What happened to good customer service (vent)?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I feel like I am in some sort of vicious circle with Lord and Taylor. I placed an order paid the additional charge to have it shipped next day over night to Chicky. She not receive the package. I was patient and told her maybe it will come tomorrow. Next day I check the status and it was returned. They cannot say they could not deliver because she lives in a doorman building and just received something from L & T 2 days earlier. Contacted customer service (welcome to the 1st circle of hell: Limbo). They cannot find the tracking number! I called 4 times saturday. They do not know when I can get my order. No customer service supervisors or managers are available. </p>

<p>I start the process again this morning. Called, pressed #3 to inquire about an internet order. The twit that answered the phone said that they attempted delivery and it was refused 3 times and returned. I told her this could not possibly have happened because it is a doorman building (someone is always on duty) and you just delivered a package to the same address 2 days earlier. Where did they come up with the answer, when they don’t have a tracking number to track the package. I ask when will my package be reshipped, and she tells me that she has to contact a manager/supervisor. </p>

<p>I then ask to speak to one; they are all busy. She proceeds to tell me that I should have contacted customer service. I ask aren’t you customer service. She responds you are calling about an order that has already been placed. I am taking calls for new orders. I ask her who do I have to talk to. She tells me to dial the 800 # again and press 5. I do that and lo and behold who answers the phone; the same twit!!</p>

<p>I call back again 30 minutes later and begin my saga again. This woman now tells me that my account was credited on saturday. I asked how was my account credited and you do not even know the status of my order. I check my account, it has not been credited. All I want to do now is place an order. I tell her I will re order as I wait for my credit to hit my account cause chicky needs the package. I place the order. I ask will they still accomodate me with the 15% discount that I received last week as part of their promotion. She said that promotion is no longer in effect. I explain that I did not receive my order through their process falling apart and again I ask to speak with a manager. I get a manager and they are working on it. </p>

<p>Manager tells me that she will let me reorder and get my 15% discount along with free shipping (this weeks promotion). I say thank you but I informed her that I spend enough last week to get free shipping so this was really not a perk (a perk would have been waiving the overnight fee). She gives me back to the customer service rep. I begin to finish my order, she tells me that it cannot go through because they are looking for my first order. Now I feel that I am about to go into the 7th circle (violence), because I am sick of people apologizing to me and doing nothing to rectify the situation.</p>

<p>Now on to call number 8 in hopes that this will be resolved.<br>
Why is a failure in their internal process affecting me as their external customer?</p>

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<p>Is calling your only option? I find that email or chat is usually more productive because you can send copies of your previous correspondence to the CSR so you don’t have to keep repeating the story. Also it documents everything so later on when people deny or ‘forgot to note the account’ then you have your copy to provide to them. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Your experience is beyond ridiculous. What a nightmare. It seems there is no one accountable for actual execution. </p>

<p>I’m sure you’ve thought of all the angles, but it seems to me the best solutlion would be to have them send the package to you, including the free shipping and 15% discount, plus an additional discount of $13. Then use the $13 to fed ex the package to your daughter. </p>

<p>I think I would also print out your post, attach it to a letter, and mail it to an executive (getting the names off the company website). Lord & Taylor management needs to feel some of your pain. </p>

<p>I really wonder sometimes how people can just shrug and pass problems to someone else. Your experience is so symptomatic of the corporate world today. (I know this is not the politics thread, but people are always so quick to belittle government workers, and yet we see stuff like this from the for-profit world.)</p>

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<p>just got off the phone with them. They are having a problem with their internet orders and recommended that I contact the store. I took down everyone’s name and I will be calling corporate.</p>

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<p>Argh. Just reading this thread makes my blood boil. Not confined to L & T, this is universal; it would be so easy…so simple…to just fix the damn problem, yet nobody wants to empower themselves to do that. They are much more eager to champion themselves with their bull$hit, canned corporate-speak: “We’re making you press more buttons on our automated system in order to serve you better.” Or how about “your call is important to us, so please hold on the line for the next 30 minutes, before you’re eventually disconnected.”</p>

