The Apalling Customer Service Thread

[lashbear]

Any Crappy customer service experiences out there? Tell us here.

We were at Blacktown KFC today, there were only two other people in front of us, and it took 10 minutes for us to be served, though car after car paraded through the drive-through window and were served right away.

The person in front of us walked away with 4 huge buckets full of chicken and then when we got our food, my Ranch dipping sauce was missing, and Greg's 2-piece feed contained a wing and a Calista Flockhart drumstick.

We were so over it, we just wanted to get out, so we didn't complain.

Bah, humbug.

[Kevy Baby]

Well, what the hell you doing at KFC anyways?!?

[sleepyjeff]

Montgomery Wards was infamous for its' horrible customer service......look where it got em

I've been the victim of KFCs' so called customer service too; Don't see any new KFCs opening up here in Portland anymore; just a few closures here and there

KFC: shape up or share the fate of Wards

[tracilicious]

We ordered a shirt from www.threadless.com a few months ago. They have awesome shirts designed by the public and voted on to determine what gets printed and sold. There was only one shirt listed as available so we snatched it up right away. After some very slow shipping we got a package in the mail. What a bummer to discover we got the wrong shirt.

Oh well, it happens right? (Though I did wonder if they did it on purpose since there was none of that shirt left.) So, I dropped them an email and shipped the shirt back right away. They claim to pay for return shipping, so I included the shipping receipt in the package. After almost two weeks they receive the package and refund our card, without the return shipping refund, and include a $5 discount code for our inconvenience.

I replied to them saying thanks, but you forgot to refund what I paid to ship it back. They replied saying the coupon was the refund. What?! I find that ridiculous. I complained, and never heard back.

In short, awesome product, but they appear to be understaffed at best.

[Jughead P. Jones]

A Calista Flockhart drumstick???

By far, the most creative line I've ever read! Good job!

I'm currently working in retail, so I deal with horrible customer service all the time (as in the customers chew me out for things that I have absolutely no control over).

As a result, when I hang up my employee outfit and slip into my customer outfit, I tend to have more patience with customer service at other establishments, because, let's face it...I've been in their shoes, and I know that in some cases, if their customer service is less than stellar, it could be something that is out of their control. It happens. There are even a few cases where management has screwed up so royally, that they make everyone else try to cover for them. Again, not very comforting for the customers, but again, it's out of the employee's control (though I'd probably question the judgement calls of the manager. )

Though, I have to admit that I haven't set foot inside a certain clothing store because I was promptly told by the person manning the store that nothing would fit me even though I had only been in the store two minutes. Yeah, that's great...I come to look at your store, and you say that I'm not qualified to buy anything because of my size. HUH??

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I went to Lamps Plus to pick up a lamp we'd ordered. There was one obviously overworked counter chick and a backroom guy in bluejeans who obviously had limited English skills. When I got there there was a lady being helped with a very complicated order, buying 10 various lamps with various shades. I could immediately tell that the counter chick wasn't super smooth with the computer system and that this would be a while. She kept complaining about the system and the fact that her boss had just left her there alone.

There was a pair of guys alternately waiting and wandering, and me. The guys needed a lot of help apparently but I just wanted my waiting lamp-in-a-box. When there was a waiting moment I quickly mentioned that I just needed the pick up. The lady told the backroom guy but her attitude towards him immediately revealed that he was incompetent and that I probably wouldn't get any help from him. She was right - he emerged some time later empty handed.

Meanwhile, another lady shows up, and the two guys have given up wandering. You can sense the false politeness as everyone begins to simmer while staring at this lone representative of Lamps Plus Incorporated. The chick finally finishes with she-of-many-lamps and sics the lame guy on helping stuff all of these shades into a sedan. Finally she goes into the back and finds my lamp, but when she comes out she offers me the option of a receipt. Sure!

So she's clicking away at the computer and the phone begins to ring. She's now openly mumbling "why me?" to which I respond with all the authority of God himself, "it's just not your night." Finally I forgo the receipt on the promise that I don't need it.

As I walk out I say to the gathering at large "You be nice to her, now." This gets a chuckle out of everyone. I can't help but think that that one icebreaker is going to save her a bit of harrassment.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Jughead P. Jones

A Calista Flockhart drumstick???

By far, the most creative line I've ever read! Good job!

