What Happened to Customer Service?

Sick and Tired of Home Depot

2007-09-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've just about had enough with the way The Home Depot chooses to run its business. At my neighborhood location at Folsom Blvd. and Power Inn Road in Sacramento, the service has gotten progressively worse over the past few months.

My most irritating visit came just the other day.

I spent several minutes wandering the aisles looking for someone to help me with an exhaust vent. When I found someone she just said "I can't help you I'm a cashier" and kept walking past me and didn't offer to find someone who could help me.
I finally found someone who worked in the aisles. He was either a stoner or an idiot because he just stared at me with a blank face when I asked him my questions. His response, "I think we're out of whatever you need." Nice. Then he just stared at me until finally I turned and walked away. No "Sorry I couldn't help", no "Maybe we can order that for you"... just a blank stare.

Then came my absolute biggest grip about The Home Depot as of late: no cashiers. They don't open their registers anymore, they only have the self-checkout open. There's always a line full of people that just don't know how to work the system. And then there's the one employee that gets annoyed with everyone that hasn't figured out how to scan their own stuff. It's ridiculous and the company should be embarrassed.

I'm sure they feel they can get away with having a bare bones staff that doesn't know shit about home/construction products because they're they only store for miles around. There aren't even any Ace Hardware stores or the equivalent in the neighborhood and their closest competitors Lowe's and Orchard Supply Hardware are too far away.

I try to go to the mom and pop hardware store down the street, but they just don't have the things I need sometimes.

So I continue to go to The Home Depot anytime I need to get something for my house. And I continue to be frustrated.

If you want to share a customer service story send me an E-Mail.

Making a Discovery: This place sucks!

2007-08-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

This week I took my daughter to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for a day trip with my parents. I’d been there many years ago as a kid (when it was still called Marine World) but this was the first time I’d gone since they turned it in to an amusement park. I was extremely disappointed.

For starters parking and admission were way too expensive. It cost $15 to park on a hill about half a mile from the park entrance. That’s $4 more than it costs to park at Disneyland, which of course, is a far superior theme park. Tickets were $50 a piece, just $13 less than Disneyland.

As if that weren’t expensive enough, everywhere we turned, we were forced to spend more money. You want to feed the giraffe a carrot? $5. You want to feed the seals a fish? $5. You want to get up close to a dolphin? $25. Everything had its price.

I guess I would be fine with the high prices, if I felt that they were actually going towards what I assume is the high price of caring for exotic marine mammals. But the animal exhibits were all in disrepair, the animals looked miserable, and in some cases the exhibits clearly hadn’t been renovated in the 15 years since I last stepped foot in Marine World.

On top of my general irritation with the park, it didn’t help that every single employee I encountered was rude and disinterested.

When we stopped to have lunch, I waited in a long line to pay $25 for two corn dogs, fries and two drinks for me and my daughter. When the cashier gave me my food, I asked for lids for the drinks. She gave me the company line “we don’t have those for the animals sake.” Okay fine I can respect that. Can I get a tray? “We don’t have trays.” I asked: how am I supposed to carry all this food? The woman actually just rolled her eyes at me and walked away. Unbelievable.

Also, when you have someone that is teaching kids about marine mammals, they should at least SOUND like they give a shit. That was certainly not the case with the employees at Discovery Kingdom.

The last thing I’ll say is that the bathrooms were foul. Not only were they old and falling apart, but they hadn’t been cleaned in hours with garbage and piss all over the floors.

So, even though my daughter had a blast, I don’t think I’ll be going back to Discovery Kingdom. She can go with the grandparents!

Got a bad customer service story? E-Mail Me

Support Your Local Hardware Store

2007-08-09T00:26:00.000-07:00

Since I've become a homeowner, I've spent a lot of time looking for parts, tools and other hardware. I've come to this conclusion: Home Depot sucks. My most recent trip involved wandering the aisles endlessly without finding what I needed or even someone in one of those obnoxious orange apron's to help me. I got so frustrated I left.
Unfortunately I was forced to go back later that night for something else. Once I found what I was looking for, I made my way to the checkout, only to find that all the checkouts were closed and only the self-checkouts were open. There was a line of about ten people and I had to sit and wait while people slowly figured out how to scan their items, pay for things, whatever. And what was the one employee doing the whole time? Staring off into space like nothing was going on.
That's it, I'm done. No more Home Depot. From now on, I'm going to the local hardware stores in my neighborhood whenever possible.

Got customer service issues? E-Mail me!

Is everybody's service THAT good?

2007-02-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

I'm having trouble selling my little blog here. I may soon try some new tactics to get the word out beyond my expanded circle of friends. In the meantime, remember to email me those customer service horror stories!

