I am so SICK TO DEATH of there being no customer service ANYWHERE anymore!!! This is the story of the straw that broke the camel's back:

I ordered books from IDENTITY DIRECT in OCTOBER for all the kids I know for X-mas. They're personalized books with the kids names, birthdays, friend's names and city they live in. I ordered TEN books at $170. I called today to see where they were as I was leaving for home December 18 (on an airplane). They said they phoned me in October to tell me I had left out one piece of information, and since then they haven't done any of the order because they can't process it all until they have all the information. So NONE of the books are done and there's a pretty good chance I won't get any of them by the time I leave. I said I didn't receive a message on my answering machine. They said it's written right down that they called me. I said well, you didn't - and this little circle of conversation went on for five minutes. I kept saying I'm not going to get them in time and this is not MY fault, it's YOURS, and what are you going to do about it. They kept "apologizing" (yeah, that's what they said - "I apologize" - but did it sound like one? NO) and said well, we didn't receive all the information and it takes 21 days to process. They would not budge. I said I wanted to talk to the manager. No manager. After five more minutes of me complaining, surprise, they found the supervisor to talk to. The supervisor said I WAS PARTLY TO BLAME since I ordered it in October and I was just calling now!!!!! AND I was also partly to blame since I left out one piece of information (my kid's birthday). I couldn't believe the gall of this person to say I was partly to blame. How am I to blame? I'm the CUSTOMER!!! If I left something out, someone should have contacted me!!! I said I didn't receive the message - maybe they DID call SOMEONE and left a message, but it wasn't on MY machine. Then she said usually they send a letter out if they don't get a call back. I DIDN"T GET A LETTER!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! She said they can e-mail too. I said I DIDN'T GET AN E-MAIL!!!!! So basically they left a message on SOMEONE's machine somewhere, no one called back (this is ONE MONTH AGO), and they left it at that. They have my money, but they're not going to even try to get a hold of me again to see what's up. I said it's a good thing I did call now to see where my stuff was. And I swear to God, this whole conversation went around and around in circles. We kept saying the same things. They didn't suggest trying to get it out earlier, they didn't suggest sending it via courier (even at my expense which I probably would have paid for seeing how it's X-mas presents for LITTLE CHILDREN!!!), they "apologized" but you know how those apologies are - they are NOT apologies - and I told them that too. I said, "You're not apologizing, if you were apologizing you'd sound sorry and try to do something about it. So that's where it's at - ABSO"F"INGLUTELY NOWHERE!!!!!!!! So they F'd up MY X-mas presents to my kid, my nieces, nephews, friend's kids, and that's it. I told them I am VERY upset, I will NEVER order anything from them again, and I will tell EVERYONE I know. So I'm starting with you. Please warn everyone you know. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!!!

The question of customer service is, I think, complicated by the fact that some people are rude, some places are understaffed, and sometimes you find people, and they can be found on either side of the counter, who are just plain bone dumb.

Stupid or undertrained people are not going be capable of giving a customer good service. No one is going to be able to squeeze answers out of an idiot. And it is difficult for someone in customer service to find him or herself stuck in the situation of being able to successfully provide assistance to an idiot. It is both frustrating and time-consuming. In fact the activity may result in eating up enough time that it results in keeping other people waiting, including the rude person.

Wise people know that honey works better than vinegar but not all people are wise or kind. There are many arrogant and rude customers out there. Generally speaking, they figure that they have the right to give attitude because they view themselves as being more valuable than the one who is helping/serving them. I don't approve of dissing folks for no good reason and I personally tend to think that giving attitude can result in Very Bad Things happening to the one who Disrespects. For example: I have heard of restaurant workers spitting in the food of those who give them prickish treatment; and certainly rude people who are asking for your help will only get it........only eventually, eh.

But, that being said, customers can also find themselves on the receiving end of rudeness. Women clients often find themselves dissed by male help, especially when they are shopping in the so-called man's sphere, old people are often ignored by young people, then there is that racial disrespect, and fat folk are dissed by normos. None of this is right, is it?

And sometimes some of us don't feel that we are getting the treatment that we receive but we must realise that this has nothing to do with those who are there to provide us with service and everything to do with understaffing, a situation which may be a temporary glitch or chronic to the company.

