Past Customer Service
= “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of
customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met
the customer expectation.”
Present
Day Customer Service = Customer service is a series of activities designed to
ignore and aggravate the customer – that is, if the customer requests
assistance at a time deemed inappropriate such as personal conversations,
lunch, lazy time or they just don’t feel like working.
Over
the past few years, I’ve come across this so-called thing called ‘customer
service’ and I’m not really feeling it. ‘Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed”. Are
they guaranteeing the customer’s satisfaction or their employee’s satisfaction
in dissing the customer? The lack of caring exudes from these individuals, and
it seems they traded in their smile for an un-lubricated butt plug because, let’s
face it, that would make anyone disregard the needs of others.
I’ll
admit that I worked in customer service and I wasn’t always the most…understanding
individual. Maybe it’s payback time. But in my defense, I worked in technology
and they refused to provide V2 –valium and vodka. When it comes to
technology, there are certain things IT employees expect of people who work on
computers every day of the year to know, like:
1)
Where the power button is located
2) If you print something and it doesn’t print, don’t
print 20 more times hoping one of them will get passed the black hole.
3) If you receive a black screen that says
keyboard failure, check the keyboard to make sure there aren’t any muffin
crumbs, nail clippings or sunflower seeds stuck between the keys.
4) Copy and paste—two things we learned in
kindergarten—same idea, different technique.
5) When tech support comes to your desk, be
there to explain the problem and enter in your logon and password.
I
understand that working in customer service is frustrating, but it’s amazing
how indifferent and acceptable it is to outright act as if the customer isn’t
even there. At least I gave employees a moment to explain their problem before directly
or indirectly pointing out their faux pas. Like when
one employee I worked with insisted her CD-ROM drive was broken—it wouldn’t
play her CD. I popped open the CD player, flipped the CD right side up and the
CD worked without a problem. Or when we were working in Windows 95 and an
employee asked for assistance. I stood behind her and told her to go to my computer
and she got up and started walking away. Dumbfounded, I asked her where she was
going, and she said, “To your computer.” I had to point out the “My Computer” icon on
her desktop. So you see, I understand the kind of frustration that comes along with
helping some people.
But
I don’t understand the girl, who saw me standing at the counter but turned her
back and continued a personal conversation about her license being taking away.
And then when I told her my sunglasses were right on the counter and I’d like
to know what I owe so I could leave, shuffled over, shrugged and said, “I don’t
know.” My response was, “Well, how about asking someone who does know.” She
didn’t even notice the sarcasm…or maybe she did and ignored it. Either way, she
took her sweet time walking the sunglasses over to another woman and asking.
For
now on, when I come across anyone at a place of business who has an attitude or just doesn't care, I’m
going to smile and say, “I can tell you really like your job” just to see their
reaction. I might have to tweak it as time goes on.
Anyone
else have witty responses to poor customer service?
Service
and Attitude,
Bea
