Customer service is a dying art

Lc jones

Lc jones

Senior Member
OK everybody, I would like to know everyone’s techniques for being handling rude, incompetent, uncaring persons on the telephone or in person displaying horrible customer service. I need all the help I can get as sooner or later my blood pressure is going to suffer as I always internalize these things and it eats me up. Thanks for your input 👍
 

Lc jones said:
OK everybody, I would like to know everyone’s techniques for being handling rude, incompetent, uncaring persons on the telephone or in person displaying horrible customer service. I need all the help I can get as sooner or later my blood pressure is going to suffer as I always internalize these things and it eats me up. Thanks for your input 👍
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I wish you a lot of luck dealing with customer service either in a store or on the phone. My Husband and I were in a home depot yesterday and he asked 3 assistants where he could find a certain kind of hook. All three said they didn't carry that particular kind of hook. He even told them he had bought the same hook there before. One of them even laughed at him and then walked away. A few minutes later my husband found the hook. We just bought it and walked out. He was too disgusted to even go find them and yell at them. As far as on the phone I HATE making calls to any customer service centers
 
I don't have many problems with Customer service as I do a lot of my
shopping online. I find Walmart service is excellent, as is my grocery
store. If and when I find service unsatisfactory I will not hesitate to
go to management and complain.
 

Once you learn to identify what you can control & what you can't life gets easier. Rudeness on the part of another happens, it's up to you to decide what you can or cannot control. If it's something you have no way of controlling you have the choice to let it go or internalize it. The rude person feels nothing you are left with frustration & anger. <----- Not good for your health.

Maybe you have an example.
 
If I get bad customer service whether in store or online, I call and ask for the manager or call the corporate number to report the situation I just went thru....hoping another person after me doesnt have to go thru a disrespectful or incompetent incident like I did with the staff.....they can find out immediately who was on that shift on that day and time and take it from there....
 
Unless they are the "only game in town", we put businesses like that on "suspension" and don't do any business with them until their suspension ends. Four of our local restaurants have had suspensions ranging from 6 months to two years. One air conditioning company has 10 years before we will even consider calling them again. A local Jeweler is still working off a 5 year suspension. I keep track of them on my trusty iPhone and my list seems to be growing.

Along with the suspension come the obligation that we "bad mouth" them any time they come up in conversation.

Now this may not actually do anything, but it is very satisfying! It is especially satisfying when they call you on the phone and you politely advise them that they are "on suspension."
 
Knight said:
Once you learn to identify what you can control & what you can't life gets easier. Rudeness on the part of another happens, it's up to you to decide what you can or cannot control. If it's something you have no way of controlling you have the choice to let it go or internalize it. The rude person feels nothing you are left with frustration & anger. <----- Not good for your health.
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Almost verbatim what the wife and I were told about dealing with children/grandchildren by a professional therapist. Since we have almost no control over how someone else behaves we must, for mental health reasons, change our expectations. (She says change, I say lower.) When you expect that you will never receive the customer service you deserve it makes it easier when that is what you get.

You can control your own behavior but, usually, have very little ability to change the behavior of someone else.

Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps.
 
As crummy as it sounds, 'Knight' is right, there really isn't much you can do when you are presented with lousy service. You can yell, scream, and carry on, but it may just make the service that much lousier. It is frustrating as hell.
 
I never yell or scream I just internalize things I just remember when I used to work and my number one goal was to be kind and friendly I guess it kind of galls me that others don’t necessarily feel that way, my expectations are way too high unfortunately
 
Sassycakes said:
I wish you a lot of luck dealing with customer service either in a store or on the phone. My Husband and I were in a home depot yesterday and he asked 3 assistants where he could find a certain kind of hook. All three said they didn't carry that particular kind of hook. He even told them he had bought the same hook there before. One of them even laughed at him and then walked away. A few minutes later my husband found the hook. We just bought it and walked out. He was too disgusted to even go find them and yell at them. As far as on the phone I HATE making calls to any customer service centers
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That is disgusting!
 
Something that really angers me is when cashiers and other employees ignore customers while they chat/flirt/socialize. :mad: I make note of names, time, etc. then I say:

"Excuse me for interrupting, but I need to (get service....whatever). I suggest you do your job, NOW, and socialize later." eyerolls, exchange looks.......

Then as soon as I get home I compose a letter complaining about the way customers are being treated. Sometimes I get a phone call, apology, or even a gift certificate. I emphasize that training needs to be better because unlike me most people won't make a formal complaint. Instead, they vote with their feet.
 
