by the way you were treated that you wanted to call the police?
In many cases you are spending your hard earned money
and not getting that "American Customer Service" mystique from
days gone by. In this blog post I will expose some
businesses that do not practice good customer service.
First; my credentials. I have worked in a Customer Service capacity
for AT&T (aka AS&S), Bell South, WACHOVIA (aka watchova ya), The Ritz
Carlton Atlanta, Weston Peachtree Plaza, The Double Tree Hotel and Guest
Quarters Suite Hotel where I was the PBX operator, relief for front desk agents
and reservations agents as well as the gift shoppe manager for $7.50/hr
and this was with a college degree.
When I am spending money for anything; I expect the seller to treat me like they
are pleased that I chose to shop with them. We all know that in many instances
that is not the case.
Last year (2014) I purchased a desk top from a "company" in Texas DBA Computer
Refurb and K-Tech. What they do is send an immaculate looking pc filled to the brim
with all kinds of viruses. Customer Service (a kid named "Chris") says send it back,
we'll pay the return and charge you $10 to reformat the hardrive and I would pay
return shipping. I ended up paying to ship the pc back, $10 for the reformatting
and paid for the return shipping witch occurred a month later. When the "reformatted"
pc arrived it was not the original pc. The reformatted pc was in worse condition.
I paid $187 for this p.o.s. and bad customer service
The BBB (Better Business Bureau) at the time had numerous complaints under both
DBA's.
I sometimes ride MARTA (aka Moving Africans Rapidly Throughout Atlant). One
day I forgot my "Breeze" card. When I boarded the bus I started searching for the card.
The bus driver (a short, fat, Black lady with a bad attitude) launched into a verbal assault
on me. She said "Git your Black ass off my bus; I'm on this rout all day. You're not stealing
a ride on my bus. At the time I had 3 $20 bills in my pocket but of course I could get no
change if I put one of them in the slot. As the bus stops at Star Bucks at Peachtree Battle
Shop. Ctr.; I tell the bus driver to kiss my ass and showed her the 3 $20 bills. I went into
the Star Bucks to get change and decided to buy a cinnamon bun to get change to get back
on the bus. The Black lady behind the counter corrects me and insists that I ask for a
"morning bun". At this time of course I tell the cashier you can call it a cinnamon shit ball
for all I care I just want change. I got change and left the cinnamon shit ball.
Budget Car Rental has recently been the very worst in Customer Service. On their website;
they boast about their "Pre-pay" car rental option is the best in town. None of their locations
honor their "Pre-pay" at all on any day. When I called them on this; the representative
disconnected the call. I rent from Hertz now. With Budget; if you use a debit card, they will hold
over $200 at time of pick-up. When the car is returned; in 2 days the hold drops off. 4 days later
the hold is back and 5 days later the rental fee appears sans the remainder of the hold.
AT&T is scamming their customers like the mafia. My family has been loyal customers of
AT&T/Bell South all my life. When I moved into a new apartment after having their home phone
service at the previous address; AT&T charges me 2 months in advance. I'm not sure I want to
be your customer in 2 months; let's play it by ear. Burger King's slogan used to be "Have it
your way." I went into the BK on Old National Hwy. and asked for a whopper with ONLY lettuce,
tomato, ketchup and mustard. I received 2 all beef patties special sauce, mayo, snot and spit on
a sesame seed bun. I'm not kidding right now because there was snot and spit and mayo on that
burger. Believe it or not, that wasn't even the worst part. When I walked in the
door of the BK the kitchen personnel erupted in noises that actually sounded like zoo noises.
I should have turned around and left but I had errands and I was hungry until I ate the dirty
sandwich.
So what recourse do we have when businesses want us to pay our hard earned money for
awful service. First make your case clear to the agent you are dealing with tell them what
you expect. if you still get no results; everybody has a supervisor. That is to say everyone has
to answer to someone for their job performance. The situation with customer service has
become so dire that I ask for a supervisor often and I get results often. State the words
"You have a job because I am your customer." Whatever it takes let Customer Service
Agents everywhere know we as consumers will get the type of service we deserve and pay
for. You may have noticed that businesses like Hertz and Humana send surveys. Capitalize
on that opportunity to say exactly what went wrong and what you expect the next time to
call or come into the establishment. Some companies really do want to hear from it's customers.
With that; in ALL companies there is a supervisor looking for a reason to terminate the very
employee you are having trouble with. Also performance surveys are like "currency" to employees.
Often times, raises and promotions are determined by the content of performance surveys.
Finally, beware; as a former restaurant waiter I need
you to know not to send the food back in an angry manner. Unless you can stand and watch
your meal being prepared be kind to your servers.
