Customer Service

[Rosemary]

What constitutes as good customer service to you?

I'm curious on your personal opinions. It's funny when I go out with a group of people and we all have our opinions on the service. These opinions also change each place I live. I visited FL earlier this year so I could hug the crap outta my mama and we, of course, went out a fair bit. I've lived in a lot of places since I was a military brat and have traveled through even more. I was a little shocked when my waiter struck a conversation up with us! ...and then hovered. This seemed to happen no matter where we went. My mom commented, "Oh, we have such nice waiters!" until we came to one particular restaurant. The waitress hardly held a convo except a small smile every time we said 'thank you'. Despite getting our food on time, our drinks never running dry, my mother was not happy. She likes the interaction and considers that part of 'good customer service'.

Now, I live in the NE. Coming from Illinois it was a bit of a culture shock! The food service in Illinois was friendly and open like it was in Florida, but where I live it was fast with little interaction (save for a few places). It's the same when I pick up groceries- open, friendly convo.

I much prefer the computers, tbh. I don't like sitting there, watching the person scan, knowing I can go faster/fill my bags my way. Not that I'm dissing on them, but there are times I'd rather just do it myself. I like to get things like this out of the way so I can move on to more enjoyable activities like, well, anything that doesn't involve sitting in a line talking to a complete stranger as they slowly fill one bag at a time. I could go for a walk, cook a nice dinner that takes a while, masturbate 10 times, browse the internet, play with my kitties, grab a bottle of wine before the store closes (9pm...), and so many other things!

So, I don't really mind either, but here is my thing: I don't care if you're pissy, happy, or anything...as long as things are accurate and as quick as possible. If computers are what is needed to get this result, I'm more than happy to utilize them! My mother is the type who will probably never use the computers because she likes the communication.

What about you?

 

[Bocefish]

As long as they're polite, friendly and competent, I'm happy. Who wants a grouchy waitress that just may be inclined to mess with your food because they're having a bad day? A little friendly banter is fine as long as they don't hover and are obviously sucking up.

 

[Neudiin]

first...just curious, what made you post this? not being harsh or anything I am curious =)

Restaurants - I am a big tipper, I've been known to tip as much as 50% of the cost of the meal(s) if the service is good. To me service is good when a few things happen: my main drink never EVER gets all the way empty(pet peeve), they are there if I need something or better yet anticipate what I need and I don't need the person hovering but I don't need them to pull a vanishing act either. It goes without saying orders correct and timely on food delivery As far as covo it depends - if its just me and a date - fuck off. if its a crowd then yeah some covo is good.

Groceries - proper bagging is a must. crushed bread or smashed eggs resulting from improper bagging pisses me off. But yes I like the computer checkout just wish the area to put your stuff after you scan it was bigger. Hell just make a regular checkout self serve..that would rock. Ya know where the checkout peeps rock? warehouses, Sam's Club or Costco. If there are enough of them open they got their shit together. If not enough are open, it fucking sucks lol

 

[Rosemary]

first...just curious, what made you post this? not being harsh or anything I am curious =)

Honestly? I feel like I don't post in the main section enough. Every time I have a topic idea, I write it, read over it, read over it again, and then delete it. So...I just went with it today. I read an article earlier about customer service and how it 'should be', but disagreed with said article because that is not what I like in customer service. Got me curious about what other people like! I get a kick out of how different we all are, the things we want out of life, and how it conflicts or grooves based on cultural backgrounds (big and small). With me loving how technology has taken the awkwardness out of random conversation you'd never know that my family dinners were HUGE and LOUD and never, ever, ever without a conversational topic, debate, etc. and I LOVED it.

Also, I am a HUGE tipper as well. A part of it is because I really, really appreciate good service. The industry is a butthole for the most part and I know how happy a big tip can make someone feel! Another part is a little bit selfish, but it works very well for me. The people I tip large seem to take more care of me, and I'm willing to throw down a little extra to get that. My hair girl takes me whenever, people at restaurants know me, etc. I sometimes even get free little tokens of appreciation (like a dessert!), despite these tokens NOT being the reason why I tip big.