Though my own approach is to commence by being very respectful when I need customer service I have ended by showing my claws. In general I try not to act the monster with front line personnel but I admit that I have been a very bad bitch from time to time. If I am not too insensible with rage I will make a point of apologising and asking to be transferred to a supervisor. I do, however, remember 30 hours of telephonic violence when dealing with my electrical company after our rented hot water heater burst and they did nothing about it apart from acknowledge that it was broken and that they were gonna fix it. This despite the fact that the damn thing was spewing water (they had turned off the heat at least) all over my tenant's flat!

I did blog the entire event and I named names. I did the same thing when my bank screwed up business in their handling of their share of my mother's estate. I a) kicked up a big stink not only took the account away from them but made a point of letting them know the dollar value of what they were losing out on and c) blogged the whole sorry event, naming names. As it happened, while I was ranting and raving about my idiot bank - and we only have the big 5 in Canada - a cousin and a close friend told me their tales of recent frustrations with the same bank. For sure I included these tales of idiocy on my blog. :heh:

I will tell you that my own personal approach whenever I initially engage with those folks in customer service is to have all of my ducks in a row. This is to say that I will have all the necessary papers, the receipts, credit cards, yadda yadda, with me. This saves time for everyone and also displays that I certainly have my sh!t together. I will, for this very same reason, have a pad of notepaper and a pen or pencil at hand if I am doing the telephone walk. These are the basics of taking care of business. It is disrespectful to phone up customer assistance and then ask your rep to wait while you hunt for the necessary info.

I find myself growing real cranky when I have made a point of having all my ducks in a row before phoning and then find myself launched into some kind of nightmare of incompetance land. This happens. The smart grrl or boy, the one who has done all the homework, finds herself spending up to 2 to 3 hours drifting around hellotellophoneLand, endlessly repeating the same damn story. Yup, it seems that the history of Joseph K was perhaps a little too prescient, eh. [read Kafka] Oh, ugh!

At the same time I have watched nice people in the service industry savaged by jerks. Why, this happened the last time I saw the fill folk at my lapband centre! I was there because I needed a complete defill because of the acid reflux biz. When the nurse entered the waiting room and called for the defill patient I put up my hand. She was about to take me but then there was an ugly commotion. It seemed that there was another patient who had booked a defill and who had arrived before me. Though she had not indicated that she was also there for a defill when the nurse had initially asked she immediately got real pissy when she saw that I was going to be treated first. That she had the right to go before me certainly did not bother me. There was no reason why it should.

But when the nurse brought me in for my defill a few short minutes later she was awfully apologetic for the wait. She was also very upset. I told her to calm down, that I wasn't bothered by the wait and couldn't see why anyone would be.

Well, it appeared that she had been savaged by her previous customer and she was left feeling pretty shattered by this experience. She was expecting more of the same from me and this very nice and competent woman, a woman who is likely in her early to mid 30s, was oh so relieved when I treated her in the fashion that people usually treat each other. It is always disturbing to come across an intelligent and competent adult who has just gone through an experience of being (emotionially speaking) whipped like a cur and who then regards you as being a "lovely" human being simply because you treat them with the normal dose of respect.

Sorry for the long post, eh. :bounce:

I'll agree that there are PLENTY of jerk customers, but, "I" don't deserve to be treated rudely just because the ninety-nine people ahead of me were jerks.

Most of the public jobs I've held in my life were retail, or in some capacity customer service based. I had plenty of customers who made me want to gnash my teeth and tear out my hair. But you deal with the average customer less than 10 minutes. I'm no Meryl Streep, but I can FAKE being courteous to you for at least 15 minutes.

That's all I'm asking for. Humor me, don't talk down to me and for pity's sake, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME.

I'm a customer who is quick to alert management if there is a spill on the floor, or a stall out of toilet tissue, etc. It's just part of who I am. They can't fix what they're unaware of. And I always do it in the most courteous and non-threatening way I can. One day I took my GrandDoll to CiCi's pizza. She liked the pink lemonade, but all that came out was goopy pink syrup. So I got her Sprite instead.

There was no manager in sight, so I went up to the most mature adolescent present and said, "Just wanted to let you know that the pink lemonade isn't working right."

Without even making eye contact he barked at me -- "That's just the way it is. There's no carbonation."

Sheesh -- does Alfalfa honestly think I don't know that LEMONADE is non-carbonated...?

"Yes, but you don't understand, all that's coming out is pink syrup."

Again I get "That's just the way it is, it doesn't fizz."