E-Mail Me!

A Spicy Story!

2007-01-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

The always lovely Laura shares her story of some spicy food, a hot mouth, and a lazy waitress

My latest peeve is Bangkok City thai food on W. El Camino by the Bel Air (in Sacramento). I went there once and really liked it. Now I won't go back due to their "water shortage."

I ordered a VERY hot larb (thai salad), stupidly, I may add, because I was getting over a (mouth wound). Do not ask for spicy larb when your mouth is still healing.

Anyway, it came, I devoured a couple bites and then had the most searing pain possible. Ben tried it and was also afflicted. The host lady came by to see if the food was alright. We were red-faced and panting. Then, I drank my entire tea and glass of water, as did Ben. We were the only ones in the restaurant, clearly suffering for like 10 minutes, and she sat there at the counter and didn't get us any more water. We were the ONLY ONES IN THERE and I was LOUDLY CRUNCHING MY ICE. I had to walk up to the counter, after the cook came out to talk to her, to ask for more water. They both looked surprised, like, oh, you wanted something? rrr.

Thanks for sharing your pain Laura! And remember everyone, you can E-mail me me your customer service stories and be as famous as Laura!

What's the deal with soy?

2007-01-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

I had another run in with Starbucks and their apparent inability to keep enough soy milk in stock (see previous post below). But at least this time, it was at the Starbucks in Safeway.

When I ordered my soy mocha, the wannabe barista told me they were out of soy. I got really irritated and said "You can't just go over to the health food section where there's like a whole shelf of soy milk, and grab one?" She responded "well they don't like us to do that." So I was less than thrilled, complained some, and finally she caved and said "alright I'll go get you some." And she returned with a basket full of soy milk, right off the shelf. See? Sometimes standing your ground works! Hopefully I didn't get that woman in trouble!

As always, I invite you to share your customer service stories! E-Mail me!

'Tis The Season!

2006-12-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Much to my surprise, I haven't had any bad customer service incidents in over a month. That's great for me, but bad for this blog!

So here's my call out to all of you: It's the holiday season, and I know you all are hitting the malls or jumping online to get that perfect gift. So if you've been ignored, pissed on or pissed off, I want to hear from you! E-mail me!

The closest thing I've had to a bad experience so far was the lack of holiday foresight by JCrew. It's only December 12th and most, if not all, of the women's sweaters from coast to coast are sold out. None in the stores, none through the catalog and none online. Maybe they should have ordered more...

Remember to spread the word to your friends and E-mail me!

SBC....Seriously Bad Cable

2006-11-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

By far the worst customer service experiences I've had in the past three years have been with SBC Home Entertainment (now AT&T).

Since day one of my service with them, I've had to make monthly, weekly and sometimes daily calls for service because my cable is so bad. It's made worse by the fact that my apartment complex holds an exclusive deal with SBC/AT&T to be the sole provider of cable, telephone and DSL service. So no matter how upset I get, I can't cancel my service unless I'm willing to go without it, which I'm not.

The current and most frequent problem is that several of my channels are without audio. Right now it's Bravo, CNN and two other stations. So of course I called, and of course they're going to send out a technician between 8am and 5pm. So it's yet another day that I'll be sitting around waiting for someone to show up. I've pitched so many fits during the past three years that I've gotten tired of it. I got a few bills comped at times when it was absolutely horrible, times when half my channels had no audio or no picture. I've spoken to a handful of technicians who've all told me I'm one of only a few in the complex that has basic cable, and I'm the only one that calls when there's a problem. Apparently if you're willing to pay $100 a month for digital cable, you won't have any service problems. Seems like a scam to me.

So tomorrow, once again, I'll be dealing with an SBC technician who will be polite but absolutely useless. Only when I move out of this apartment, will I be able to really let loose on them.

Remember to e-mail me with your stories of bad customer service!

Somebody Help Her!

2006-10-30T21:19:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't had a bad customer experience story this week, we'll let Jen share her's....

Last month I was sorting through the mail, and I noticed an envelope from Sprint. It looked and felt like a bill. Addressed to me and with my address, I was a bit confused. 'I don't have Sprint,' I thought. Sure enough, it was a bill for roughly $510. There was my name, my address, and a bunch of calls that I did not place.

A bit irritated and frightened, I called Sprint. I told the story to one person. He transferred me to "someone who could help me." She couldn't help me and transferred me to "someone who could help me." I then spent a good 30 minutes trying to convince this person that this was not my bill. Once he understood my problem, he transferred me to (you guessed it) "someone who could help me." She did. She took notes on the issue and told me not to worry, that the account was flagged and the next time someone places a call with the account they will deal with it.