 

[Anonymous]

This is the reason why I don't go to chain restaurants & a prime example of terrible, inexcusable customer service:

My friend ordered a strawberry margarita (I think?), I had coffee, and we ordered an appetizer. We told the waitress that we were just having an appetizer, not meals. She asked if we wanted chips and salsa while we waited and we said ok. She left the menus on the table. There was only a handful of chips, and the salsa was a little more than half full, with salsa dripping all over the side of it's dish and onto the plate. My friend received a frozen strawberry drink in a tall glass, had the waitress bring it back. The waitress comes back and says it was the bartender's mistake; with the same frozen drink in a margarita glass. The next time she came over, which took forever, my friend sent the drink back again and said she wanted a margarita, not a frozen margarita, and just a regular one this time. The girl apologizes and brings back a regular margarita. Menus still on the table. I had to go to the bar to grab a straw for my friend because the waitress was taking way too long to come by again. When I asked for another coffee, she didn't take away my old cup. My friend ordered a beer because the margarita sucked (usually this place has good margaritas) and still the server didn't take away the old cups and plates. Needless to say she got a shitty tip and another tip written on the receipt. Oh yeah and she asked us at least 5 times if we wanted to "order off the menu". Uh, we DID order off the menu.


Shitty server cliff notes:
- Didn't take away the menus, after we said we were only having appetizers. Menus were on end of the table the entire time.
- Food should NOT come out of the kitchen if it's not presentable; the salsa should have been wiped off the side of the cup.
- The server took the drink order, therefore she should know that the drink was wrong before bringing it to the table. This happened twice, and she blamed the bartender for making a mistake.
- We had to ask for everything extra (another coffee, straw, etc)
- Didn't take away old cups and plates
- Also IMO if a server has to bring out 3 different drinks because she didn't bring the right one out the first time, we should have been compensated.

 

[RogueWarrior]

Biggie with waitstaff is be attentive and available without hovering/smothering. That is the main thing. Everything else to me is peripheral. I can deal with the ones that are chit-chatty, as well as the ones that are not (as long as they are pleasant). I've worked back of the house at several restaurants and know first hand a lot the crap the waitstaff gets blamed for by the customer, they have no control over. It really is a thankless job sometimes, but can be rather lucrative for the ones that can put up with all the BS. Never could myself, so I always tip well for competence.

Grocery stores: I hate, Hate, HATE self checkout. If I wanted to check groceries I would get a job doing that. I avoid stores that have self checkout because there always seems to never be enough actual human checkers.

 

[JoleneBrody]

I HATE over attentive wait staff! They do not need to ask me how my meal is 5 times in 10 minutes nor ask to refill my drink every two minutes. It's annoying and interrupts my conversation! I'm also fairly certain that every waiter or waitress has to sign a "only ask about the food when their mouths are full" agreement. I'm also not a fan or waitstaff that automatically brings refills of drinks, especially when my first drink isn't empty. I usually never touch that one and it just seems wasteful.
Oh and chit chatty managers... they can die. Trying to start a conversation while I'm eating a meal is not professional, it's intrusive and awkward.
So in other words, leave me the fuck alone.

 

[MadisonLeigh]

Agreed, Jolene! Hate when they automatically bring me a second drink as soon as I drink 1/4 of the first one. Augh! I also hate when they try to start awkward conversations with you, like I appreciate friendliness and all, but I came out to eat to spend time with the person I'm with, not to become BFFs with the staff. Having worked in customer service, I know that some people do like it when you have in depth conversations with them, but part of being good at customer service is learning to read your customer. Some people just want to get in and out as fast as possible, some people want to be chatty with you, and it's up to you to figure out which type of customer you are dealing with and adjust accordingly. So for wait staff, I want them to be reasonably attentive, but not hover over the table or try to force a conversation with me.

As for cashiers, my biggest pet peeve is when they act like I am totally ruining their day with my presence. I hated working in retail, but I always tried to be friendly to customers, so...suck it up and try not to act like I am awful just for being in your store. They don't have to be super perky, but I do not treat anyone in the service industry like shit, so I don't expect to get attitude in return. I prefer the self checkouts because a) I know I can scan/bag things really quickly; and b) I honestly don't like talking to people if I don't have to.

 

[MrRodry]

I HATE over attentive wait staff! They do not need to ask me how my meal is 5 times in 10 minutes nor ask to refill my drink every two minutes. It's annoying and interrupts my conversation! I'm also fairly certain that every waiter or waitress has to sign a "only ask about the food when their mouths are full" agreement. I'm also not a fan or waitstaff that automatically brings refills of drinks, especially when my first drink isn't empty. I usually never touch that one and it just seems wasteful.
Oh and chit chatty managers... they can die. Trying to start a conversation while I'm eating a meal is not professional, it's intrusive and awkward.
So in other words, leave me the fuck alone.

BRING ME SOME CRACKERS RIGHT NOW! :lol:

I don't like that too.

