't stop into Dillards every week, afterall! I closed my Dillards card a few years ago b/c they only have a 30-day return policy, or take your chances at a loss! Thus, although you may purchase an item for yourself, get a gift receipt!

Cathi is right, complaining usually comes to no avail and managers usually laught about it. I've worked retail for the May Company and Belks, both of which have very little respect for their employees, who inturn feel similar, thus high turnover rates.

Girls,
You've hit on one of my MAIN pet peeves. I have two ways to go with this.

If they don't give me the service I ask for, I WRITE TO THE CORPORATE OFFICE. I use to ask to see the manager, and that's fine, but if things didn't change in some cases, or if I got lip service from a manager, I'd go over THEIR heads and either call or write to the home office. Guess what? They listen! It don't pay to make da Queen mad.

The second thing is this...if I get good service, warm fuzzies and all that jazz from a place of business, I ALSO tell the manager, AND write the home office and tell them.

Turn about seems fair play....

The other night I went to a grocery store which I won't name but the initials are PUBLIX. After I finished putting all of my groceries on the conveyor belt, and then after I bagged them as she slung them DOWN the conveyor belt, and turned around to swipe my card in the payment thingy...the cashier was two steps ahead of me and starting pushing buttons before I could hit the appropriate ones. She then said, "Sorry, now you'll have to swipe it again." Like it was my fault. THEN....I swiped the card and started to enter the correct pin and there she goes, pushing the freakin' buttons again.

She said, "whoops!" I said, "Listen, are you getting off work in a few minutes?" She said, "no." I said, "Do you see anybody behind me waiting?" Again the answer was "no." I said, "Then stop rushing me. What's you're freakin' hurry? Fast does not necessarily make competent, got it? I may be slower than what you want me to be, but I'm tired from doing YOUR job!"

Okay girls, the telephone is STILL NOT FIXED. Do you hear me screaming!!!!!!!!! Yes, since Nov. 5th, two half days taken off from work for these morons that come prancing in with Work Order sheets that all they care about is that I sign them so they can leave. They say there are cable line problems, wire problems, water in the ground problems, all equaling static and a humming. But they can't seem to fix it. And, I just learned that if you feel you deserve a credit on your phone bill you have to call that same God forsaken phone # and hang on for 20-40 minutes to tell them yourself. There is no automatic credit and of course, the repair department cannot give your request to the billing department because that is not allowed. You have to call them yourself. I am ready to write to the FCC. They tell me now that by Nov. 22nd, they feel it will be fixed. Let's see.

JJ...I fully agree about the letter writing. Three weeks ago I sent a very nice letter to our Cable Company complimenting the service guy. They called to say they were putting the letter in his file, which is what I wanted to happen. But guess what...my cable is now doing the same thing...snow, and jerkiness due to the digital service! I told hubby we have to sell this house and buy another just to rectify our phone and TV problems!

Pam, we had problems after getting HD. Is this the same problem you're having?

I'm going to have an all-out-war with the carry out guys at my grocery store. They ask if I want paper or plastic and I say plastic. Then, they argue with me! I have to have plastic so I can shove them into this little cart and roll it up to our flat. I don't think I should be required to explain it to them.

Kathy, I still expect good customer service, which could explain why I'm dissapointed so often. JJ, I also tell them when someone does a good job and they are always surprised. I've worked in customer service and nobody calls to tell you what a good job someone does. Maybe customer service went bad because so many customers (not us) are mean and rude...just a thought.

Saundra, I do that too. In fact, I often embarrassed my kids if they were with me because I will talk to the employees and try to brighten their day or tell them what a good job they are doing or how helpful they are.

And if I see a parent taking the extra time to talk to their child patiently or something, I always tell them too. Someone did that long ago for me, when I was in the grocery store, and it made such an impact that I still share similar comments with others today.

My son was only about 3, and he wanted to pull things off the shelves. I got down on my knees and talked calmly and patiently to him and he listened and behaved. A woman came up and said she wished more people talked to their kids that way instead of screaming at them. She said this type of patience will show later when the child grows up. And it has!

This morning I can b---h! I tried to get online and Juno popped up a message that I exceeded my ten hour limit. What?!?!?! I pay for this service - over one year now and I can't use it?!?!?! Two phone calls: 1. So sorry, no manager available. Remember, with outsourcing I speak to people in India. 2. 2nd call and I got a manager (1 hour on phone by now) who told me to uninstall and reinstall and explained how to do that. It worked. But 1st they tried to get me to call customer service so I would have to pay for this information. Drat! Ruined my early morning work list.

