I grew up with parents who owned a small business. I spent a lot of time in that plumbing shop that my brother now owns. There were summers where I went out on the truck with the plumbers helping dig ditches and put in sinks and faucets and unstopping sewers. Other days I worked in the office where I would help unpack supplies and parts that were shipped in. And I would wait on customers. One thing I was taught was that the customer is king. Without customers the business is nothing. Sure there were some we could never please, but we always tried. If we did some work and it wasn’t right, we’d do what my parents called a re-lick, meaning we’d go back and fix it right and eat the cost if indeed it was our fault that things weren’t repaired right. That was just part of doing business the right way.
I tell you all of that to tell you this. Over the course of 2-3 days this week I’ve experienced the complete antithesis of what my mother taught me. Customer service surely seems to be dead.
First, the wife and I took our sweet puppy to the do it yourself dog wash. It’s one of those places where they have the big wash basins, spray hoses, shampoo, nail clippers, blow driers and the sort to get your doggy all cleaned up. You pay about $15 for the use of these amenities. Well, we showed up on a Sunday about 10 minutes until the time the shop opened at noon. So we waited out front. We could see the woman who worked there was inside. And there was another guy waiting out front with his dog. What harm would it be to open a few minutes early. Making it worse, the dog wash worker came out the front door and locked the door and walked to the food joint a couple of spots over at the strip shopping center. And so we waited. And waited. She took her time and opened the place five minutes late, knowing there were customers out front. And once we got inside she acted like it put her out to have us there. We won’t be going back.
The next day I made a last-minute trip to the library to register for an upcoming garage sale we’re having. That’s how it works in the city of Dallas. I’d filled out the form, so it would have been a quick process. I showed up at the library desk five minutes before closing. The place was empty and the clerk asked if she could help me. I said yes, that I would like to turn in my paperwork for a garage sale. She informed me that they were about to close. I asked, are you closed yet? She said no, but that garage sale permit paperwork has to be turned in at least fifteen minutes before closing. Seriously? It would have taken all of 2 minutes for her to take care of the paperwork. She informed me that they re-opened at 7:30 the next morning. I gave her a sarcastic thanks a lot and left.
A couple of days later I went to another library branch well before closing time to take care of the garage sale paperwork. The man at the desk told me that it was way too early for me to be turning in the paperwork. The sale is two weeks away, for the record. He said they like you to wait until a few days before because people cancel sales and that means they have to go alter their registrations. So sorry to inconvenience you. You’re getting paid to do this, right? I explained that this was my second trip to the library to get this done and I shouldn’t be punished for being early and efficient. He begrudgingly stamped and signed my form and recorded it on their computer system. It was as if I had asked him to cut off his pinky finger.
To cap it all off, we went to a home improvement warehouse to buy a new back door and have it installed. We went to the store and nobody was in the door department. I walked around for a few minutes and found a customer service representative in the lighting area and I asked for help in doors. He came with me rather than finding a door expert. The next 45 minutes were an exercise in frustration and exasperation. He didn’t know what he was doing. By the time he finished the order, what should have been a $450 job had reached nearly a grand and he had three doors on our order. I finally threw up my hands and said I would call a door expert the next day. There’s no harm in admitting you’re in over your head and to ask for help. He wouldn’t. And this customer left PO’d, wasting over an hour of my time if you count driving to and from the store.
I have a novel idea for you. If you’re in the customer service business, try serving the customer. I know that sounds like an out-of-date concept, but I assure you it will mean the world to the customer and might even build a little loyalty and repeat business for you.
That’s what I’m thinking.
Rick Hadley
24/7 News