I'm usually patient with people in customer service but one time I called the Social Security Administration with a question. The woman on the other end kept yelling. "Why are you asking me that?" I explained why I was asking that and she just yelled more. So I told her to give me the number of someone else, which she did. A nice sane man answered my question. Sheesh! I must have been accidently connected to the daycare area.
 
its not to bad in the UK for service -but saying that all towns have bad service ' I think now people are polite here in fear of losing their job - and when a brit complains all hell breaks lose ' so really over the years and population expanding as we are a island not a country as such' so u got 5 waiting for that job to come vacant ' but people should complain always to a manager' or that certain person gets away with it all the dam time !
 
Another way to view this is when you don't formally complain then the company remains blind to the fact that they have a bad employee. Insist on seeing the manager always. I have had great success doing this.
 
The title says it all. what used to be, has seemed to die away. Training for these jobs has gone by the wayside.
People are on the clock at their job X amt. of hours, and what happens during that time is just wasted time in their life when they would rather be elsewhere.

You need to be polite as possible, and stay calm thru the ordeal. It saves YOUR sanity.
 
For the life of me I do not understand why cashiers anymore do not tell customers "thank you" when they make a purchase. That used to be so standard no one even thought about it. It was just expected courtesy. Now, whenever I buy something anywhere the cashier looks at me like they are expecting me to thank them. And I wonder what it is they think I'm supposed to be thanking them for?

I agree there is absolutely no training on these jobs at all, but I would have thought that was just common sense. I have gone to the manager of a store before and discussed this issue and they are very polite and agree with me, but then nothing changes.
 
Lc jones said:
OK everybody, I would like to know everyone’s techniques for being handling rude, incompetent, uncaring persons on the telephone or in person displaying horrible customer service. I need all the help I can get as sooner or later my blood pressure is going to suffer as I always internalize these things and it eats me up. Thanks for your input 👍
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Walk away and find another clerk.
Hang up the phone and call back to get another rep.
Avoidance works for me, but there are some days when I want to call someone a swear-word.
 
I love in these big box home improvement stores when you find some guy to ask about something you've chosen to buy, they tell you a horror story about the item and suggest you pick something else. Drives me nuts. Shut up and tell me...will this fit that? That's all I want to know. I have often thought about putting on a cap, a fake moustache, and some sweaty overalls before I go in there.
 
applecruncher said:
Something that really angers me is when cashiers and other employees ignore customers while they chat/flirt/socialize. :mad:
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When I worked as a bag boy at Publix in 1963 you would get your butt chewed off by one of the straw bosses if they saw you talking to another employee while you were on the clock. It was asses and elbows every second you were on the clock.

By straw bosses I'm referring to the assistant manager or the dude just under him who was known as "The third Man", not to be confused with the movie of the same name. They were in charge of the slave driving. The store manager, Irby Long, generally didn't lower himself to speak to the bag boys. If you were a bag boy and you were summoned to Mr. Long's office it probably meant you were getting fired.

As for the customers, it was the policy of Publix at that time to treat them like they were Gods that had decended from Heaven to walk amongst us.
 
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When I was a teen-aged "check out girl" (cashier) in a grocery store 1966-68 the employees NEVER chatted with each other. We paid attention to the customer, we smiled, said thank you, then took care of the next person. If nobody was waiting in line we made sure the candy/gum was stocked properly and wiped off the conveyor belt. The bagger/carry out boy offered to help with carrying even one bag to a customer's car. We earned every bit of that $1.25/hr (later $1.40).

A friend was telling me how she was treated rudely at a store, and I told her she should have spoken to the manager or gone to the website and complained. She said she was uneasy about doing that because if employee has your name/address (from a credit card or check) and gets disciplined or fired........well......ya never know.

But this is the problem - management needs to know they have a problem employee. Someone complaining to a friend or spouse doesn't address the problem.
 
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RadishRose said:
Walk away and find another clerk.
Hang up the phone and call back to get another rep.
Avoidance works for me, but there are some days when I want to call someone a swear-word.
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Unfortunately sometimes there is no other person especially when it comes to specific repair issues but I agree that’s what I usually do when I can.
 
Knight said:
Once you learn to identify what you can control & what you can't life gets easier. Rudeness on the part of another happens, it's up to you to decide what you can or cannot control. If it's something you have no way of controlling you have the choice to let it go or internalize it. The rude person feels nothing you are left with frustration & anger. <----- Not good for your health.

Maybe you have an example.
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I agree with this. Unfortunately I internalize too much so I’m still in the process of identifying what I can control and what I can’t.

That is a great response.
Simple & sweet.
Thank you.
 

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