Customer "Service"

I once worked at a franchise of a large corporation, which was eye-opening on many levels.  We were always having retreats, training, conferences and meetings, rarely accomplishing more than wasting time that could have been spent on actually improving our services.  But I digress.

I remember one meeting with our Corporate Liaison (THAT was a cushy job) where we were discussing customer service.  This liaison was always telling stories about the great customer service she always got from a particular hotel chain, no matter where she went.  (In hindsight, the fact that her best customer service stories were about another company should have been some kind of sign.)

She asked us to share what businesses we thought had great customer service.  My assistant chimed in with Walmart.  When asked why she thought they had great customer service, she explained that she was able to do one-stop shopping there.  Never mind that she totally missed the point of the question, and possibly the entire meeting, but she obviously had never experienced customer service of any kind at the store.

My gripe with the mega-center is not so much about customer service as it is with the attitudes of their employees.  For instance, yesterday my husband and I stopped in to pick up a few things and ran into some relatives we hadn't seen in a while.  We were chatting in an aisle and since there were 4 of us, yes, we were taking up the whole aisle, but we were in electronics and there were no other customers in the area at the time.  Then an employee bumped past us without an "excuse me" to get to the great unknown through the double-doors at the back of the building. 

Were we taking up the aisle?  Yes.  Did he need to go through those doors?  Yes.  Did he have to bump past us to do so?  NO!  He could have easily gone around to another aisle to make his way to the cave. 

And that's what I experience every time I go there.  An employee who thinks he has the right of way over customers.  An employee who won't move her cart full of things she's restocking to let customers get by.  Employees walking down the aisle, taking up the entire aisle, who refuse to move so customers can easily pass by.  If it weren't for the fact that they are cheap and so am I, I would never shop there again. 

Those who work in businesses that involve actual people should remember the motto that Corporate Liaison always told us, "A customer is not an interruption of our work.  He is the sole purpose of it." 

Here's a funny video of just how frustrating dealing with customer service can be.

Pet Peeve

This ain't NASCAR, baby!

You know how tailgating is so annoying when you're driving?  Believe me, it's just as bad when you're shopping.

My hubby, for reasons I don't need to go into, cannot walk quickly, so we go pretty slowly through the stores.  If you find yourself behind someone in a similar situation, might I make a few suggestions?

1. Enjoy this short time of moving slowly through what is otherwise most likely a very busy day.
2. Be thankful you don't have any mobility issues that cause you to need to move slower than the average person.
3. SHUT UP YOUR STUPID SIGHING AND GO THE H*#% AROUND US!!

Good grief, people.  If you're so busy you don't really have time to slow down for 2 minutes in a store, then why the heck don't you go do your mui importante crap and leave the store for those who have time to shop?  Someone's eventually going to catch me on a bad day and get an ear full.  For now, I feel better having done my rant here.

Thanks to Pat (Two Photos and A Rant) and Lydia (Just Standin' On My Soapbox) for reminding me of the freedom to say whatever I want.  It is my blog, after all.