Customer Service or Lack of in the Online Age

[ultrarunner]

I worked behind a parts counter most of my High School Years as well as Food Service...

One of the things that I learned is that you take care of the customer in front of you as that customer is a "Bird in the Hand"

With so much going Digital and Online it seems like old fashioned customer service is almost a thing of the past and when received it's worth remembering.

One of my senior friends was having the kids/grand kids all stop by last Saturday after one of the kids sporting events was nearby.

She said they really enjoy Pizza and asked me where she should go... I mentioned the closest is the new Pizza Hut about a mile away and that they always have specials...

She called to order 6 extra large pizzas and learned the special was for Online Orders only... said she doesn't have a computer and asked if she could just place the order and was told she could come in...

She went to the store to order and the manager said online only... she said that is why she came in because she has no computer... he said she could use her phone so she pulled out her flip phone and asked the manager to help... he said she needed a smart phone.

She then asked if he could order the pizzas and she would pay for them now in cash for delivery at 1 Saturday...

She was turned away and told they could not help her...

Half the work is getting someone to an establishment that has a desire to purchase... at least it always was that way when I was taught...

The idea of online was to generate more sales not turn sales away...

I contacted Pizza Hut corp who referred me to the store saying it was the local manager's call.... spoke to him and he said customers need to get into the modern world... I thanked him and hung up.

I wish I could say this was an isolated incidence but not in my experience...

Will say service can vary greatly... the Washington Home Depot and Lowes stores bowl me over with good service... not so much in the SF Bay Area...

 

[rekees4300]

My pet peeve ... A basic flaw with online support is that there's no accountability. If the customer service rep. doesn't know the answer (s)he will tell you anything (including blatant lying) just to get rid of you. They know if you call back you will likely be somebody else's problem and they also know you aren't going to appear in person since the support center (if it even exists) is in India. My vote for worst customer service goes to AT&T. My vote for best customer service goes to Amazon.

 

[ultrarunner]

Second that for AT&T.... took many months to get a 13k credit and the person handling it for ATT was based in Slovakia... to her credit it did finally materialize but only after many months... see what happens when your phone plan expires and they don't have the record showing it was extended... thank goodness for my e-mail trial!

A common call center ploy is to transfer to a non-existent manager....

 

[rekees4300]

A common call center ploy is to transfer to a non-existent manager....

Yeah that's a good one ... double whammy ... they get your hopes up you will finally talk to a competent manager then they crush your spirit when you realize he's vaporware.

 

[dmccarty]

We had a Pizza Hut in our town but it went out of business. :confused3: We went there and they had great service. My area has many people who are very much against big businesses and thus did not go to the Pizza Hut even though the service was great. They go to a smaller, but local, chain pizza place that had absolutely the worst Customer service I have seen and was hiring illegals who could barely speak English which was one reason for the horrible service.

Sounds like the SF Pizza Hut has a manager that needs a new job. I wonder if the owner knows they are turning away business.

I called up American Express once about a credit card offer. The call was handled by Jill in India who flat out lied to get me off the phone.

The few times I have had to call Amazon, they have greatly impressed me. Given the amount of business we give to Amazon, to only have to talk to them a few times is amazing. Mostly if there is a problem, we don't need to talk to a person.

The best Customer service I have ever seen/heard was Southwest Airlines. I was waiting to pick up a family member and there was this idiot on the phone to Southwest. He was complaining about EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING about Southwest, for a good 30 minutes. The woman who had to listen to his drivel was a saint. I really do not know how she sat there and listened to his scat. Maybe she was drawing his face on a piece of paper and stabbing it with a pen. :shocked: It was so bad I got up a moved so I would not have to hear as much of what was being said. Other people did the same. One older lady walked over to him and told him to clean up his vocabulary and tone of voice. :thumbsup::laughing::laughing::laughing: To be fair, he really was not cussing very much, but he may have uttered a word here and there, and that is all the lady needed to lecture him. :thumbsup:

Eventually, he got up and wandered off, STILL complaining to that poor soul on the other end of the line. I did go and talk to the employee at the gate and mention what was going on. I asked if there was some way to know what service center was handling that call because the employee should have been given a couple of days off and a dinner for two. But the person had the gate did not know how to figure out the location of the person on the phone. I really wish I could have sent an email to the group were the service person worked to let her know that 20-30 people at a gate had to listen to his scat and wished her well.

Later,
Dan