I'm currently working in retail, so I deal with horrible customer service all the time (as in the customers chew me out for things that I have absolutely no control over).

As a result, when I hang up my employee outfit and slip into my customer outfit, I tend to have more patience with customer service at other establishments, because, let's face it...I've been in their shoes, and I know that in some cases, if their customer service is less than stellar, it could be something that is out of their control. It happens. There are even a few cases where management has screwed up so royally, that they make everyone else try to cover for them. Again, not very comforting for the customers, but again, it's out of the employee's control (though I'd probably question the judgement calls of the manager. )

Though, I have to admit that I haven't set foot inside a certain clothing store because I was promptly told by the person manning the store that nothing would fit me even though I had only been in the store two minutes. Yeah, that's great...I come to look at your store, and you say that I'm not qualified to buy anything because of my size. HUH??

I agree. Bad customer service can often be traced to management limitations. Bad customer behavior is no one's fault but the customer's. When I was a waiter at Hamburger Hamlet in Beverly Hills years back, a lady in a booth left her briefcase in the aisle. I hurried by with a tray full of stuff, tripped over it and went flying. Her response was not, "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" It was, "What the hell! I am trying to conduct business here!"

In that vein, I spend a lot of time at the post office, and if post office counter workers are nuts, the customers are nuttier. The man I watched spend ten minutes trying to figure out why he couldn't mail a live chicken is just one example.

[cstephens]

We went to Olive Garden for lunch about a month ago. We go to this particular location on occasion, and pretty much every time we've gone, it's been crowded. I went up to the podium, and one of the hostesses took my name and gave me a buzzy thing, and she said it would be about 25 minutes. I noticed there were tables open in the bar area, and I knew from experience that sometimes, they will serve the full menu at the bar, so I asked if they were serving at the bar. She said they were only serving appetizers and then said, "Just wait for your table." She was so incredibly condescending that I almost threw the buzzer back at her. But I managed to control myself.

We waited, and I stewed. I didn't know her name, but I made sure to note her appearance so I could identify her. We sat down to lunch, and I continued to stew. Sometimes, a manager will come around to check on diners, and I decided that if a manager came around, I'd say something. No manager came around. As we were getting ready to leave, I was still deciding on whether I should find a manager or send a complaint in through corporate, because the comment was still seriously bothering me.

As we were about half-way to the exit, I saw a manager, and I couldn't leave - I just had to say something. I asked to speak to him and told him what happened. As soon as I repeated the last thing the hostess said to me, this look just came over his face. OK, so I'm justified in how I felt. I told him which hostess it was, and he looked over at her - she had her back to us. My husband told me later that he saw "the look" on his face as he looked at the hostess. The manager apologized for the hostess and then asked me to wait a minute, and he disappeared for a bit. He came back and said he was giving me a $25 gift card for a return visit. I told him that it wasn't really necessary, that I wasn't expecting anything and that wasn't why I told him. He said that he insisted and apologized again, so I accepted the card and thanked him.

I'm thinking the hostess got a talking to later in the day.


We went to Olive Garden for dinner last night at a location I like and used our $25 "we're so sorry" gift card.

[wendybeth]

If I can see that there are extenuating circumstances, I generally let bad service slide. (Very busy, tech malfunctions, etc). I even tip more in restaurants when I see a server overwhelmed with tables- I have a great deal of empathy from my years of doing the same. Lots of businesses have built their reps on good customer service, and many more have folded due to bad. (Sears comes to mind as an example of both- they used to be great, and had a strong and loyal customer base, but now they're struggling due to their cutthroat business practices, subcontracting with incompetents and poor employee relations).

I built my career on bad customer relations. One of my first jobs as a stylist was at a huge international chain salon, and for some reason the owner decided I had good people skills and assigned all the repair jobs to me. (People who'd been butchered, fried or suffered bad color jobs). I learned a lot in the process, developed a very large clientelle within the first year of working and even got employee of the year for the region. I don't think it was because I was an especially great hairdresser, but I did listen to the 'victims' and treated them as I would want to be treated- with respect and caring. (I also gave out lots of free prods). It was irritating sometimes, having to clean up other people's mistakes, but it was also rewarding. That was twenty years ago, and I'd say 50% of my clientelle today are people who I 'fixed' back then. If you're loyal to others and treat them right, they'll be loyal to you as well.

[CoasterMatt]

Phew, for a second I thought this thread was gonna be about me at work