28 days later . . .

So I'm sorting through my mail this afternoon, and I notice an envelope from Sprint. I know this envelope. I am now pissed. Inside is a bill for $8.75. Again, my name and address but strange numbers that are not mine.

So I call Sprint and tell the guy my story (extended now because it starts with, 'A month ago . . . .'). He can't help me, so he transfers me to "someone who can help me." She's awfully nice and listens to me but says she can't help me either and gives me another number to call.

I am exhausted. I was up at 5:30 AM, I just wanted to have a quick bite of something and collapse into bed, but instead I am talking to everyone at Sprint. I call the number and have to go through a ridiculous phone tree.

I finally get to where I think I need to be. Then I hear the following: "Thank you for calling Sprint. The office is currently closed. Our normal business hours are Monday through Friday . . . ."

Click.

Jen make sure you keep me posted on any developments with Sprint. As always, thanks for sharing your story!

Remember to e-mail me your stories of bad customer service! And remember to spread the word!

What's in Your Wallet? Rude Customer Service Reps!

2006-10-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Karey shares her story of a bad experience with Capitol One.

I have been a dedicated customer of Capital One for close to 10 years. They were the first company to ever grace me with a credit card. And, despite the fact they gave me a measly $700 limit after 10 years, I continued to carry their card next to my others.

I, like many people I know, pay my bill online. After such a payment, I noticed the amount hadn't cleared my bank or posted to my account several business days later. I phoned customer service and asked if they saw a pending payment for my account. The crap-weasel on the phone told me "no" and suggested I make another online payment. So, I did. And, what do you know..... TWO payments posted, and I now had a $370 credit on my card.

I did not want a credit on my card, so I contacted the customer service department, again, to let them know I would like the funds ACH'd back to my account, since the card was now paid in full. This new crap-weasel I got to talk to told me that they were going to have to send me a check and I would receive my funds in 21 business days. I said that was unacceptable, since it was their fault I made 2 payments in the first place, and I asked to speak to his supervisor.

After holding for about 30 seconds, the weasel picked up my line and began talking crap about me (thinking he was speaking to his manager). I said pretty loudly "Hey!! I can hear you!!!" He fumbled with his phone, while mumbling "uuhhhh...." and abruptly put me on hold. When the supervisor came on the phone, I told her of the uncalled for rudeness I had experienced from her staff member and gave her his name. She responded to me, "We don't have anyone who works here by that name"!!! WHAT?! I just talked to him!! I was at about a 10 by this point. She again informed me that this error was not theirs and that I would be receiving my check in 21 business days. I told her that I have never had such awful customer service in my life, to which she replied, "That is also not our fault".

Long story short, I no longer have a Capital One credit card.

Thanks for your story Karey! If you have a story e-mail me!

The Movement is Spreading!

2006-10-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

At least one person is tuned in to this blog!

Check out Marla's rant on some bad customer service in the Bay Area.

Let's keep the momentum going!

E-Mail me your stories!

Jamba Juice Makes Good

2006-10-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

I was going to post this week about a bad experience Sam and I had at the Jamba Juice on J and 19th in Sacramento. Let's just say that the young girls in there were not at all your typical Jamba Juice employees. Instead they were rude and lazy. Then they actually mocked Sam after she walked out of the store and I was still standing right there. But, I believe that was an isolated incident and on Friday I think I got my proof.

I went into the Jamba Juice again and noticed the supervisor/manager, Danny, from having worked at the Natomas Jamba Juice. I get a lot of smoothies and I spend a lot of time waiting for those smoothies and analyzing how Jamba Juice is run. It's clear that Danny's in charge and knows how to keep a team moving in that well-known Jamba Juice fashion.

So we started chatting, and he told me he was recently relocated to the Jamba on J street. Now one can only speculate that this was because the employees at the J street location are not cutting it in the Jamba world. While I was there he hollered at two girls that were screwing around instead of making my drink. I think changes are coming for the J street Jamba.

Oh, and he gave me a free Jamba Juice, so that never hurts.

No Soy in the Whole District?

2006-10-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

In the past week I visited two different Starbucks on two different days at two different times, and in both experiences I was told that they were out of soy milk.

At the Starbucks on J Street in Sacramento on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., I was told simply that they had a rush on soy earlier in the morning and they ran out. I pointed out something my wife has pointed out when they've ran out of soy before: can't they just go buy it at the store? It's not like it's specialty Starbucks soy, it's just a store brand.

So I was even more surprised when I went to the Starbucks on H Street on Thursday at 8 p.m. and found that they too were out of soy! One of the employees informed me that the entire Starbucks district in Sacramento was out of soy milk. I again pointed out that it was readily available at the grocery store, and the two employees agreed, saying that when they run out of regular milk, they often go to the store.

