Here I go again! Please don’t read this entry if you are looking for mystery book fare. This is yet another one of my rants!
Whatever happened to customer service?!? Is there anyone out there who remembers the time when you could actually “order” something from a department or grocery store? I do!
It used to be that when you went to … say … Walmart, Walgreen’s, Michael’s, ETC, and they didn’t have a product that they normally carry, you could speak to the person in charge of that area and they would special order it for you. They would actually call you when it arrived at the store.
Those days (I’m afraid!) are long gone. When you finally track down the person in charge of a given department, you are invariably told “They send us what they want.” and that there is no special ordering of any kind. Sometimes you get a super nice department manager who will, however, take your name and phone number and say that he/she will call you the next time the store has that particular product. The super nice department manager will then pull a piece of scrap paper out of his/her pocket and take down all of the necessary information… so that he/she can call you just as soon as the particular product is sent by “THEM“…
Don’t hold your breath!
I don’t like to recall the “good, old days”… You know, when we, as children had to walk five miles through snow storms just so that we could get to school (à la Little House on the Prairie!) for our daily 3 Rs, but I just have to say one last thing>>>
I do miss the “good, old days”!
Maria BearMountainBooks.com says
These days I’ve even had a hard time getting a BOOKSTORE to order in a book I want. They act like you’re going to order it and not come in and pick it up–they push the home delivery (which costs an extra 3 or 4 dollars.) I swear the last two times I tried it, I felt like some sort of alien the way they stared at me. Thanks, but I’ll just order from Amazon.
HEB will still SOMETIMES special order or so they have told me. I’ve had both experiences in that store–the one where the guy pretends to listen to my request (he’s going to forget I exist as soon as he turns around) and the one who actually offered to find out pricing and whether they could obtain said product.
Whole Foods will also supposedly special order. Of course, for them, you will need to leave body parts to pay because their prices are not what you’d call affordable, even on your most extravagant day..
:>)
Maria
Amber says
Maybe because I live in a small town and know everyone’s name, but my community still does that. I have called the city to ask if they had a special book or something else and they act like I’m taking up their time and aren’t friendly.
If I’m there in person and the person is being rude I usually say something about it or tell them if they don’t like their job then quit.
Anyway, I suggest talking to the store manager if that happens. The store manager usually can get things done that the department manager can’t.
Vickie B says
It never ceases to amaze me that there are people in customer service (for lack of a better term) in this day of job-not-so-much-security who are not willing to help out or even try.
I love the people who actually do help, smile, love their job or at least act like they do. Those are the shops I continue to utilize whether they are grocery stores, big box stores, locally owned, whatever. And I let them know when they are doing wonderfully and I let the pewp-craniums know when they have lost my business and that I will be telling people about the experience.
Laura Jean says
I agree with you. I had a similar incident a couple weeks ago. I walked into Michaels wanting one of those “kniffty knitter” knitting looms (I had a coupon for 50% off!) and they didn’t have any. They had the space on the wall for it and they had a hook with a price tag on it! I asked the girl nearby and she said that they didn’t know when they were getting more in. I waited until the next coupon came out and returned to the store. Same thing again… Nothing on the wall but the hook with the price tag. This time I went to the manager and they said exactly what they told you… that they couldn’t order it and they have no way knowing what’s in their next shipment. They only receive what corporate sends them. Why would you have a place for something that you haven’t sold for weeks and have no idea if the store will receive more? On top of things, the item can’t be ordered.
You just can’t win.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Maria,
The last (not current) manager of my vet’s office made me pay up front for the allergen serum we get for Sprite. Talk about feeling unwelcome! When she first started that policy, I reminded her that Sprite was one of the vet’s very first patients when he opened his practice, and that I had never shirked-off a payment. That didn’t help. I never complained to the vet, since I didn’t want her to lose her job because of me, but I sure did complain to her every time she made me pay up front for a special order serum!
Amber,
Your example of small town living VS big city mentality is exactly why my husband and I want to move to a small town once he retires. You would think that a store manager should be able to do something about special orders, but I haven’t met one who can… or maybe I should say >>> who is willing to do so.
Vickie,
I totally agree with you about people who are lucky enough to be employed in our jobless climate, who are belligerently rude about doing their jobs. There are plenty of people out there who would be more than willing to fill the rude-ees employment status.
Laura Jean,
Sounds like you have gotten the exact same run-around I have gotten, on more than just a few occasions! Apparently stores don’t keep a tally of items as they sell them. They just sell what they have, and don’t worry about re-ordering, since corporate headquarters is going to send what they want, when they want.
Laura says
Danna: I have heard people call Whole Foods “Whole Paycheck”, because that is what it takes to shop there. Should (supposedly) healthier food cost that much more?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Hi Laura,
That’s a thought. You would think that it shouldn’t… since that is what society is now telling us we should do… eat healthier foods.
I don’t shop at Whole Foods… I visited twice, and didn’t think the prices were something I wanted to do. I have a friend, however, who thinks Whole Foods is the absolutely ONLY way to go.
Pattie says
It’s a case of laziness on the part of the stores or shopping places for every one of the examples given. Any employee at any store, in any city can order the item you want. They just don’t want to do it. They’ve obviously never read the book “Raving Fans” for the customer service folks. The CSR’s get that attitude from the CSM who says the same thing. If you find someone who will do it, they make it look like they’ve done you the biggest favor ever. I’ve found that if a particular store doesn’t have something, and I get no assistance from the CSR or CSM, I go to the corporate website for my information, and I’m armed with the names of those that didn’t, couldn’t or wouldn’t assist me. More often than not, I’m told what should have been done, I get an apology, assurance that the store will be reminded of policy, and an offer of the same item, at the sale price. If the price doesn’t include shipping, I’ll write back and remind them that my reason for purchasing at the store itself was to avoid shipping costs, then here comes another apology, with an “of course,” and they’ve waived the shipping fees, and oftentimes will toss in a 10% or greater discount. Push the point – – you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Make the store more accountable for their non-action. They are supposed to assist the one with the money, and if/when they don’t, push. All you have to lose is hearing a no from the corporate facility or a validation of what you’re being told at the store level. Try it…it really works!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Pattie. The next time I am in this spot, I might just try to be a little more assertive!