We went through a couple more rounds of this before someone else walked up behind me and said, "The pink lemonade is messed up.

"That's just the way it is, it's not carbonated."

I walked away and left the newcomer to deal with it.

But I'm thinking, he's worse than lazy, he's just DUMB, because it would have taken WAY less energy to just say, "Oh, thank you Ma'am, I'll check that out." and I would have walked away content I had accomplished my good deed for the day and he could think me a moron all he wanted to.

I didn't need his condescenscion.

Whoops...sorry, didn't realize I was still so bitter over that incident.

This is where my rage issues would have kicked in and I would have snarled something to the effect of "listen, you pimple, I've had the lemonade before and I know that it is not carbonated. The machine is broken! Get it? Broken!!!"

I agree that some people are horrible to sales clerks, and those people don't deserve service. Myself, I ALWAYS treat everyone with courtesy and patience - at first, even if they are being jerks to me. I think people get what's coming to them. If customers treat clerks badly, then why should they be treated good? Totally agree with that.

When I have lost it (which I could count on the fingers of one hand), is in situations like this where it seems like they're butting heads with you because they can - they've got your money, and honestly they don't about you or your problem. People in customer service are there to do pretty much just that, if they can, to help the customer, to be polite to the customer, to have good manners, basically to be a good person, just to be humane is all I ask for - especially if the customer is nice to them!!

My husband phoned back (because I figured I wasn't getting anywhere), he got the manager, and she agreed totally I was not to "blame" as the supervisor told me I was, and that I should still get the books on time. She talked to us both nicely, understood our problem, was sorry that this had happened, but there wasn't too much she could really do about it. HUGE difference between her and the previous two people. Same outcome though. But that's all I needed, just to be treated as a fellow human being with courtesy and respect.

By the way, when she looked at the order, it was STILL on HOLD and was still not going to be processed - gee, I wonder why that was. Even though I still may not get the books on time, at least she listened to me, heard the problem, and didn't dismiss me.

It's just all in how a person is treated. You can say the words, talk the talk, but you know when you're being treated fairly or dismissively just by the tone of voice, the actions of the clerk (rolling eyes or smiling, sympathetic or couldn't care less attitude, sighing and moving in slow motion or phoning someone else if they can't fix the problem).

And when all else fails there's always karma.

I would imagine that the reason your husband got somewhere when you didn't was simply because he's male, to be honest. There are a lot of people out there that will be very nasty to women customers who are complaining, simply because they think women are push-overs who aren't willing to take part in a confrontation. Men, on the otherhand, are much more likely to be treated with respect, in many cases.

Oh, and has anyone ever been to this website before? It's a blog community where people working in customer service post about the horrid customers that they have. It's rather interesting and eye-opening.

I would imagine that the reason your husband got somewhere when you didn't was simply because he's male, to be honest. There are a lot of people out there that will be very nasty to women customers who are complaining, simply because they think women are push-overs who aren't willing to take part in a confrontation. Men, on the otherhand, are much more likely to be treated with respect, in many cases.

I totally agree with that. That's why I got him to phone!

I'm on my way to check out that web site.

Ohhh my goodness, I could post stories here for days.

First, I never realized just how bad Wal-mart was until about a month ago. Since I moved out on my own when I was 17, I always went to Wal-Mart for everything. I've always lived near a 24/7 one, so it was extremely convenient. So that's what I do. I bussle through the crowds, and stand in hour long lines at check out, with the horribly slow and doesn't-give-a-shit-minimum-wage-paid-employee. And they can't be bothered to bag your stuff anymore. I've come not to expect much at stores.

A month ago, we went to Publix on the way home from work because it was on the way. It was very busy. We go to check out, and there it is.. 2 open lines. Open lines, what is that?! I've never seen such a thing. I think, surely they are express lanes..and my big buggy wouldn't be welcome. But no, they are just normal lines. Wow. Just, wow. So now, I go to Publix for groceries. They not only bag it, but offer to take it out for you. Ok, flash to the DAY BEFORE T'DAY. Yes, my mom is one of those people.. that forget something till the day before. So we go out to Publix, with quite a bit in her cart.. and we're in line.. 2 people back, but that's really not bad compared to Wal-Mart. The manager actually walks up to us and says he'll get us on the next line. Wow.