Well, heres one for you. I signed up for a new email address on Google yesterday and they sent me a verification email, but I don't know where (or how) to go to get the email they sent me to the new Google address. Ain't that a crock or is it just me???

Well, I need that chuckle, Chatty. Sorry, I know it's frustrating. I bet Kathy can help you.

Chatty, send me your current email, via a PM and I will send you an invite to gmail. You should have no problem after this.

Thanks Anno but I have to have the email on Google for a business proposition I said yes to...I just don't know how to retrieve the darn thing.

Saundra, if Juno is dial up, then deleting your Cookies w/in your windows documents is helpful, too.

FedEx sucks! I sent a business package 2-day priority delivery on 11/22 thinking it would arrive 11/24 (east to west coast). When I prepared the ship form online, it did not indicate Thanksgiving did not count! SO, the customer called one of our attorneys, who called me wanting to know where the package was! So I logged on and FedEx indicates that I sent not one package, but 5! I only sent one package and the shipment history indicates the package was delivered to Memphis on Thanksgiving day! Thus, it was actually moving, handled and in transit on Thanksgiving Day. Called FedEx and after holding a good long while, the individual says FedEx was closed on Thanksgiving, yet my question is, why was the package actually moved between stations and not being delivered until Monday? The client is very upset! Won't be a good Monday for me!

Oh boy Mustang, try to let it just roll off like water off the ducks back. It isn't the end of the world and shouldn't stress you too much since you did all the right things. Just one more example of shoddy customer care/service.

Okay, my turn to vent. I have a client in town that has a cute little shop. I built her website and taught her how to run her online store. She now manages it all herself and is doing just fine.

While we were building her site and working through the learning curves, I allowed her to pay very low monthly payments. (I also gave her a discounted rate) And then last year when she owed me the final $800, I allowed her to pay me half of it in $400 in merchandise from her store. (That would have saved her about $200)

So last night I bought a sweater from her, along with some other goodies. Today I decided I didn't like the sweater - there was a scratchy interior place from the embroidery on it. When I went to return it, she wouldn't allow a refund - only a store credit. (and I had bought everything I wanted last night when I bought the sweater)

She said she's too small and can't afford to take returns. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it - she wasn't budging. All I could think about as I steamed out of there were all the months I carried her payments while I worked on her website.

I didn't argue today, but I WILL go back and talk to her this week. I think that's incredibly rude to ask one business to be flexible but not be flexible yourself. If I go back and she still doesn't give me the refund, I'm afraid I won't shop there at all anymore. And if she needs additional website help, it will be at my increased rates that start in January.

Am I too harsh? Sure doesn't seem so now. Such a simple thing - refund $40 on a sweater. But nope, no can do.

Kathy, I would be just as peeved as you are. It never ceases to astound me how cold and calculating some people are. I've experienced that time and time again.
You are not at all too harsh! Figure that her business won't be a success if she has that attitude.

If she wants this to be a business deal, no more discounts or time to pay in installments. I'd treat her the way she treated you. It can get sticky doing business.

After reading my post again this morning, it sure seems I got riled up over a relatively small thing. (PMS - could it be??) But I do feel she's wrong in expecting me to be flexible, yet she can stick to her rules. Live and learn, huh?

Mustang, I love cookies (I still don't know what they are). It is dial-up and I had to uninstall and reinstall and now it's fine. Thank you.

Ok, this is a good place for my computer stories:

1. Waited 45 minutes on phone for tech help. "We at Dell know your time is valuable. We are experiencing high call volume. A representative will assist you shortly" repeated 90 times in a blastingly loud and tinny recorded voice. Then tech help came on and was very impatient. He asked me to pull out and then reconnect all the computer plugs. Unfortunately, I pulled out the phone plug as well, and got disconnected. BTW, one of the first things he asked was "what is your phone # so I can call you back if we get disconnected?" Does ANYONE here think he called back?

2. I took the computer into BestBuy to save the contents of my hard drive before installing a new one. The next day I got a call from tech help (and the Geek Squad is great!) saying that I had 10x more files than would fit on a disk, and what did I want to do? I decided to buy an external hard drive to put the info on, and I specified which one and asked if I should pay for the extra drive now. "No, just pay for it when you pick up your computer." When I came for the computer 2 days later, the external drive had gone up $50 (it had been on sale.) The cashier couldn't change the price. The geek guy wanted to give me the price but didn't have the authority. The floor manager came out and gave me this whole 20 minute song and dance about sale prices and how they couldn't charge over the phone, even though when my files were transferred to the drive, it essentially was mine.

