Customer Dissatisfaction Department
Our January winner for bad customer service is Staples in Bay City.
I had to run into Staples to have something laminated. While I was at picking up and paying for my order at the copy center desk, I told the girl working behind the counter that I needed to buy five sheets of 11" x 17" paper. Simple request, right?
Me: "Do you have 11" x 17" paper in colors?"
Staples co-worker: "Yes."
"Can I have five sheets on the ivory or the cream?"
"We don't have it in stock...we have to special order it."
Didn't I just ask if you had it? Did she think I was inquiring as to whether or not such 11" x 17" colored paper existed?
"Okay...that's not a problem. Do you have it in stock in white?"
"Yes."
"Great. Can I have five sheets of that?"
"Um...okay...um...we don't...um...we can't really sell you five sheets like that. There isn't a way that we can ring it into our system."
You would think I was asking her to sell me her shoes or something. Even now when I think about it I have to shake my head in disbelief. There are several options she had, any of which would have worked out better than her response. She could have decided to:
1. Sell me the paper as if it were 5 copies. Easy. Problem solved.
2. Give me the paper for free. It's five sheets of paper...they cost you next to nothing. It creates goodwill with a regular customer.
3. Almost anything other than stand there like a deer in the headlights, stammering about point-of-sale systems.
My last job with Kinko's was as a regional trainer, handling customer service classes. This is Customer Service 101, Staples. Hire people who can solve problems, rather than create them. I'll still shop at Staples for supplies sometimes, but from now on my print work will probably end up elsewhere.
These days I frequently hear people blathering on about branding, but the truth is that very few people really have any idea what branding is. It's not your logo, it's not your tagline--it's everything. Including—especially in service businesses—the people who man your registers. In a micro environment like a small city where word of mouth carries a lot of weight, who you hire says more about you than your logo ever will.
Labels: bad customer service, bay city, graphic design, Kinko's, staples
posted by 989 Design @ 2/05/2009 04:16:00 PM
1 Comments:
Funny, we were at Staples on Friday night and they were super, hyper helpful. The checkout clerk acted like she was on about three Red Bulls.
I agree Shawn, that your clerk could have easily found a solution to your request. Exactly - just give you the five sheets of paper.
This reminds me of when I go to McDonald's, which isn't very often. They seem to be programmed to ONLY sell you "value" meals. I don't really want the large fries that come with the meal, so I will ask for the sandwich and a small fry instead. They can't comprehend that I don't want the value meal.
Nope, don't want it, even if it costs me less for more food. It really is as if they are trying to fatten up America by pushing "super sizes" and value meals with more food than a normal person can/should eat.
Sorry, that's my McDonald's rant. And don't get me started on why the shake machine is always broken. I swear I'm going to start a company that just travels around fixing McDonald's shake machines.
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