Now onto nightmares. DirecTV actually gives me anxiety when I get their stupid flyers in the mail. We had satellite, signed the year contract. We had 3 new receiver boxes (free with contract). 1 month into it, our boxes stopped working. It would just be pink screens, green screens, etc. We called them, they tried walking us through some stuff.. it fixes. 2 weeks later, starts up again. Now mind you, everytime we call you have to go through the tiers. Repeat the whole story every time. They decide to send someone out to work on it (about 3 months into the contract). He shows up, says WE were suppose to receive something in the mail from DirecTV for him to work with. No one told us. Called them (explained story over and over), someone finally says they're sending it now. Have to reschedule with worker. They come back out, and essentially he can't fix it. DTV now says, they'll send us new receivers.. but it's $200 each. I got SO mad, I told them how THEY sent us messed up receivers, *I* am not paying for more. All this time, our boxes keep messing up, and we spend HOURS on the phone with them, they literally would hang up on us when we asked to speak to someone higher up, we'd call back, sit on hold, get hung up on again, etc. They finally said they'd send us REFURBISHED receivers for free. Kind of sucked, the display was bad compared to the new ones that didn't work. But I got over it. By the time they fixed it, we were about 7 months into the contract. In 5 months contract was up, and we were getting rid of DTV for the shit customer service they had. I let them know too, I wrote corporate and told them the entire story. Never got a response. Anyway, 5 months is up, and we are moving, I call to cancel it.. and they said, when we sent the refurbished boxes they renewed our contract for another year! THE HELL THEY DID! I said, I knew long before we got those that I was never using DTV again in my life, I would have under NO circumstances EVER agreed to renew a contract with your POS company. I said, I never signed or agreed to anything. After some more talking to people, they finally agreed to cancel the contract for free. But low and behold, we got a cancellation bill a month later. I called and said I refused to pay for it, of course that conversation was not logged into our account, etc. etc. I ranted some more, they finally dropped the bill, and I am never in my life getting DTV again. So I get these flyers in the mail now to get DTV and I get angry all over again!

And World Moving Services AKA National Relocation Services.

Shame on me, for looking up movers online. I was getting quotes. They were mid-priced. They kept calling me (2 months before our move), and we were moving near a holiday.. so we went over the timeline. Our house was rented, the guy was moving back from Japan (military) and his family was with him, they needed it on the 1st. So I told the moving company (one listed above) our stuff had to be out NO LATER than the 30th (planned to clean on 31st). I was talking to a supervisor named Steve (damn Steve). We went over the dates they had available. He said 21-26th was open. Perfect! We'd just live on the floor till we decided to drive from New Mexico to Alabama. I told him even if they miss 26th, no later than 30th. He guarantee'd I'd be out of there by the 30th. So I pay him the deposit (nearly 2k).

21st comes and goes. I call them, they are closed for the holidays, 22&23 was a weekend-closed. 24th (monday) comes.. no word. Call them, they said they're trying to find the movers (apparently they contract it out, they actually do NOTHING but rip you off more money). 25th comes. Then the 26th. Now, it's the 31st. Just to say, we did get the contract a month prior, and the contract says "Pick Up Date: 21-26"

So.. 31st is here, I'm panicking. We have to get out, we have to clean, our lease is up, the owner has his family flying in and needs to get into the house.

Moving company says.. their mover is in Arizona, and will be there tomorrow. I am so mad you wouldn't want to be anywhere near me Steve was unavailable of course. But, they said "If you read the fine print, no dates are 'IMPLIED' or 'GUARANTEED'". No friggin way. 1. Steve GUARANTEED the date. Otherwise, I would never have given him a deposit. Steve was never able to take my call again. 2. The CONTRACT has dates on it, at the VERY least that is 'implied'.

So.. they're just a horrible scam company.

I ended up calling the movers that were in Arizona myself. Local UHauls couldn't give us a truck on such short notice (we were going to load it up and take it to a parking lot so we could get out of the house), called movers, no one could accomodate on a 1 hour notice. So the movers in Arizona, said oh yeah we're behind.. sorry we're tired. We said.. we will give you an additional $500 if you can be here TONIGHT.

Wouldn't you know, even though we were paying 6k to move, $500 is what they needed to actually show up, now 5 days late anyway. They arrived at 1am on the 1st, were out of there by 3:30am. Then had to bust our asses cleaning the house till 6am, and then hit the road for a 24 hours drive to Alabama.