Then I got on the store phone to corporate customer service (at least 15 minutes wait.) The guy was giving me the same song/dance routine for 15 more minutes. Finally I said, "If I wanted to waste my time dealing with management with an intransigent attitude, I would've gone to Frye's (a local competitor). BestBuy has a good reputation, and frankly, you're not living up to it." All of a sudden he got nicer. He said if I couldn't resolve the issue in-store, he'd send me a gift $50 certificate. So he gave me the names of the head manager, head of that store's customer service, and a few other people.

When I called the head manager, he was very nice and said to come back to the store and he'd take care of it. Which he did, simply and swiftly, by keying in "price match." Which the floor manager could've done without wasting all my time.

SEE? SEE? This is why we are ALL going back to small businesses...the giants are hiring anybody who can wear a white shirt and black tie, or a blue apron. It doesn't matter if they can speak English or not, or whether they have a record as serial killer, just so they show up and they have a quota of reps on the floor.

You? Who are you, Mr. and Mrs. Customer? Who the heck do you think you are interrupting the cashier at the grocery store as she relives Saturday night to the girl/boy/mutant bagging your groceries. How dare you insist she pay attention to YOUR order as she swipes the same item five times!

How dare you ask one of those people wearing the apron that says, "My job is to help YOU!" which aisle the baby food is on. Can't you read the sea of signs above your head? The ones that haven't been changed since the store opened and DON'T HAVE THE ITEMS LISTED THERE ON THAT PARTICULAR AISLE? HOW DARE YOU....

How dare you ask for a refund Kathy after you have done everything but give that woman FREE service....all in order to help her accomplish her dream of owning her own biz....just so she can bite the hand that FED HER.

Sigh....yeah, how dare we?

Do ANY of these people EVER stop and think where THEY would be if we didn't dare?

Sorry....but it's time we forced CUSTOMER SERVICE to be a real thing.

Anne, may the fleas of a thousand camels fly up her nose.

Amen to small businesses. I love supporting them this time of year. There are certain items I need to get at Macy's or Best Buy, but when there's a chance to buy from small businesses, I'm all over it. I've gotten quite a few gifts from small businesses this year. And they are some of my favorite ones. Seems I can usually find really neat, different gifts in small stores.

I was in a big department store the other night and, naming no names but it rhymes with CHEERS, was looking around the appliance area, along with several other shoppers. Nary a salesperson in sight. When I had made my decision, I couldn't find a boxed-up version of the item in view and had to hunt down a salesperson. There they were, four of them, chatting to each other off in a corner (and NOT about business, either, just social chitchat). I finally pried one loose to handle the sale.

What really blew my mind is that these were NOT teenagers, but four middle-aged adults. I know these people work on commission. Here it was, Christmas-shopping time when more sales are made for small appliances than any other time of the year, and they were completely unaware of their customers. I don't get it.

They don't C-A-R-E. Period. They are just drawing a paycheck. The work ethics of yesteryear have gone down the toilet. I thank the good Lord above that I taught my children to C-A-R-E! They both have excellent work habits and are kind to their elders, children, and animals. I count myself blessed.

But let's give a cheer to Publix grocery store. I went in there the other night looking for Cedarlane frozen foods. This would save me from going to Wally World...which you KNOW I hate! I couldn't find them and asked a young clerk (two boys stocking shelves). He said "I think they are over there" as he points to the aisle two over from us. I said, "Could you show me? I've looked and can't find them." Instead of looking disgusted because I had interrupted them, he said, "Sure!" We both looked and couldn't find them and I noticed him slip away. I thought, "So much for that!"

A few minutes later, here comes a manager. He says, "My worker tells me you're trying to find ___". I said yes. He said, we're out right now. Would you mind stopping by the counter on your way out? I said no, no problem...he also recommended another brand and said it was as good as Cedarlane so I bought a couple of them. He was right! They are called AMY.

Anyway, I stopped by the counter and he showed me where he had placed an order for Cedarlane, just for me. He took my home phone number and said he would call as soon as they came in.

CUSTOMER SERVICE is alive and well, living in Madison, AL....THANK YOU PUBLIX!

I feel the same way about the Harris Teeter supermarkets. I absolutely HATE grocery shopping, but their stores are always clean, bright, well-stocked, and loaded with helpful clerks - at least the two stores near me are. Sadly, they are also a more expensive grocery store....

