Mis-Adventures with The Home Despot
Having torn out all of the carpets from the farm house, we're going to replace them with hardwood flooring. After searching several places, we finally found a product that we liked at The Home Depot. Even better, they were having a promotion - "receive up to a $400 gift card with your purchase..." Fine and dandy, so with some amount of difficulty we get all the hardwood that we need, now to try to get the rebate.
Well, the form is online. At least, it's supposed to be. Nope, all the links to it from their website are dead. Thanks guys. I go back to the store where I bought the product, and it takes over a half-hour of climbing up the ladder from the front-end clerk to the managers before someone finally figures out that they have the little coupons in-store. Reading the fine print on the back, it says it wants me to mail in the UPC codes (all 49 of them?!) or the "complete, validated Special Services Customer Agreement"... What the hell is that?
I finally called customer service this morning to try to get some answers, and got one of the surliest reps I've ever had the displeasure of talking to. Kid, it was only 8am when I called. If your day is that bad already, maybe you better pack up and go home because it's only going to get a lot worse. If you hate your job that much, quit, and get a different one. Your job is to be polite, and helpful, because when someone calls customer service, they need help. Yes, customers can be assholes. Yes, they can seem like idiots because while you may have dealt with the same question a thousand times already, they're dealing with it for the first time. It doesn't matter what you think of the customer. Be polite, be helpful, and even if you despise them for calling you with their endless stupid questions and demands, don't let it show in your tone of voice. FAKE it if you have to, you little sack of shit, because like it or not, you and the other SERVICE people are the front-line of the company, and whether it succeeds or fails depends on the customers whose opinions will depend on your attitude.
I did get the information I needed, but after 20 minutes of being on hold and listening to the gawd-awful Muzak, I would have loved to have reached through the phone and slapped a little civilty into the snarky brat on the other end.
Well, the form is online. At least, it's supposed to be. Nope, all the links to it from their website are dead. Thanks guys. I go back to the store where I bought the product, and it takes over a half-hour of climbing up the ladder from the front-end clerk to the managers before someone finally figures out that they have the little coupons in-store. Reading the fine print on the back, it says it wants me to mail in the UPC codes (all 49 of them?!) or the "complete, validated Special Services Customer Agreement"... What the hell is that?
I finally called customer service this morning to try to get some answers, and got one of the surliest reps I've ever had the displeasure of talking to. Kid, it was only 8am when I called. If your day is that bad already, maybe you better pack up and go home because it's only going to get a lot worse. If you hate your job that much, quit, and get a different one. Your job is to be polite, and helpful, because when someone calls customer service, they need help. Yes, customers can be assholes. Yes, they can seem like idiots because while you may have dealt with the same question a thousand times already, they're dealing with it for the first time. It doesn't matter what you think of the customer. Be polite, be helpful, and even if you despise them for calling you with their endless stupid questions and demands, don't let it show in your tone of voice. FAKE it if you have to, you little sack of shit, because like it or not, you and the other SERVICE people are the front-line of the company, and whether it succeeds or fails depends on the customers whose opinions will depend on your attitude.
I did get the information I needed, but after 20 minutes of being on hold and listening to the gawd-awful Muzak, I would have loved to have reached through the phone and slapped a little civilty into the snarky brat on the other end.