Ah, good
customer service. I fear it is a dying thing in our society.
Good
customer service is hard. It requires training. It requires effort. It requires
constant reminders as to what needs to be done and how. But the rewards more
than pay for the time and energy.
I have had
great customer experiences. I have seen what it can do to keep a company going,
well supplied with returning and new customers as much for the experience as
for the product.
Example One: Canlis Restaurant in Seattle.
This business
has been around for over 50 years. It is in an awkward location to get to; it
has an adequate view of Capitol Hill and the University District; and the food
is different, good, but not spectacular to my taste.
What it has,
and what makes me want to go back, is a level of service that approaches the
level of myth. It’s the experience, all of it.
The
wait-persons are attentive, very attentive. They do not hover at your table.
They do not constantly ask if everything is OK. They just seem to be not there.
Except, when you want or need something, even if it seems to be a passing
thought on your part, they appear at your side and ask what you want or need.
It is
magical.
It is
wondrous.
It is
mythical. It can be downright scary the first few times it happens.
But it
happens the greater majority of times one wants or needs something.
Amazing.
And when you
pay your bill, get your coat on and step out the door, your car is waiting
right there, warm and ready. The staff wishes you goodbye by name!
Astonishing.
I tell you
it is enough to make one want to come back no matter what the price (expensive)
just for the experience. It is worth every penny and then some.
Example Two: Nordstrom.
Its customer
service is legendary.
This store
started out as Nordstrom Best Shoes over a century ago. It tends towards the
upper middle price range of shoes, clothing, and accessories. OK, maybe more
upper that middle.
I recently bought
a jacket, shirt and tie, pants, and shoes there. I would happily go back
anytime for even a handkerchief.
The outfit
purchased is a higher quality than, say, JC Penny. But that is not the reason I
would go back.
Again, it is
the quality of service and how I was treated. It was the way the sales people
suggested things to a clothing lug nut like me.
It was the
attention to what I needed, what I wanted, and what was actually best for me.
They understood their products, knew them completely, and could talk at length
on a fabric’s features and benefits. I was educating me, not pushing me.
Being a
weaver, I was impressed.
I
appreciated how it all appeared on me in the mirror.
No pressure
to buy. All they provide customers is excellent guidance and help and real
customer service. They know how satisfy a customer.
Amazing.
I will go
back. It is worth every penny and then some.
Yes, I have
had good experiences with different companies.
Alas, there
are also a few places I have promised myself to never return to for any reason.
The experiences at these companies have consistently been so bad and the
treatment so horrible that they do not deserve any customers.
I would not
trust them even to give me the time of day.
And then there is Best Buy: Given my latest experience, I will
never go into one of their stores again. I will go to any other alternative
just to avoid their stores. I don’t need the abuse.
The sales
staff is untrained, the computer infrastructure out of date and decrepit, and
the management’s attitude towards the customer is “F*ck the C*stomer’s problem
with our stores and staff.”
Best Buy is
in economic trouble. Things have gotten so bad that the Board of Directors
brought the original owner and CEO of the company, Richard Schulze, and created
a position of CEO Emeritus for him to be on the Board of Directors.
But the
upper management doesn’t have a clue as to why they are bleeding money. They
think customers come in to look at a product and then go out on line to get a
better deal. Best Buy has responded by matching prices to these prices to these
Internet deals.
In point of
fact, management has simply missed the point. I am sure, given my recent
experience, customers go into Best Buy to purchase an appliance or product only
to go SCREAMING OUT THE DOOR desperate to find a better, friendlier, honest
place to buy, not just a better price.
The sales
associate we ended up with for our purchase of an under-the-cabinet microwave
proved to be unfamiliar with microwaves, how to take an order, how to get the
order correct, and how to arrange a delivery/install date. He promised it to be
delivered on March 16th then set it up for May 16th. We
asked for a white microwave. We found out later he ordered a stainless
steel microwave there by charging us too much.
When the
delivery confirmation phone call did not come and the product was not
delivered, the first of many phone calls ensued. That is when we found out that
the sales associate had actually scheduled delivery for two months later. I
tried to call the store and ask for a manager. They took my number. The manager
never called me back.
The new
delivery date was the 26th during a three hour time window late in
the day. The delivery/install people arrive 20 minutes late after the three
hours. They opened the box and there was a shiny new black microwave.
They boxed it up and left with it. I called the store, talked to a Customer Service (sic) representative who
promised that a manager would call me the next day since all manager were gone
a hour and a half before the store closed.
No call
back.