Wow JJ, did you pinch yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming...

I wrote a letter of complaint to the pres. of a grocery store where I shopped. He actually came to my house with two beautiful steaks! Can you believe it? It was a very serious issue that he wanted resolved.

This kind of fits in here. I had a rather bizarre thing happen while Christmas shopping at the mall today. First, I did a lot of shopping and encountered smiles and pleasant customer service everywhere I went, which made the day much easier to get through. Secondly, I went into the office supply store to buy some printer cartridges (they're on someone's Christmas list), and decided to go with the compatible store brand. When I got to the cashier, I was informed that because I bought two store brand cartridges, I would get a free Lexmark printer. Now is that bizarre or what??! I couldn't believe it, and started laughing. I wouldn't be so surprised at getting a free cartridge if I bought a printer, but getting a free printer because I bought two cartridges? LOL. Anyway, I asked him "what's WRONG with the printer to make you give them away like this?" His face reddened a bit and he said, "oh they're great little printers - refurbished, but they work!"

So hubby was delighted, until I told him we couldn't give a "refurbished" printer away as a Christmas gift - we can still give it away, just not as a gift!

Isn't it funny how when one thing goes right, other things seem to follow? How cool is that?

The printers are cheap, it's the INK that's expensive!!

What a pleasant surprise. Woohoo!

What a nice Christmas bonus for you! I can only buy my Dell ink online. Kind of a pain.

Eagle one of my moms favorite sayings is "when it rains, it pours" and that can be attributed to good or bad luck. High five to you for your good luck....

Ladies, ladies, ladies.......please. I am a customer service representative for a high end vehicle warranty roadside assistance program. You would know immediately who it is and who their association is with.

From my perspective, we are highly trained. I just attended a class on my day off on how to manage our own lives while trying to give the best customer service to others.

While I can understand your frustration, let me tell you about the people I work with and their lives in dealing with you.

Most of the people I work with only get paid $8-10 an hour. Most of them are either in college to be nurses or whatever. At least half, if not more are parents and many are single parents whose daycares charge $100 a wk at least. They drive metiocre cars that only run about half the time and live in apartments they have to share with someone else because they can't afford one on their own.

They have to order their food from McDonald's or pizza places and have it delivered to the door. They have to listen to people who paid $70,000 for a vehicle and don't even know how to turn it on........duhhhhh Most of the people they serve have vehicles with flat tire monitors...half the time you ask them if they got out to see if the tire is really flat and they say, "I have to do that?" duhhhhhh
While your customer service rep is wondering where the next mortgage or rent payment is coming from and worrying that their McJob will be sent overseas to India or Mexico to fatten the vehicle owner's corporation's bottom line so they can afford to buy one of those expensive vehicles for their son or daughter leaving for Princeton.......
Most of them don't even bother to read the owner's manual...duhhhhh What person pays that much for a vehicle and doesn't even read the owner's manual?
Don't get me wrong, I'm one of those who bends over backwards to help people who come in on my line because I consider each one of them a family member and try not to take it personally when they jump in my sh%%$$ about their lack of instant gratification.
I can tell you, we receive no less than 50 calls a day sometimes a lot more and are trained to treat each and every call as if it were our only one.
We have strick dress codes, have to sit in cubicles facing the wall with no stimulation other than the internet which we aren't allowed to access...we work crosswords if it gets slow, which it rarely does, and our only bright spot of the day is our interaction with eachother and our breaks which are two 15 min breaks and a 1/2 hr for lunch, during which time we sit on the commode to relieve ourselves while checking on our families via cellphone, which we aren't allowed to have at our desks, while munching on a bag of chips...
I call it multitasking...

Oh, and my poor supervisors...they only get paid about a dollar more an hour and have to run around taking the really nasty calls where the person on the other end acts like they know your job better than you do and calls you names that would make a sailor blush.
We can only do so much. We depend on others who may or may not rise to the occasion, the police are often called in and have their own agenda, we can only work within the guidelines of the companies policies with very few exceptions and still we get degraded, humiliated, talked down to and unappreciated.
Its so nice to hear someone on the other end say, "Thank you so much! You've been very helpful!" Its like a cool drink to a parched throat.
Instant gratification is something we drive thru McDonald's for. Sometimes the person on the other end of the line has just left the hospital with a sick mate or child. They just learned today that the baby they are carrying may have serious health problems, the finance company is coming to take their only means of transportation to and from work away for lack of payment.
That CSR is a person too and if you don't want to find a hair in your soup, or worse....try to treat them as such.