When You Don’t Know What to Do With Great Customer Service When You Get It
Stuff I don't hate August 15th, 2013
I think I was just in the Twilight Zone. But I made it back home OK. I’m fine. Not a scratch on me.
I went to my local grocery store and picked up about a dozen things. Put ‘em in a hand-held basket, a big heaping mountain.
I lumbered past the courtesy counter on my way to self-checkout.
A woman at the counter called out “Is that all you have?”
“Who, me?”
“Yes, you.”
“You can’t mean me. This is too much stuff.”
“No, it’s not. Come over here. I’ll ring you up.”
“But you only take a few things here.”
“But if I can keep you from using the new stupid self-checkouts, all the better.”
“You must hate those. Customers must bug you all the time about them.”
“I hate them because it frustrates customers. I don’t mind helping. You shouldn’t have to deal with things that don’t work well. We want you to be happy.”
“Are you for real?”
“Yes, I am for real.”
“Well, you just made my whole day.”
“It’s what I do. Here’s your receipt. Now you have a good night, OK?”
This is not how things normally work in my world. Most of the time I’m the one solving problems, fighting to get people to help or just do their jobs. It’s maddening and exhausting.
I want more of the Twilight Zone, where people go out of their way to assist and tell you it’s not a bother. It’s delightful and refreshing.
Do you have a great customer service story to share? Let’s hear it. I’m so jaded about customer service, I need to know that it lives and breathes in places outside the Twilight Zone.
Stumble it!
August 15th, 2013 at 6:47 pm
My wife works at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). She is great at customer service. Some people including the Pro athletes will only go to her window.
Customers have brought in flowers, cookies and written letters saying how good she is. She loves her job.
Agent 54´s last blog post ..Are you Ready for Some Football!
August 15th, 2013 at 7:03 pm
“where people go out of their way to assist and tell you it’s not a bother. It’s delightful and refreshing.”
Thank You!
Kathy, it’s so ironic you posted this today because I just had a WONDERFUL customer experience like you. I went into the new Super Walgreen’s on Broad Street (it’s 3 floors tall) and the WHOLE experience, from the time I got in there until I left was magical! Like you, it felt like I was in The Twilight Zone. I actually called up their corporate office and RAVED about the outstanding service I received in that store.
Because most of the time…customer service SUCKS.
X
Ron´s last blog post ..Book Review: Your Camera Loves You…
August 15th, 2013 at 8:02 pm
This would be normal, everyday encounters on planet Goldilocks. It’s frightening when you expect the worst possible outcome in every human interaction. I am always shocked when something like this happens to me, as it happens so infrequently. Walgreens, huh.
August 15th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
I have had so many great customer service stories that it it a shock when I encounter bad customer service. Which we actually have since coming back to NoVA – kinda of a mixed bag here – customer service-wise. But that was one thing about Filthadelphia – nicest folks in every kind of shop and world-class skilled trades people. I did have a run-in with a rude bus driver but that’s the only one I can think of. Gave me grief, in front of a bus load of people, over my senior discount because I didn’t look 65! Well excuuuuse me. And yeah, I turned her in!
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August 15th, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Yes, absolutely I have a great customer service story!! I’m still having trouble believing it myself, so maybe it will help it be more real if I share it. (I so get where you’re coming from.) My great customer service was from DirecTV. I had a box/unit/control thingy that wasn’t working correctly, but I really loved it when it was working because it was much better than the one on the other TV in the house- smoother scrolling on the channel guide, great fast forward where I could see the commercials go by and not miss the start of the show, etc. So it started to go, with odd little glitches that just kept getting worse. I tried rebooting it and a few other things that I knew how to do, very basic stuff, but it still wasn’t right. I called DirecTV and explained it all to the first very nice, friendly but still professional, customer service (CS) guy and he walked me through a few more trouble shooting tips, and it seemed to be helping, so he made a note in my file and the call was done. Well, a few days later the unit started acting up again, so I called again and explained that I was very happy with the first guy trying to help me, and it really did seem to work, and I wanted to salvage the unit if at all possible, so friendly and professional guy number 2 (who sounded about 20, but he knew his stuff) spent forever with me on the phone and walked me through some additional things to try. He apologized that I had to call back and gave me 3 months of free Showtime- woo hoo! Once again, the unit worked for a bit, then totally kaput. Call number 3, this guy said I could have a new unit, all I had to pay was S&H (about $20.00) and he gave me 3 months of free HBO!!! The new unit arrived and works well enough (my old one was still a little better, except for the not working thing), and I have more movies recorded than I’ll ever be able to watch! I thought I lucked out and hit the CS jackpot with the first guy, but then twice more? No way!! DirecTV must be doing something right to have such great people on staff; I am really impressed.
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August 16th, 2013 at 5:16 am
Agent 54 — That just sounds so incredible to me. I’m encouraged that not only does she do what she does so well, but that she loves her job. I’m sure that translates directly to the customers. Good on her! Really good on her!
Ron — “Magical.” When is that ever used in the context of customer service? Almost never! Except at Disney World. And apparently the Walgreens on Broad. Woo hoo! I’m glad you had the experience and that you told them about it. I’m always writing corporate to tell them about good experiences. They need to know it matters so much to us.
ann of the curly hair — I know. We need Goldilocks more now than ever. I think Ron got lucky. All the Walgreens I’ve gone to have been slow, annoying, maddening experiences. I guess we have to drive to Philly now.
Grace — I’m glad you have the inverse of most of my experiences. But that stupid bus driver! They should never try to make assumptions about people’s ages. It’s hurtful. Glad you called her out on it.
Kim — This is just so heartening. And I’m surprised a cable service would be so giving. Usually all they do is bump up your bill in small increments every month until all of a sudden you’re paying $120 for TV service. Ugh. I’m so glad you got freebies out of your experience. Good on them!
August 16th, 2013 at 7:26 am
I think we started getting bad customer service when the ‘small’ shops were superseded by large, impersonal supermarkets.
There are a small percentage of employees that go out of their way to be helpful and I think some of the larger stores are working on getting it right. They have competition now, from the internet. If we are not getting good customer service, we may as well shop on line and they know it.
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August 17th, 2013 at 9:34 am
I’m going to surprise you that some of my nicer store experiences happen at the Walmart. Maybe it is because I don’t expect a thing from Walmart, but I always find the nicest employees at ours. Of course, it does take a happy, silly demeanor to eek it out of a few of them, but we always end up laughing with whoever checks us out. And yes, we actually get help there…IF we can find it.
Did that lady disappear into the mist after she checked you out? sounds like a fairy godmother to me.
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August 19th, 2013 at 5:53 am
Babs — I agree. It’s all about making the sale and shoving the customer out the door so they can make a new sale. We have lost that element of personalization. I love patronizing places that still see me as the most important part of their business.
Lin — Yes, it does surprise me. I never expect anything from Walmart except a better price than elsewhere. I figure that’s the cost of getting bad service. I don’t know if I’ll ever see that woman again, but if I do, I’m getting in her checkout line.
August 22nd, 2013 at 7:02 am
Hi Kathy,
I enjoyed the story – thanks for sharing.
As I see it, it wasn’t really that Weis Markets employee DID all that much (she helped you at courtesy counter – but maybe she was just bored anyway), what really mattered was THE WAY in which she did it. I.e. by being nice, polite and conscious of your shopping experience (“We want you to be happy.”) I think that kind of thing is increasingly rare today – the culture is just different. It was probably much more common in the 1950s. Regards, Chris
August 26th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
Oh, Kathy! How awesome to receive such wonderful customer service. I wish MORE people were like that!
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