National Customer Service Association
...Customer First
:: So many opportunities for improvement!I called a local store the other day and, of course, there was a recording including a prompt to press one for product availability. So I pressed one and the agent came on. (Pretty quickly I have to admit.) I asked if the product was available in the store and he said he really didn’t know because he’s not in the store. (So the person answering the "product availability" prompt doesn’t know if a product is available?) I asked him to transfer me to someone in the store who can tell me if the product is available. He said he couldn’t transfer me to the store because they are a global group that takes calls for the stores so that the employees in the store are not "bothered" by us! I immediately questioned his use of the word “bothered” and then clarified that the store doesn't want our business calls?
He said they're too busy helping people in the store and if I needed anything I would just have to go in. So I did. I counted 13 employees on their phones; no one in the checkout lanes; no one in the department where I needed to talk to someone. I had to go looking around to find help and when I found someone, I asked a couple questions about the product and he knew nothing about it, there was none on display, none on the shelf so how was he supposed to know? So I asked if they will get more in—he had no idea. Meanwhile another employee starts filling the shelves and brings exactly the product I wanted!
Customer Service Opportunity: As an employee, your job is to provide assistance to customers. If your job isn't set up to help customers and/or if the culture in the organization is not customer-oriented, you should make recommendations to your Supervisor about opportunities for improvement. If those aren't welcomed, continue to give the best service you can while you seek other employment where customers (internal and external) are treasured.
J.C.—Iowa
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