Maybe it's just that I am getting old and difficult, but customer service seems to drop off drastically year-by-year. When I get my food at any casual take-out place, I always say "thank you." It is rare that any of the workers say "thanks" to me for giving them business. Same with grocery stores. I always say "thanks" to the cashier and bagger, but it's rare that it is said back to me. And it didn't used to be like that.
Yesterday morning, after a workout, I walked past a kiosk in the mall. It was a place that was selling some sort of formula used to clean sneakers. One employee was cleaning the shoes of a teenage girl while her dad/brother stood there watching. As I was walking past, I heard another employee say "You're way too rich to be looking like that." I stopped to ask him "what" acting like I didn't hear him. He approached me and said "You're way too rich to be looking like that, let me fix you up for a few minutes while motioning to my sneakers." I asked him what he meant by that comment and said "You're really talking shit about how I look as I walk past your kiosk?" He said "I saw you walk past the first time and knew you were rich by how you carried yourself, so yeah, you're too rich to be looking like that." I repeated, "So, again, you're talking shit about the way I look trying to get my business? That's not a good way to get my business, but it is a good way to get your 150 lbs. thrown to the floor."
Nearly two months ago, I went to a UPS Store (privately owned stores that UPS doesn't control) to send a shipment to Canada. I was told how much it would cost. I asked to make sure there were no other fees for it be delivered other than the $40 I was having to pay. I was assured that it would be delivered by a certain day and that the $40 was all it would be. Two days later, the intended recipient stated that he received a notice stating that there was a notice on his door stating that there was another $80 that needed to be paid before they would make the delivery, and that they would try three total deliveries before 1) sending the package back to me, which I would have to pay for 2) confiscating the package and then disposing of it if not paid in a certain amount of time. I immediately contacted the UPS Store. The manager said she'd leave a note for the owner. I called back after not hearing from him, at which point, I was prompted to email him since he checks it every day. Of course, still no response from him. I had no choice but to pay an additional $80 for the final delivery, which brought the total to $120 of shipping for something worth only $200. It's been two months and the owner takes two to three weeks to respond to a single email. Nearly a month ago, he asked for a receipt of the additional charge that I had to pay. I have since emailed him and talked to the store manager on the phone since the owner (who goes to the store every single day) takes weeks to respond. Finally, today, he responded that the store would "take half liability" and give me $40. Of course, that doesn't work for me, and I called him out for being a moron who has dragged this on for two months instead of just doing the right thing. Online reviews of the store and this owner in particular show that this is far from the first time he has pulled this scheme - according to others, he claims that he didn't know international shipments would be an additional charge on the other end . . . and he has used that excuse multiple times.
Last night, I bought six individual bottles of one quart oil. After paying for them. the cashier handed me my receipt. He didn't bag up the bottles. Did he expect me to carry all six bottles and just put them in my car like that? In front of him, I started bagging the bottles myself. He saw it and simply moved to the register next door to help the next customer in line without saying anything.
I was talking to a college student who works at a pizza joint. The employees there are given two missed day chances before they are punished. A "missed day" is simply not showing up without calling ahead on a day you were scheduled to work. So you are scheduled to work, don't call out or let anyone know, simply don't show up, and you can do that twice without facing any type of punishment.
People are simply clueless. I hate to be the guy who says "It didn't used to be like this," but employees saying "thank you" was the standard everywhere just 10-20 years ago. Now, it is done less than half of the time unless it is a server at a sit-down restaurant.
Yesterday morning, after a workout, I walked past a kiosk in the mall. It was a place that was selling some sort of formula used to clean sneakers. One employee was cleaning the shoes of a teenage girl while her dad/brother stood there watching. As I was walking past, I heard another employee say "You're way too rich to be looking like that." I stopped to ask him "what" acting like I didn't hear him. He approached me and said "You're way too rich to be looking like that, let me fix you up for a few minutes while motioning to my sneakers." I asked him what he meant by that comment and said "You're really talking shit about how I look as I walk past your kiosk?" He said "I saw you walk past the first time and knew you were rich by how you carried yourself, so yeah, you're too rich to be looking like that." I repeated, "So, again, you're talking shit about the way I look trying to get my business? That's not a good way to get my business, but it is a good way to get your 150 lbs. thrown to the floor."
Nearly two months ago, I went to a UPS Store (privately owned stores that UPS doesn't control) to send a shipment to Canada. I was told how much it would cost. I asked to make sure there were no other fees for it be delivered other than the $40 I was having to pay. I was assured that it would be delivered by a certain day and that the $40 was all it would be. Two days later, the intended recipient stated that he received a notice stating that there was a notice on his door stating that there was another $80 that needed to be paid before they would make the delivery, and that they would try three total deliveries before 1) sending the package back to me, which I would have to pay for 2) confiscating the package and then disposing of it if not paid in a certain amount of time. I immediately contacted the UPS Store. The manager said she'd leave a note for the owner. I called back after not hearing from him, at which point, I was prompted to email him since he checks it every day. Of course, still no response from him. I had no choice but to pay an additional $80 for the final delivery, which brought the total to $120 of shipping for something worth only $200. It's been two months and the owner takes two to three weeks to respond to a single email. Nearly a month ago, he asked for a receipt of the additional charge that I had to pay. I have since emailed him and talked to the store manager on the phone since the owner (who goes to the store every single day) takes weeks to respond. Finally, today, he responded that the store would "take half liability" and give me $40. Of course, that doesn't work for me, and I called him out for being a moron who has dragged this on for two months instead of just doing the right thing. Online reviews of the store and this owner in particular show that this is far from the first time he has pulled this scheme - according to others, he claims that he didn't know international shipments would be an additional charge on the other end . . . and he has used that excuse multiple times.
Last night, I bought six individual bottles of one quart oil. After paying for them. the cashier handed me my receipt. He didn't bag up the bottles. Did he expect me to carry all six bottles and just put them in my car like that? In front of him, I started bagging the bottles myself. He saw it and simply moved to the register next door to help the next customer in line without saying anything.
I was talking to a college student who works at a pizza joint. The employees there are given two missed day chances before they are punished. A "missed day" is simply not showing up without calling ahead on a day you were scheduled to work. So you are scheduled to work, don't call out or let anyone know, simply don't show up, and you can do that twice without facing any type of punishment.
People are simply clueless. I hate to be the guy who says "It didn't used to be like this," but employees saying "thank you" was the standard everywhere just 10-20 years ago. Now, it is done less than half of the time unless it is a server at a sit-down restaurant.