We had paid extra for things like mattresses to be in a sanitary box, etc. They were to unassemble, and reassmble on delivery. They did not reassmble ANYTHING. It's in the contract that we paid them to. When I asked him why they weren't reassmbling (and he didn't know English very well I may throw in here), he said it's too dangerous for them to put stuff together. Uh huh.

When I reported them when it was all said and done to the BBB, I also complained to the main company about how they screwed me on pick up dates, but $500 BRIBE got them there. The driver said it was his 'Tip'. Heh yeah, I was gonna tip..before they did anything.. when they were 5 days late and putting me through hell.

So there you have it.. don't ever use this company, I found out (too late) they're all over ripoff.com for scamming people.

Now that I posted a mini-novel

That's just my 2 worst stories.

Many many moons ago I went out to start my car and it was dead. Had it towed to Goodyear and they said it was the battery. Replaced the battery, got the car home, the next day I went out to start it and it was dead. Had the car towed to Goodyear and they said it was the alternator. Had that replaced, got the car home, next day went out to start it and it was dead. I called Goodyear and they suggested I have it towed in and they would fix it. I was not happy, I explained they would be having it towed in. They did, they said it was a bunch of belts and such. They fixed those, got the car home and the next day it was dead.

I was very angry!

Took the car to someone else and it turns out the whole problem was a $0.10 bolt that holds the stand the battery sits in to the car. Each time I would go to start the car the engine shakes a bit, loosens that bolt, the connections were lost and THAT was the problem. This was about 20 years ago. So I had a $350 or so bill with Goodyear on my Goodyear credit card and all that time it was a 10 cent bolt.

I called Goodyear and told them what was going on. They suggested that I return all the parts they installed and they would refund my credit my credit card. I asked if they would be returning my original parts and they said of course not, they were gone. ???

Long story short... I threw a fit. For three years I would continue to fight this. My credit was trashed because I refused to pay the bill and I didn't care, I was not paying them $350 for putting unneeded parts in my car and never actually fixing the problem.

I kept climbing the food chain of Goodyear. I kept getting nowhere.

Finally I asked for the CEO of Goodyear, keep in mind this was three years of fighting. I got to his secretary and then my climb came to a dead stop. She informed me that he doesn't "speak to people" like me. Huh? I'm a customer with a three year long battle. Goodyear admits they put unneeded parts in my car, my credit is trashed, and he doesn't speak to people like me? Do I have a disease or something?

Then I was really angry.

I called the library in the city where the CEO lives and asked them to look up in the city directory his home address and phone number. Not sure if you can still do that but in those days you could. They gave me the info I was looking for.

I called the CEOs wife and apologized profusely for bothering her but I was at my wits end and I was hoping she could help. I told her my story and as the graceful and classy lady she was, she listened. When I was done she explained that her husband would never tolerate such behavior and if he knew, he would not be happy. Apparently he had a theory about customer service and it had to do with a stool with three legs. There are three components to customer service and if you remove one of those components, the stool falls over and it doesn't work.

She suggested I write her husband a letter, tell him what I told her, refer to the stool with three legs, and ask for assistance. She further suggested I send the letter to their home and she would see to it that he read my letter.

I did. I sent a 3 page letter explaining what happened. I mentioned the stool concept. I explained that if I had to pay the $350 it would not be to Goodyear, instead I would get 20 of my female friends and each Saturday we would stand in front of various Goodyear stores warning potential customers of what Goodyear does to female customers. I would spend that $350 in small ads in various newspapers throughout the country (personals section) explaining what Goodyear does to female customers. I would tell the world of my experiences. I also promised him that if he fixed my problem I would never bother he or another Goodyear employee again and I would never step foot in another Goodyear store. I would never hassle, harass, or pester them again. I sent this letter to his wife at their home address.

Shortly after I received a hand written letter from the CEO of Goodyear. He apologized for hand writing the letter and explained that he does not know how to type and he no longer has a secretary. He looked into my situation and realized everything I was saying was true. He explained his stool concept with three legs in detail and explained how Goodyear failed me. He explained that he has credited my account in full, he has fixed everything with the credit bureau, and he was enclosing a personal check for $50 to pay for dinner for me and a friend to Celebrate the end of a frustrating experience. He could not have been more kind.

I've kept my promise to him, I have never stepped foot in a Goodyear store again. When a friend needed tires I stood outside the door and talked to her from there. People looked at me funny, but I have kept up my end of the bargain.

