Maybe the planets weren’t aligned properly today or maybe everyone was simultaneously cashing in on their right to having a bad day. Who knows what happened. All I know is that customer service these days seems to be nonexistent. Completely gone are the days where the customer is always right. Granted sometimes customers need to learn how to show a little more self-restraint and kindness, but does that mean that corporate America has to hire such indifferent and uncaring employees?
This morning I needed to run to a drugstore for a product so I sauntered into Rite Aid because it happened to be located next door to my gym. As I was perusing the aisles trying to find what I needed, I realized the item I was looking for was no where to be found. Consequently I approached the pharmacy staff for some help.
The lady working the counter didn’t seem overly pleased that I was asking her a question and she lamely tried to point me in the right direction. I had just been in that aisle, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking that maybe I had missed what I was looking for. I went back to double check and sure enough the thing I needed still hadn’t materialized. I went back to the pharmacy to ask for some more help from this same lady, but she was conveniently hiding so I asked the gentleman behind the counter my original question. His response was to visit the same aisle I had already been to. I explained to him that I couldn’t find it and I was hoping he would help me locate what I needed. Not a chance. He didn’t even offer any explanations. He acted completely indifferent to my dilemma and kept right on doing what he was doing.
Eventually I did find what I was looking for. On my way to the cash register, I decided to let the man who didn’t even pretend to want to help me know where to find the item I was looking for in case some other person also wanted to purchase one and he didn’t even seem half way pleased that I had solved my own mystery. This is probably the last chance I will visit Rite Aid.
As if one bad customer experience isn’t enough for one day, I had yet another one this afternoon at the mall. I walked into Gap thinking I might actually find something to buy with the gift card I have had for nearly a year. I found a remarkably comfy pair of curvy jeans, but they were just a tad bit too big. Unfortunately they didn’t have the size I needed in stock so Anthony was going to tell me what other stores close by had this item. However, in the middle of helping me he decided he would rather help another man who had just walked up to the counter. Hello, do you not realize you weren’t through with me?
When Anthony finally got around to helping me again, I asked him to put the jeans on hold for me in case I still wanted to get them. Later this evening I called the store to figure out the exact style of jeans I had tried on so I could purchase them on-line and while waiting for them to come back to the phone with an answer, they hung up on me … after I had waited for several minutes. I called them back and they then explained that Anthony never put the jeans on hold. Instead he “accidentally” put a sweater on hold?!?! On top of that, he had just finished his shift at work … and no they had no cell phone number to contact him.
I then tried to explain to the clerk what the jeans looked like and she couldn’t help me at all. Finally the manager got on the phone and she still couldn’t explain where these comfy fitting curvy jeans disappeared to. She also never even apologized for the fact that her employee had been rude earlier and that he had placed the completely wrong item on hold. She didn’t even try to help me solve the situation of the misplaced pants.
It is already hard enough trying to find the right pair of jeans, so to have someone lose the ones you want is maddening. If I hadn’t been so utterly frustrated I would have asked for some sort of compensation.
What are your feelings on customer service these days? Does it exist or is it becoming a dying art form?
