Bad Customer Service

[Jim Norman]

OK, I have had it with people that just don’t know what their job is.

No matter what your employer might tell you, your job IS TO ASSIST THE CUSTOMER!

As an example, I have to have keys made for three GM trucks. Home Depot has the equipment to make keys for those of us unfortunate enough to have ‘Chip Keys’. So I go into Home Depot, Sorry the ‘Key Man’ is not here on Monday, OK I go back having been told he is in the next day, so I return, ‘Sorry he left early today’. So I stop at another Home Depot to try my luck, YEAH! The Key Man is in!, Yes he can make the keys, all I need is the model and year. Done, he makes the keys for THREE DIFFERENT VEHICLES and then, THEN he tells me that I need to have the vehicles there so he can finish the program! I am good, I can drive most anything, but I cannot drive three vehicles at one time. Why didn’t this paragon of customer relations tell me up front that I need to have the vehicle there? I can only assume he figured I drove all three up by myself. Get with it, you just wasted half an hour of my time and succeeded in pissing me off.

So the other day I go into a computer store to research and buy a tablet computer. Nice young lady asks if she can help us. Well her help consisted of applauding when I figured out the Window 8 touch screen, batting her eyes at me every time I asked a question, did I get the information I need to make a $500.00 purchase? Nope, Went to another big box retailer and got a small amount of additional info (This time from a guy, so no eyelash batting or applause) then went home and did additional research. Will probably purchase, but not likely at either location. Probably online because I can get the price and I don’t have to put up with imbeciles to make a purchase.

People, LEARN YOUR JOB, LEARN YOUR PRODUCT, Know more about it than you will be asked. Be PROFESSIONAL. Eihter that or resign yourself to a minimum wage job your entire life. And contrary to popular belief, there will always be people at the bottom even if the minimum wage become $50 and hour, everyone else and all the costs will only move up so that you are still making the equivalent of a Happy Meal per hour.

OK, my rant is over.

[whitedog]

Amen. Danger Here There Be Morons.

[trgt]

I'd be tempted to put a lot of blame on the stores - big box places like Home Depot and Best Buy that compete on price rarely have anyone helpful with product knowledge, other than helping you (maybe) find the product. They don't staff or train for that. Lots of exceptional people if you can find them, but not the rule, in my experience.

[Flatland Shooter]

I took the time to help a fellow elderly gentleman figure out the tools and parts he needed to finish a small plumbing job at his house. The Home Depot manager took me by the arm and asked to speak to me. I figured my big mouth got me in trouble again. Wrong. He offered me a job.

Experienced people that can really help the customer are already working elsewhere at much better pay than these big box stores can offer. The stores complain they can't pay more because they are competing with the internet but fail to realize, the more they run off customers with bad service, the more customers resort to the internet for their needs.

[Pat Miles]

I was replacing an original toilet in my 60 year old house. I wanted one with a large waste hole opening for obvious reasons and a base that was large enough to cover the footprint in the linoleum that the old toilet left. Taking my trusty tape measure to the local Home Depot I start opening boxes and measuring. The "plumbing pro" tells me that I can't open any other boxes and of course he doesn't have a clue regarding my questions.. Asking this "pro" how I find out which toilet might fill my needs he proceeds to tell me that I have to buy a toilet, take it home, open it and make the measurements. "If it doesn't fit, bring it back and try another". I have him load one on my cart, pay for it, roll it out the door, open it and determine that it won't work, roll it back in and return it. That moron was smoking at the ears after he loaded 6 toilets for me in 15 minutes til I found the one that would work. I was even at the return counter when they called him up to take the first 5 back to put back in stock. He was pissed!

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Pat

[kirbinster]

This is nothing new, it just happens with increased frequency these days. I don't remember ever going into a car dealer not knowing more about the car I was interested in than the guy that was trying to sell it too me. I even had one tell me that side air bags were a high risk item. I questioned him about that and he said he had a letter about it. This was when these first came out. He pulled the letter out and it was from his sales manager explaining that pushing side air bags was high risk as most customers did not understand them and it would add cost and risk losing the sale. Idiots!!!

Recently I went into a BestBuy store looking to buy a new router. Even the Geek knew less about it than I did and could not answer my questions. But I much prefer when they can't answer my questions than when they give me wrong information. Maybe this explains the problem we hear King 0bamba talk about when he talks about the inequality in America. What the heck does he expect, if people can't learn to do their job and do it well they don't deserve to be anything but bottom dwellers.

[Sarge]

Wait....

You guys are going to Lowe's or Home Depot and expecting to find somebody who knows what they are doing?

I thought it was common knowledge that you only go to those places when you already know exactly what you need.

[Youngeyes]

Wait....

You guys are going to Lowe's or Home Depot and expecting to find somebody who knows what they are doing?

I thought it was common knowledge that you only go to those places when you already know exactly what you need.

Damn it Sarge. Next you'll tell them the truth about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

[kirbinster]

That is an interesting comment. Here in NJ when Homedepot first showed up and put Rickels and Channel out of business they were staffed with knowledgeable trades people. When you went to the plumbing aisle you dealt with a real plumber, in electrical it was a licensed electrician, today no one knows anything there.

[Sarge]

That is an interesting comment. Here in NJ when Homedepot first showed up and put Rickels and Channel out of business they were staffed with knowledgeable trades people. When you went to the plumbing aisle you dealt with a real plumber, in electrical it was a licensed electrician, today no one knows anything there.