 

[ViruSphere]

I work in a busy pharmacy so I'll speak from the other side of the desk on how to get good customer service:

1. Attitude is everything. If you want friendly service, be friendly to me. If you're screaming and upset, don't expect me to serve you with a big smile on my face.

2. When I'm trying to serve you, ignore your cell phone. Respond to any phone calls and texts after we're finished.

3. Looking after your medications is your job as a customer. Don't ask us "what am I low on?" or "give me everything I need". Take a minute or so, look through all of your medication bottles, see what you're almost out of and then place your order. You'll save everybody time that way.

4. If a medication isn't covered by your insurance, or the doctor makes an error, or the medication is on back order, don't get upset with us. We can try our best to fix these errors, but it's not the pharmacy's fault that mistakes were made before the prescription made it to our counter.

 

[Jaydenrainey]

this thread reminds me of the WORST customer service i have ever encountered ever. i went into a vitamin store to buy iron supplements and i asked the guy who worked there where to find them. he said "ok and ill get you some fish oil too for absorption". i said "oh no thank you but im a vegan." he got an irritated look in his eyes and said "oh well theres no use in buying iron supplements without fish oil" ..."okkkk. but can i still just buy them and ill figure out an alternative?" "theres no point in buying them! i see what your trying to do with the whole vegan "thing" but there is just no point." he said all of this in a really mean and condescending voice and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head, i turned on my heel and left right away.

as far as food service at restaurants i agree with jolene do they have to ask how the food is when im trying to be gluttonous and have spinach sticking out of my mouth?
oh and the worst is when i go clothing shopping and the girl who works on commission swoops in on me. she decides we are besties while im in the store and throws pieces of clothing at me just going on and on about how cute it is. usually shes wrong but now i have to be an asshole and say no that is ugly as sin please take it away or maybe burn it? (im nicer than that but still) then she decides to guess my size maybe shes right and great for her but 95 percent of the time she is wrong and it is either 4 sizes too small or way too big. now i have to tell her im either way fatter than she could conceive or that im not the cow she thinks i am which is a comfortable convo to have with a stranger for sure.

 

[Jessi]

Being followed around the store sucks. I understand you get a lot of shop lifters, but now I feel like I have to buy something I don't want because you'll think I'm a thief if I don't.

 

[Anonymous]

The thing that sucks is that these annoying employees are trained to act like cockroaches and get in trouble (and fired in the long run) if they don't act that way.

I used to work at a clothing store and we had to go up to every person and ask if they knew what they were looking for, if they were buying for someone else, and all these other questions, and then try to sell them jeans. If you didn't say hi to a customer the moment they walked in, you got written up (even if they were on their cell phone as they were walking in and completely ignore you).

When a particular customer came in, the manager would say over the headset something like "Hey everyone that guy that just walked in spends a lot of money so try to upsell him as much as possible" Suuuuch bullshit. Retail was the worst!

When an employee does that shit to me I just smile and say "thanks but I'm all set" and then slowly get away....if they follow I just literally repeat myself until they go away....if all fails I pretend to be on my phone haha

 

[spika]

This thread made me think of a scenario I witnessed regarding customer service and differing opinions of what's considered polite behavior based on regional practice.

I grew up in New England and when my ex-H was in college and we were dating, he worked at a video rental chain which happened to open up a video game rental store under a different store name, and when the video game rental store opened there was a guy from corproate assigned to help man the store the first week to make sure things were running smoothly, and he was from Alabama.

When someone would walk into the store, he'd say with a big smile and a Southern drawl, "Welcome to <store name>! Is there anything that I can help you with today?"

At which point the would be customers would get the deer in the headlights look, either mumble "No thanks" while giving the guy that kind of look that you give someone when you think they're a little batshit crazy OR they would get the deer in the headlights look and turn around and walk straight out of the store.

However, the Alabama man remained oblivious to the fact that he was getting the cold shoulder by every customer that walked in the store and driving business away. But he did notice that ex-H was not greeting the customers and he asked, "Why aren't you greeting the customers? You should make them feel welcome!"

At which point ex-H pointed out to Alabama man that if he stopped observed the customers reactions to his greeting, he'd notice that he was scaring people away with his greeting and that in our area's culture saying anymore than hello when someone walked into a store was considered to be overbearing.

Alabama man was aghast. "But how do you know if they need help?" he wondered.

Ex-h explained, "Either they'll ask you, or you watch their body language. If someone's staring at the same spot on the wall or shifting back and forth uncomfortably, chances are they need help. "