Where Not to Get Good Customer Service

Good customer service is so easy. In my opinion store employees that smile make me feel welcome in the store. The other thing that makes good customer service is when they employee looks me in the eye and addresses me in a respectful manner. I also like phrases like thank you, yes mam, no mam, and how can I help you all with a smile would be nice but not always necessary. Well trained employees also makes for good customer service. A store that is well stocked is also considered good customer service.

Bad customer service seems to be even easier. The store employees never smile. The employees talk on the phone instead of addressing the customer. The cashiers disrespect the customer who is trying to spend money either in words or actions. Cursing on the sales floor weather they think the customer can hear or not for the most part trust me they do hear. Talking between the cashiers while a customer is waiting to be checked out. Their personal conversation takes preference over the customer. Not saying thank you is the norm in most stores these days. When a customer asks to see a manager and it takes thirty or so minutes for the manager to show up.

Now, that we have defined good and bad customer service now I will relate my experiences and let you decide.

There are quite a few large corporation operating retail stores nation wide. Some of these corporations earn in the billions due to the patronage of people like you and me. In other words the more we spend at their stores the more money they make. Now this may seem like a lot of money and to little people like you and me it is. However, your sales clerk, your stock person, your store managers and so on are not really making that much money. There is a CEO of these large corporations and board members who are making all this money. These are the men and women who make store policy. These are the people that can change the way the retail stores are managed. These are the people that we as the consumer must get to but never do.

Most of these big corporation like K-Mart have toll free phone numbers to call and complain. These complaints never make it to anyone of importance. These complaints sit on a computer scene until a district manager or a store manager feels like reading them. At this point you may get a phone call or a letter saying how sorry they are about what every it is you are complaining about, but nothing really gets done. This is called lip service. That is when a district manager or a store manager tells you what they think you want to hear to make you go away. They think we are dumb but for the most part it works and most people go a way. There are a few who take it a step further and get lawyers and sue.

Now here is my story. K-Mart in conjunction with Proctor and Gamble put out a coupon good only at K-mart. The deal was that you took this coupon to K-Mart and bought one super saver package of durecell batteries, and two other proctor and gamble products. The coupon does say one coupon per purchase. It does have step by step instructions on it for the cashier to follow in redeeming this coupon. The coupon does not say one per person or one per visit, or one per day. These coupons are good until August 13th and started in the middle of July. The ad was run in the K-Mart monthly circular for all to see. There were also signs up in some stores along with the coupon. The coupons went fast though and I had a hard time getting what I did get.

To start with I went to the K-Mart at 5100 Sinclair Lane on or about July 18th give or take a day. I asked the customer service rep at the counter about the sale. She said she knew nothing about this sale. I told her it was advertised in the monthly sale paper. I was told well it is over there on the rack. I went over and got the paper and opened to the page and showed her the sale. In a discussed tone she said we don't have no coupons. I asked will you get them in. We don't have any coupons. Is the store honoring the sale at all? We don't have no coupons. I decided since this person who I think is called Michael, I am not for sure since she doesn't wear a name tag, was not going to give me any information other than we don't have any coupon, I left. I got lucky at the store on Belair Road and picked up a few coupons.

The sale has been going on for a while now and the battery supplies at the stores were getting low and in some stores none at all. I again made the mistake of going to the Sinclair Lane store to use my coupons. I figured since I had been to the store several times and gotten nothing that I would use two of my coupons here. I made two separate orders because the coupons said one per purchase. I went to the cashier.

I had a young boy cashier named Jamel. He seemed to be confused on how to ring my order. He rang up everything and took off my coupons. He charged me $10.00 for the gift card. The boy then asked me for the money. I explained to him that he did not deduct the $10.00's for the free gift card nor did he activate my gift card. This means the gift card was no good to me at all. At this time he informed me that he knew his job and that I did not have to tell him how to do his job. He became very angry when he could not get the register to do what he wanted it too. He than said that I am not supposed to get a gift card and walked away. He walked over to the customer service desk to Michael. They talked for a few minutes and wasted my time. The boy came back and rung up my order again. Finally after a few tries my two orders were rung up and I received my gift cards. Then my mother put up her orders. The boy again got up set. He went back to customer service mumbling about being pissed off again. They were not going to let my mother use the coupons because I had used my coupons. These two people made my mother and I feel like we were trying to steel from them. We were made to feel like we were less than human.

After a while of the back and forth my mother asked for a manager. Now we had been in line for almost an hour. The manager came over and her name was Andre. She was nice to a point. I explained to her why we were using two coupons and what the coupons said. She told us that the coupon said that we could only use one per day. I don't know where she got that but ok, because she said she would let us do the deal today only. Fine. While ringing up my mother the boy's body language was very angry he did not want to ring my mother up. Apparently he had a problem with reading directions on this coupon. I explained to the manager that I was not a thief and that her staff was making me feel that way. I also explained the treatment that I had received from both cashier and customer service representative was not acceptable. She said that her people were just doing their job. I am just a customer there to spend my hard earned money and if they do not want people to come in and use coupons that are put out by their company they should post it on the door and I will gladly shop else where.

This is not the first time I have had problems with this store. I had an issue back in December of 2006 and I received an email from the manager of the store at that time. He apologized again for the bad service and offered me a $25.00 gift card for my trouble. I went to the store to get the card and waited again for an hour before I got the gift card only to find out that it was not activated either. I wrote the company again and to this day have not heard back from them. Maybe if I could get in contact with the CEO of K-Mart this situation would be remedied.

Now you tell me is this the kind of store you would say had the good customer service. Or is this a store that you would stay clear of because of the bad customer service. Maybe if more people told their stories online these companies would take notice and fix the problem. The other solution is that if we all tell our stories it may save someone else from going to that store and being mistreated.

I have done a little research on K-Mart in general it seems that in 2002 they filed chapter 11 and the closing of 283 stores nation wide was the solution to keep some of their doors open. However, there are over a dozen law suits pending for fraud with gift cards and other problems. I have personally been in five K-Mart's in the Baltimore, Maryland area and for the most part they are a mess. There is merchandise on the floor. None of the merchandise is priced correctly on the shelves. There are toys on the floor in the toy sections. Shelves are empty, but the overstock at the top of the runs is full. The stores are not running air conditioning even though the temperature here is above ninety. The stores that I have been in are running one or two cashiers and when the line gets more than ten people they send them to jewelry. The store seems understaffed. The staff that they do have are very rude to customers at least this store is. I look forward to everyone's opinions.

Customer service, where did it go?