So I emailed Starbucks today, inquiring about their policy when it comes to running out of non-Starbucks specific items. I'll update you if they respond and if they apologize. ;-)

First and Last Trip with American Airlines

2006-10-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last month, my wife, 4-year-old daughter and I took a trip to Alabama for a friend's wedding. We chose to fly on American Airlines because it was the cheaper option and we were definitely on a budget for this trip.

Our flight left Sacramento at 6 a.m., so we made sure to get to the airport at 4:30 a.m.. We arrived to find a long, winding line in front of the American Airlines check-in counter. We waited for about 30 minutes, as the line slowly moved forward. There appeared to be just one person working two of those "self-service" kiosks that every airline has now. Finally, after lots of waiting, an irritated American Airlines representative comes over to the line and very rudely says "you know, you can use those over there," and points to unmarked, currently unused kiosks up against a nearby wall. The response from everyone in line, including myself was, well why the hell didn't you say that 30 minutes ago?

Everything went smoothly at the gate and we boarded our flight and left on time. We got settled in and flight attendants started making their rounds. When they got to us, I requested a muffin. And not a free muffin mind you, one that I was prepared to pay two dollars for. What I got was a rude response about how they only had 24 muffins on the flight and there were 150 passengers, and they had already run out. How do you only bring two dozen muffins on a 6 a.m. flight across the country? That's just poor planning. Then immediately following this exchange with the flight attendant, my wife asks for coffee and is told "we're out, we have to make some more, we'll come back later." Guess what? They didn't come back later. Throughout the entire flight, the flight attendants were rude and not helpful at all.

We arrived in Dallas-Fort Worth and wandered around until our connecting flight boarded. There was a slight delay because the crew was still cleaning the plane. Which is funny, because when we finally got on the plane, our seats were filthy. There was trash and food all over the seats and the floor, and my wife stepped in fresh, gooey gum. How do you step in gum on an airplane immediately after it was cleaned? We complained to the flight attendants, but they seemed completely disinterested and, just like the earlier flight, were very rude.

After we arrived in Alabama, I decided that I was not at all going to let American Airlines slide for this bad experience. So I called their customer service line and requested that we be given a free upgrade as a gesture of goodwill and an apology. I was shocked by the rude response of Kirsten, a customer service supervisor. She said, "I'm sorry we don't do that. If everybody who had a bad experience got free upgrades, we'd run out of seats." So basically she's admitting that they routinely get bad service complaints. Now, understand that I'm not saying they should give out upgrades every time a flight is delayed or there's a mechanical problem. Those kinds of things happen and they would run out of seats. I'm talking about holding your company accountable when your entire staff from top to bottom is rude. Needless to say, Kirsten and I did not see eye to eye and I didn't get my free upgrades.

So, I decided to email American Airlines, and outline my complaints to them, hoping for some kind of compensation. I got this:

"After reading your email describing your disappointment in us, we, too, are disappointed and can understand why you are upset. We are truly sorry we let you and your family down in so many ways during your recent travel with us.
At the same time, we are glad you wrote to us. We regard every single customer contact as a welcome opportunity to listen, learn and most importantly, improve. You can be sure that your constructive criticism will help us do a better job next time. In view of all you have endured, I can understand your request for a complimentary upgrade. Unfortunately, we were unable to comply. While we agree that in certain situations compensation is in order, we do not believe it is fair to our customers who purchase this premium service to offer complimentary upgrades as a compensation option."

So they did apologize, which is something. But being the cheap guy that I am, I still would have liked some compensation.

Sometimes being the squeaky wheel works, sometimes it doesn't. But I firmly believe that you can't let companies get away with stuff like this. Because if you do, it's only going to get worse and worse.

Trying Something New Here

2006-10-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'm on a quest to improve Customer Service in this country and I'm going to start in my current hometown of Sacramento, California. I'm hoping that this blog will spark something inside everyone that reads it to either improve the way they treat customers at their job, or demand better service from places that they've had bad experiences at .. or those that are "featured" on this blog.

I'm going to start posting my bad experiences on here, and if you've had a bad experience, email me and I'll post it here too.

Also, I'll update everyone as to any success I've had when emailing or calling companies to complain about bad service.

We'll see if this actually works.

Also, I'd like to point out that I'm not a difficult person. I'm not one of those guys that yells at waitresses for no reason, or makes unreasonable demands of those in the service industry. In fact, when it comes to service, I let things slide A LOT. My intention here is not to bitch (though I'll probably do it), but simply to improve the way people are treated.