Monday, February 1, 2010

May I take your order?

I had a reader email this question to me and I couldn't wait to post it. Customer service today (or a lack thereof) is a huge pet peeve of mine. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to be a server for example, however it does take a special kind of person to work in the customer service industry and those people are a dying breed apparently.

Several times last week I said to myself and others, "I'm going to blog about this" in utter shock at how others were acting who were supposed to be helpful and instead I found them to be...well let's just say- less than helpful.

At one point this week I was actually in tears trying to get a point across (an important one) to a sales representative and he actually said to me, "this isn't a big deal"- the big deal was they weren't listening to what I was saying and had fraudulently charged my credit card and would not relent (it took five people and a large chunk of my time before someone 'got it').

Suffice it to say- if you have the hiring power, at least make sure the people whom you are hiring to work with consumers, are teachable and patient- the rest learnable.

Here is what my reader had to say:

A big pet peeve on manners is when you order food anywhere, whether over the phone for takeout or in person, and the person taking your 411 acts like they really don't care if you order (you're just a #, they're just doing their job, and they can't wait to get you out the door or off the phone.). Then when you ask for their name, what you really want to do is give them a piece of your mind for treating you so rudely. Agh! What do you do?

Dear frustrated,

I would not hesitate one bit to say something like, "I am really trying to have patience, but I feel as though I'm not being treated the way I should be, and I don't appreciate it" You may not get the response you would want, but you've spoken your mind. Another approach is to say, "thank you so much, may I please speak with your supervisor?" I know for a fact that most large corporations cannot hang up on you without it being recorded that they have done so- much to their chagrin I'm sure.

I'm sorry for your general experiences and disappointment, but I'm sure you're not alone. You can find comfort in that. At least you can appreciate a good customer service representative when you get one!

2 comments:

Julie said...

So I'm at Chili's for lunch today (after the lunch rush, mind you) and our server could not have been in more of a hurry. He came to take our drink order and before I was even finished saying what I wanted he was walking away from the table. I practically had to yell that in addition to our drinks we also wanted chips and salsa because he was in such a darn hurry to go do whatever it was he had to do! It was very arrogant! The only thing that stopped me from asking for a manager was the fact that throughout the meal he was right on top of our refills. But that was his only redeeming quality as a server!

The Mom-tage said...

Love this site! So glad I found it. We recently had a situation where a group of gal-pals (all moms who don't get out enough) met for coffee and dessert. Of course we closed the place down, because as I mentioned, we don't get out enough, and instead of just politely asking us to leave (which we totally would have) the server came and vaccummed under OUR TABLE!

 
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