Customer Service just went down ANOTHER notch
I just had to deal with the least professional store employee I think I've ever seen.
My needs were simple: I had to ship a DVD I just sold on Half.com. That's all. Not wanting to wait in line behind all the geriatrics that appear like clockwork at the post office every Monday, I opted to use the handy-dandy new postal branch installed in the Shell station across the street. Despite being the only customer in the store, I had to wait a good 2 or 3 minutes for the woman manning the counter to finish getting her beverage first. Strike one, but whatever. Back when I worked in customer service, the needs of the customer came before my own, but that policy has been out of practice for almost as long as I've been out of customer service, apparently.
As I soon learned, waiting for her to refill her coffee would be the least stressful portion of the transaction. I barely got my package on the scale when she launched into a barrage of personal problems on me.
"Oh, my day better not get any worse, cuz I'm about to go off on someone," she began.
Hoo boy. "Really?" I asked politely, which I did NOT mean as an invitation to give me every minute detail.
"I just finished a 40-hour course in...*mental calculation*...16 hours."
I have no idea what that means, I thought. I said, "Wow!" as if I was suitably impressed.
"I found out my son is at the Kansas border already..." again, no idea what you're talking about, "...the house is a wreck, the painter hasn't finished yet, I didn't get my TREE up..." Tree? My god people, can we please get to Thanksgiving first??? "Now I've got to train 2 people while trying to cover THIS area. My store is falling apart." Good show, make the customer feel guilty for requiring your services.
In the words of Denis Leary in The Ref, "What are we, girlfriends now?" Lady. I. Don't. CARE. I just want to mail out my one little package and get back to my own life. And if possible, accomplish this tiny little chore without feeling like you might pull a weapon out from under the desk at any minute just because your house is a mess.
We did complete the transaction without bloodshed, and as I walked away I threw her a "Good luck!" over my shoulder. Her response was MORE whining. "I told my husband, 'You just get the big-screen set up and I'll be happy!'" Okay, probably not the best tactic if you're looking for sympathy. Yes, your house is a shambles and tragically treeless, but at the end of the day you have a new big-screen TV and I'm just praying our 10-year-old 27" lasts until we get a little further out of debt.
Unfortunately her day probably got a little worse after I left. It wasn't until I was on the road that I realized she didn't charge me for the mailer I packed the DVD in. Not for lack of me trying, I DID point it out to her. We were both just so caught up in her troubles that it slipped our minds. In my mind I justified it because $1.20, while being highway robbery to charge for an envelope, is a very, very small price to pay for such a valuable life lesson. That being, when you go to work, leave your personal issues at home. Your place of employment (and especially in the face of your customers) is absolutely not the place for them.
My needs were simple: I had to ship a DVD I just sold on Half.com. That's all. Not wanting to wait in line behind all the geriatrics that appear like clockwork at the post office every Monday, I opted to use the handy-dandy new postal branch installed in the Shell station across the street. Despite being the only customer in the store, I had to wait a good 2 or 3 minutes for the woman manning the counter to finish getting her beverage first. Strike one, but whatever. Back when I worked in customer service, the needs of the customer came before my own, but that policy has been out of practice for almost as long as I've been out of customer service, apparently.
As I soon learned, waiting for her to refill her coffee would be the least stressful portion of the transaction. I barely got my package on the scale when she launched into a barrage of personal problems on me.
"Oh, my day better not get any worse, cuz I'm about to go off on someone," she began.
Hoo boy. "Really?" I asked politely, which I did NOT mean as an invitation to give me every minute detail.
"I just finished a 40-hour course in...*mental calculation*...16 hours."
I have no idea what that means, I thought. I said, "Wow!" as if I was suitably impressed.
"I found out my son is at the Kansas border already..." again, no idea what you're talking about, "...the house is a wreck, the painter hasn't finished yet, I didn't get my TREE up..." Tree? My god people, can we please get to Thanksgiving first??? "Now I've got to train 2 people while trying to cover THIS area. My store is falling apart." Good show, make the customer feel guilty for requiring your services.
In the words of Denis Leary in The Ref, "What are we, girlfriends now?" Lady. I. Don't. CARE. I just want to mail out my one little package and get back to my own life. And if possible, accomplish this tiny little chore without feeling like you might pull a weapon out from under the desk at any minute just because your house is a mess.
We did complete the transaction without bloodshed, and as I walked away I threw her a "Good luck!" over my shoulder. Her response was MORE whining. "I told my husband, 'You just get the big-screen set up and I'll be happy!'" Okay, probably not the best tactic if you're looking for sympathy. Yes, your house is a shambles and tragically treeless, but at the end of the day you have a new big-screen TV and I'm just praying our 10-year-old 27" lasts until we get a little further out of debt.
Unfortunately her day probably got a little worse after I left. It wasn't until I was on the road that I realized she didn't charge me for the mailer I packed the DVD in. Not for lack of me trying, I DID point it out to her. We were both just so caught up in her troubles that it slipped our minds. In my mind I justified it because $1.20, while being highway robbery to charge for an envelope, is a very, very small price to pay for such a valuable life lesson. That being, when you go to work, leave your personal issues at home. Your place of employment (and especially in the face of your customers) is absolutely not the place for them.