I would imagine that the reason your husband got somewhere when you didn't was simply because he's male, to be honest. There are a lot of people out there that will be very nasty to women customers who are complaining, simply because they think women are push-overs who aren't willing to take part in a confrontation. Men, on the otherhand, are much more likely to be treated with respect, in many cases.

Oh, and has anyone ever been to this website before? It's a blog community where people working in customer service post about the horrid customers that they have. It's rather interesting and eye-opening.

Good point about the MAN treatment. It is different. Though women earn less than men we pay more for haircuts, drycleaning (shirts cost less than blouses, we pay for alterations on our clothes and men have their suits altered for free when they buy them, and we don't get the same respect when it comes to shopping for cars, high-end audio equipment, etc.

And thanks for posting the website. I spent about two hours loitering on it this AM. It is fascinating.

And thanks for posting the website. I spent about two hours loitering on it this AM. It is fascinating.

Isn't it? Some of it is obviously exaggerated, but if even half of it's true, there are a lot of nasty and inconsiderate people out there.

I had one today at the Hospital when I had my stess test completed. The people i Cardiology were very cold, not friendly and those of us that have NEEDLE PHOBIA could use a little TLC. I asked for my husband to be in the room with me and they denied him access. After 2 more sticks and me crying, they let him in. I work in the mental health field and know I have trauma around medical care. Even when I asked for what I needed to help me get thru the needle stuff...they wouldn't oblige. I am being asked by my friends to let management know. I will do that tomorrow. Too upset today. Have to go back there again tomorrow for the 2nd part of the test...another needle...my husband states he will come in whether they like it or not.

Sharon/Memphis

Laura, I've never heard of Publix (I'm Canadian, eh). Is it a grocery store? I'll have to see if they have them here in Little Rock. I would SOOOOO pay a little more to have good service. In Canada there were two grocery stores people liked to go to - Superstore and Safeway. Safeway was always clean, everyone was nice, it was relatively fast and they bagged your stuff, but a little more expensive. Superstore was the exact opposite - grey walls, everyone in a bad mood, no one around to help out, but cheap. Guess where I always went - Safeway. It is worth the extra money to feel good when you're done shopping rather than feeling like you could stab the nearest person in the eye with your keys.

Laura, I've never heard of Publix (I'm Canadian, eh). Is it a grocery store? I'll have to see if they have them here in Little Rock. I would SOOOOO pay a little more to have good service. In Canada there were two grocery stores people liked to go to - Superstore and Safeway. Safeway was always clean, everyone was nice, it was relatively fast and they bagged your stuff, but a little more expensive. Superstore was the exact opposite - grey walls, everyone in a bad mood, no one around to help out, but cheap. Guess where I always went - Safeway. It is worth the extra money to feel good when you're done shopping rather than feeling like you could stab the nearest person in the eye with your keys.

Yep, Publix is a grocery store. I'm not sure if they are in Arkansas. Most of the ones I've seen have been in the deep south (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, etc.). I've always loved them though, because the ones that I've been in have always had excellent service.

Laura, I've never heard of Publix (I'm Canadian, eh). Is it a grocery store? I'll have to see if they have them here in Little Rock. I would SOOOOO pay a little more to have good service. In Canada there were two grocery stores people liked to go to - Superstore and Safeway. Safeway was always clean, everyone was nice, it was relatively fast and they bagged your stuff, but a little more expensive. Superstore was the exact opposite - grey walls, everyone in a bad mood, no one around to help out, but cheap. Guess where I always went - Safeway. It is worth the extra money to feel good when you're done shopping rather than feeling like you could stab the nearest person in the eye with your keys.

Hah! Hey lindata, I am another Canuck. I know about Publix because my parents used to be snowbirds.

Well, I am going to give my 2 cents and then give an example of a recent experience that I am still dealing with.

I have worked customer service most of my adult life. I have work for retail at Wal-Mart at the service desk and as one of the front end managers and currently co-manage a customer service call center for a mortgage company. So face to face and over the phone customer service. I have also been on the phones as a customer service rep for several years before being in management. I will reiterate what someone already posted, the customer is not always right. I occasionally get calls escelated to me and when I go review the innitial call, many times what the customer says happened never did. Also, if a customer is requesting something that can not be done, as much as I would like to, I can't. Maybe this is a bigger deal in my industry when it come to mortgages and escrow. Also, the way some people come across is downright awefull. While I never condone my agents to come down to the level of a rude customer (something that is unacceptable to me), but I can see how that can happen. Its hard not to take things personal when being yelled at and cursed at. I promise if you are upset over a certain situation, the key is to remain firm, but courtious and flexible to comprimise.

