Say no to bad customer service

It’s time to take back customer service



Welcome to Consumer Kim, my first blog which I will update on occasion, AKA whenever I feel like it. My goal is to rant about the horrible customer service I have seen, and create a forum for others to join. Along the way, I'd like to use my journalistic skills to interview large companies whose service baffles or disgusts me, find out what training they offer, if they know what it is like in the stores, and all that good stuff.

For now, I'll be happy empowering the masses (or at least the few friends of mine who read this thing). Together we can impact change -- nah. But maybe we can get the ball rolling and demand we get what we pay for.

So you know, I am toughest consumer I know. I expect good service every place I go, whether I am pumping gas or making a major purchase.

A few years ago, I canceled an order for a washer and dryer immediately after I purchased it because the store manager assured me it could not possibly be delivered at my convenience. I was to sit home for 8 hours just waiting. No way I was going to do that. I knew someone would deliver on my schedule. I went to the local Maytag store, and they gave me what I paid for, and then some.

I gave a horrible rating in a Zagat’s survey about the fanciest and highest rated restaurant in metro Detroit after the owner insulted me. A friend had pre-paid our meal with a credit card, and I requested to see the bill to check it, to make sure it was correct. He said, “Do you think we are going to screw you?” Not okay. My comments were published. I believe I called the place “Snobby. Uppity. Overrated.”

You see, the problem is – on a large scale – service basically sucks, and we just sit back and take it. It is time to say no to bad service. It is time to make right a wrong.

Here are the changes I’d like to see:

· Change in attitude behind the register. (Say thank you when I give you money.)
· Change in leadership (yes, the customer is still always right).
· Change in cooperation. (someone please put my grocery bags in the cart for me.)
· Change in facial expressions. (Please smile when I am giving you money.)
· Change in rudeness factor. (Do NOT talk on the phone while waiting on me.)
· Change in neighborliness. (Just ask if I need anything, and let me know where you will be.)
· Change in overall manners. (Act like you mean it when you say have a nice day.)

I can go on and on, and I will on this blog. I'd like to hear your beefs with service -- and what you did to improve things.

In the meantime, please memorize the following list of empowerment tools to become an advocate for better service.

· It is a buyer’s market.
· They need your business.
· You can shop anywhere you want.
· They must take care of you.
· The old adage, the customer is always right, is still true. (But you owe it to yourself and humanity to be polite.)
· Don’t be shy. Ask for what you want.
· Expect nothing less than professionalism.
· You are in the driver’s seat.
· Bad service. Don’t go back.

Thanks for humoring me. Keep reading. More to come. I promise.