I worked at lowe's long enough to see that watching some videos made a person a "pro"

[Selby213]

This is nothing new, it just happens with increased frequency these days. I don't remember ever going into a car dealer not knowing more about the car I was interested in than the guy that was trying to sell it too me. I even had one tell me that side air bags were a high risk item. I questioned him about that and he said he had a letter about it. This was when these first came out. He pulled the letter out and it was from his sales manager explaining that pushing side air bags was high risk as most customers did not understand them and it would add cost and risk losing the sale. Idiots!!!

I can't tell you the number of times I have been asked a question that I 100% know the answer without a doubt, and after I give that answer it is argued. At that point on the sales side of things I remember one of my first lessons, 'feed your ego or feed your family".

Working in a dealership is very hard, and it is an extremely high turn job. Most employees done get the proper training because the dealership doesn't want to invest the time and money in someone that is going to quit in less than 3 months. However the other side of that is true as well, if they aren't worth the investment of time and money then what option do they have but to find something else. Having become one of the more senior people at the dealership I offer any help I can to anyone that needs it. Because you are right, a lack of knowledge not only looks bad for that person, but the dealership as a whole.

[kirbinster]

This is nothing new, it just happens with increased frequency these days. I don't remember ever going into a car dealer not knowing more about the car I was interested in than the guy that was trying to sell it too me. I even had one tell me that side air bags were a high risk item. I questioned him about that and he said he had a letter about it. This was when these first came out. He pulled the letter out and it was from his sales manager explaining that pushing side air bags was high risk as most customers did not understand them and it would add cost and risk losing the sale. Idiots!!!

I can't tell you the number of times I have been asked a question that I 100% know the answer without a doubt, and after I give that answer it is argued. At that point on the sales side of things I remember one of my first lessons, 'feed your ego or feed your family".

Working in a dealership is very hard, and it is an extremely high turn job. Most employees done get the proper training because the dealership doesn't want to invest the time and money in someone that is going to quit in less than 3 months. However the other side of that is true as well, if they aren't worth the investment of time and money then what option do they have but to find something else. Having become one of the more senior people at the dealership I offer any help I can to anyone that needs it. Because you are right, a lack of knowledge not only looks bad for that person, but the dealership as a whole.

Solution to that is simple. The dealer should charge the sales people for training programs, and then pay them back for it 1/"x"th for each "x" months they stay. If they stay and become good it is free, if they leave it is on them. When I worked for a Fortune500 company that is how I got my MBA. They paid 75% of the cost of each class (excluding books) after I passed each course. When I got my degree (assuming I was still there) they paid me for all the books and the other 25% of the cost of the classes.

[Selby213]

This is nothing new, it just happens with increased frequency these days. I don't remember ever going into a car dealer not knowing more about the car I was interested in than the guy that was trying to sell it too me. I even had one tell me that side air bags were a high risk item. I questioned him about that and he said he had a letter about it. This was when these first came out. He pulled the letter out and it was from his sales manager explaining that pushing side air bags was high risk as most customers did not understand them and it would add cost and risk losing the sale. Idiots!!!

I can't tell you the number of times I have been asked a question that I 100% know the answer without a doubt, and after I give that answer it is argued. At that point on the sales side of things I remember one of my first lessons, 'feed your ego or feed your family".

Working in a dealership is very hard, and it is an extremely high turn job. Most employees done get the proper training because the dealership doesn't want to invest the time and money in someone that is going to quit in less than 3 months. However the other side of that is true as well, if they aren't worth the investment of time and money then what option do they have but to find something else. Having become one of the more senior people at the dealership I offer any help I can to anyone that needs it. Because you are right, a lack of knowledge not only looks bad for that person, but the dealership as a whole.

Solution to that is simple. The dealer should charge the sales people for training programs, and then pay them back for it 1/"x"th for each "x" months they stay. If they stay and become good it is free, if they leave it is on them. When I worked for a Fortune500 company that is how I got my MBA. They paid 75% of the cost of each class (excluding books) after I passed each course. When I got my degree (assuming I was still there) they paid me for all the books and the other 25% of the cost of the classes.

My first experience at an auto dealership for training went something like this; " go upstairs in the conference room find the Joe Verde sales tapes and watch them". I get up there start plowing through the videos. Half way through take lunch, come back open the next box of tapes. half are missing. Call down to the manager, "just watch what is there" was the reply. So I finish the 8 our of 10 tapes, and go back to find the manager. He sent me home for the day. Next day show up excited and ready to learn more about the process but when I asked what I should do? His reply, 'find someone and sell them a car'. Amazing training!

I find what you say interesting because I would gladly pay for training. I am 6 days away from being able to become Master Certified. I have completed I don't know how many hours of training(200-300), but because the process has changed I don't know if I will be sent for that final class/test. It would require a 2 day trip to Chicago(several hour drive), and 2 nights in a hotel. All of which I would pay for if the dealership would sign me up for the class. The trouble is that I am 1 of 2 people that do my job and the other guy is already Master Certified so they don't see the value in sending me. I would gladly pay for it as well, but someone higher up has to see the ROI.

I know this got slightly off track, but I wanted to share that it is not always the person that is standing in front of you that can be blamed for lack of knowledge. Granted they could do something on their own, but sometimes the barriers become too much of a burden.