I had a perfect example this last weekend. Our oven went out on Monday before Thanksgiving. My family was coming in town over the weekend for a belated Thanksgiving get together on Saturday. My wife went to Sears and bought a new one and it was to be delivered on Friday. They arrived on time and while they were carrying it in the house, they broke the glass door. They told my wife they could not get another one delivered until the following Friday. This was a major problem since we had bought food to cook for my family. I call Sears and after being transfered several times, got to the right department. I remained calm, professional, but firm that I needed resolution. She was nice a I felt sincerly appoligetic, but said next day delivery could not happen. Not enought ime. I thanked her for her time and politely asked for a supervisor. The supervisor was great and really tried to get it done for me. After 45 minutes on the phone with her, they could not get one out because the wherehouse did not have one in stock and was on order. I politely explained that if I could not get the oven delivered by the next morning, I would have to take the 10 of us out to dinner because we couldn't cook, due to their error. I estimated it would cost $150 to $200. After checking with her boss, she said that would be no problem, they would re-imburse me for dinner if they could not find an oven for us. I think that is great customer service under a bad situation. She even called me back about 30 minutes later to say they found one at another store in a different color and wanted to know if that would work (which it didn't). I could have yelled and bitched and demanded that we get an oven or else, but I think I would not have recieved any compensation. I know when I get a call, I am so much more willing to help out a nice person, but a rude person won't get jack from me.

Well, I am going to give my 2 cents and then give an example of a recent experience that I am still dealing with.

I have worked customer service most of my adult life. I have work for retail at Wal-Mart at the service desk and as one of the front end managers and currently co-manage a customer service call center for a mortgage company. So face to face and over the phone customer service. I have also been on the phones as a customer service rep for several years before being in management. I will reiterate what someone already posted, the customer is not always right. I occasionally get calls escelated to me and when I go review the innitial call, many times what the customer says happened never did. Also, if a customer is requesting something that can not be done, as much as I would like to, I can't. Maybe this is a bigger deal in my industry when it come to mortgages and escrow. Also, the way some people come across is downright awefull. While I never condone my agents to come down to the level of a rude customer (something that is unacceptable to me), but I can see how that can happen. Its hard not to take things personal when being yelled at and cursed at. I promise if you are upset over a certain situation, the key is to remain firm, but courtious and flexible to comprimise.

I had a perfect example this last weekend. Our oven went out on Monday before Thanksgiving. My family was coming in town over the weekend for a belated Thanksgiving get together on Saturday. My wife went to Sears and bought a new one and it was to be delivered on Friday. They arrived on time and while they were carrying it in the house, they broke the glass door. They told my wife they could not get another one delivered until the following Friday. This was a major problem since we had bought food to cook for my family. I call Sears and after being transfered several times, got to the right department. I remained calm, professional, but firm that I needed resolution. She was nice a I felt sincerly appoligetic, but said next day delivery could not happen. Not enought ime. I thanked her for her time and politely asked for a supervisor. The supervisor was great and really tried to get it done for me. After 45 minutes on the phone with her, they could not get one out because the wherehouse did not have one in stock and was on order. I politely explained that if I could not get the oven delivered by the next morning, I would have to take the 10 of us out to dinner because we couldn't cook, due to their error. I estimated it would cost $150 to $200. After checking with her boss, she said that would be no problem, they would re-imburse me for dinner if they could not find an oven for us. I think that is great customer service under a bad situation. She even called me back about 30 minutes later to say they found one at another store in a different color and wanted to know if that would work (which it didn't). I could have yelled and bitched and demanded that we get an oven or else, but I think I would not have recieved any compensation. I know when I get a call, I am so much more willing to help out a nice person, but a rude person won't get jack from me.

Good outcome!

So, as a person who understands customer service, what should I have done? I was like you said to be - firm, courteous, polite, but they were so obviously enjoying it. It was getting very frustrating. That's when I started to lose it, I admit. There's nothing I hate worse than someone saying "I apologize" in a very condescending, non-apologetic, I'd say almost sarcastic tone over and over again. It was like they knew they had the power and were having a power trip. They really had me between a rock and a hard place and I had nowhere to go. What would you have done if it happened to you?