At that
point I wrote a letter to the CEO, Hubert Joly, explaining the situation. I informed
him that I also sent a copy to the State Consumer Protection Division saying
this was a breach of contract on several levels.
I then
talked to a corporate level Customer Service (sic) representative who promised
me the local store manager would call me within the hour. The representative
gave me a phone number to call him back if the manager did not call.
I waited 10
hours. No call. I called the representative’s number and left a voicemail. I
called back the next day and left another voicemail. No call back, so I began
to wonder if it was Best Buy’s policy to tell the customer anything but not
call back.
I got on
Best Buy’s Facebook page. I got a series of replies from “Jessie” who once
again asked for me to send the complaint to an email address and off of
Facebook. After several more exchanges, one of which was a request to send them
my phone number for the fourth time, I sent them a copy of the letter to
the CEO. That seemed to get their attention.
Ten minutes
later, I received a call from the store. Arrangements were made for the
delivery and installation of the microwave. She stated the delivery would be on
a certain day but had the date wrong. I had to argue with her to get the day
and date to agree with the 20013 calendar. She obviously was not looking at a
calendar.
I talked
with a rather manager who grudgingly granted a $50 refund for my problems. I
was promised a revised receipt in my email in 10 minutes. This new sales
associate gave me a phone number to call her if I didn’t get the receipt.
It never
arrived. I called the number the next day. The phone number I was given by
the sales representative, the one I
repeated back to her, was not in the store’s telephone system. I went through
the call tree options and ended up with another Customer Service (sic)
representative who after considerable effort got the Best Buy computer system
to finally cough up the fact that the original order was cancelled but there
was no addition order, no delivery date, no refund, no anything.
She was kind
enough to try to get somebody on the case. About 30 minutes later I got a call
back. The White Microwave is scheduled to be delivered and installed next week
and there will now be a refund of a little over $80 but they would need the
credit card number to complete the transaction.
Why didn’t
they ask for the number the day before? Did I really talking to a manager? Or
was this just another deceit?
I am not
holding my breath that we will get the promised microwave as scheduled. Past
experience tells me I would be dead of asphyxiation if I did…
Here are
some conclusions about Best Buy; why I will never go back to one ever again,
even though ever is a very long time; and why I will tell everybody to shop
anywhere except at Best Buy:
1. Best Buy is understaffed. There was no
staff was in the appliance area. We had to search the floor for a sales
associate several minutes, finally breaking up a gossip party in the video
section.
2. Best Buy puts sales associates on the
floor who are untrained – let alone cross-trained -- and unqualified to sell
the store’s products. They do not know what they are selling, the products’
features, benefits, and differences. They do not know how to operate the
computerize order taking system. The training is so bad or lacking, they easily
order the wrong product and can’t set up delivery properly.
3. Customer Service (sic) is there to take
calls but not to get anything done. It is a façade. The department is there to
obfuscate, impede, and frustrate. They consistently lie about what to expect
for store managers (like call backs) and give out bogus phone numbers or ignore
answering them.
4. Best Buy doesn’t give a damn about a
customer beyond the paper and plastic cards in his/her wallet. This must come
down from top management as the stores reflect management’s policies and
directives. Management has not figured out that their products and prices are
not the only reason to patronize their stores. Customers wish decent service on
all levels. They also want respect. They don’t want to be lied to during any
part of the process – from initial sale to final installation.
5. Store management doesn’t give a damn.
There is no incentive to solve problems. This entire situation could have been
solved quickly with one customer phone call. Instead it is taking 30 days and
counting.
6. The electronic infrastructure within
Best Buy is so antiquated it takes over a minute for a representative to display
an order number even within a store. Customer Service (sic) computers are not
tied together so that agents can see earlier calls and complaints from a
customer. It also appears that these computers cannot connect to the Best Buy
order computer system as the customer has to continually restate information.
7. If you do a search of Best Buy
Complaints on the Internet you will discover a long list of sites filled with
similar horror stories. One site allows comments to entries; these comments
usually say the customer is wrong. It appears that Best Buy has a team of
people responding to complaints by condemning the original poster.
8. Best Buy is not Nordstrom. Best Buy
clearly forgets that they live and will die by their reputation provided
through their customers. Unlike Nordstrom, Best Buy will die when
customers go elsewhere, not just to find a better deal, but to be treated
honestly and fairly. Best Buy has no idea what real customer service is.
9. Clearly, neither Richard Schulze, Best
Buy CEO Emeritus, nor Hubert Joly, Best Buy CEO, has ever shopped at a Nordstrom.
