Customer Service: From a Customer's Point of View

All of us are customers. We go to the mall, to our favorite restaurant, to an amusement park, to the gas station, etc. We pay for the products we buy and we expect the products to be good.

However, we do not only expect for the products and services that we buy to be worth the price we paid. Part of the money we are handing out to the retailers goes to their employees. Yes, we are paying for the services we receive as customers.

We see the taxes, the VAT and all on the receipts. But what we do not see on the receipt plays an important role in our decision to buy or avail the products/service from a retailer.

A dose of bad customer service from a high-end retailer

Scenario 1:

As a buyer, I always observe the type of service I get from the store I buy from. Just recently, I went to a high-end boutique in the metro to purchase something for myself for my birthday- sort of a gift to myself.

Of course, this high-end retailer cares for their products since they are quite expensive for ordinary folks like me. The security was tight, the sales people look smart and decent, but they also look snobbish.

So I got in, browsed around and got my eye focused on the nice bag that was just perfect for my post-birthday celebration. I browsed some more but returned to the rack that had the pink bag that caught my eyes.

I asked for the price and got a cold, snobbish answer from one of the two ladies standing by- though I wasn't sure if they were there to assist me or block the items that I was browsing. I wasn't pleased at the very least.

Anyway, I got the point. The ladies probably thought I wasn't gonna buy the bag that costs $150. But I did. Without any hesitation I took the bag from the rack and proceeded directly to the cashier to pay for it. I didn't wait to be assisted "coz I felt humiliated.

I contemplated for weeks. But I thought it would be better to leave those two ladies alone. I was planning to send a complaint to the customer service department of the store but I just let it go.

Scenario 2:

A friend of mine just told me he went to the same high-end store just 2 weeks ago. He also bought some stuff for himself and his sister. But he wasn"t pleased with the kind of gesture that the sales people showed him. They did not assist him and they showed attitude. I asked him if they were snobbish and cold with the way they treated him. And yes, they were, according to my friend.

How he wanted to get out right away but he needed to buy the items, so he just took them from the racks and paid for them right off. Without a word, he got out of the store but was feeling furious at the sales people.

Upon hearing this from my friend, I told him we should report this to the retail manager or to the customer service officer.

I sent an email to the merchandise manager of the high-end boutique telling her that the sales people in that specific branch in the metro were not polite enough to judge the customers who are coming in.

I pointed the two incidences that happened to me and my friend. And I also pointed out that customer service is important in every retail business. I also said that even if an individual entered a retail store without plans of buying anything, that person can come back or recommend to his/her friends to come to that store.

The manager was so apologetic and she wanted to know who the sales people were. I don't know their names. But I told the manager to just speak to all their sales people in that particular branch. They need to know the purpose of good customer service to their business and their customers.

Lessons Learned

• Customers will be customers. Some may buy, some might not. But the point is a customer will always bring something to your business- money, recommendation, word-of-mouth information, patronage, loyalty and appreciation.
• Poor or bad customer service exists. It could be attributed to the trainings, management and even personal issues.
• Use the feedback or contact the person in-charge. It wouldn't hurt if customers will give their opinions and suggestions to the managers. Don't fight fire with fire, but instead, be objective and positive about the situations. You wouldn't want other people to lose their jobs because of a customer's feedback.