<p>But don’t forget — they are “sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”</p>

<p>Okay, I just punched a hole in the wall. Thanks a lot. ARGH.</p>

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<p>Calling corporate may seem extreme, however if you get the right person and coat it with just the right amount of honey “I know this has nothing to do with you personally, I just can’t seem to get this worked out. Would you be willing to help me please.”. I called Corp of KitchenAid several years ago about a microwave that was clearly a lemon. They had repaired it twice and were getting ready to do the same repair a third time. No one seemed to understand the logic that they were spending more to repair then to replace it. Something was clearly wrong.
Somehow I actually got the office of the ‘big head honcho’ on the first try. His executive assistant could not have been nicer and agreed it was idiotic to repair it again. The microwave was replaced.
Be polite, but persistent. The people you will speak with have nothing to do with your experience so far. As exasperated as you deserve to be, assume you will receive help. How you approach them could make all the difference. </p>

<p>To answer your initial question, yes, client care has gone down the tubes. Take your business elsewhere when you can. Spread the word about good and poor service. It will make a difference in their bottom line eventually.</p>

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<p>It’s not new! Five years ago I worked with AT&T to get our family cell phone package upgraded so we could get new phones. In the end it took 16 calls - on average 50% of the representatives did not know what they were doing. Twice I just told them, “You don’t know how to handle this situation”, hung up, and called to get another rep. At least that company was big enough so you could just keep trying until you got a competent person.</p>

<p>I recently experienced abysmal customer service in person at the state unemployment office. I believe the agent was actually malicious; she was certainly insulting and demeaning. I’ve written the state director and cc’d my state senator and representative. The phone lines are busy or full voice mails and the online complaint form failed to process. I think they are trying to save the state money by aggravating the applicants so much that they give up in despair.</p>

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<p>Years ago (actually eons), I had a similar problem with a different large NYC dept store. I did not live in a doorman building and my package was supposedly, shipped, delivered, lost, etc. etc. I eventually cancelled my credit card and did not shop there again for years. I did get charged and credited (eventually). I later realized that I could not ship to the building that did not have a doorman unless it was USPS so that I could pick it up at the post office. However, I never had this problem once I lived in a doorman building.</p>

<p>Could the package possibly have been sent in a store truck (not UPS or fed ex)? This would lead to confusion as to when they did not deliver it and took it back (and threw it somewhere in the store). The other lousy service is Fed ex ground which contracts with private truckers. I have waited until after 7 pm for someone to finally show up at my house. Even more insulting is that they say they delivered it, before they actually show up!!! The guy who does the route in my area is not excellent.</p>

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<p>Maybe they are using convict labor for internet order taking…</p>

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<p>I had one bad experience with a different department store (customer service related). I went onto their website and I emailed them through their website link. I got immediate attention, several phone calls, they looked into the matter, I received a letter of apology from the store along with certain coupons and a nice gift certificate. They could see that I don’t complain (never have) and I am a long standing excellent customer. They woke up.</p>

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<p>sybbie,
Just saw this thread. I teach a class that focuses on total quality and performance excellence. When I first started teaching it 15 years ago, I needed it to keep from being bumped to a night class in my primary discipline, accounting. All of the primary principles seemed to be common sense to me, but I decided to drink the Kool-Aid and embrace the class. Now it is one of my favorites as my cc students are often the first contact for a customer and provide what we call the “moment of truth.” We do lots of discussion on handling customer problems. It seems you’ve done everything right, especially noting the names and times of those that you spoke with regarding the problem. I vote strongly that you contact the corporate headquarters. Excellent companies want to make it easy to receive complaints so they can fix situations like this. One of the problems here is that no one was truly empowered to solve your problem. Clearly you had tracking numbers, etc. that should have allowed someone to verify your information and they should have been able to solve the problem without so much angst on your part. I would LOVE to hear what the resolution is if you contact corporate headquarters. It costs six times as much to get a new customer as to keep an old customer, so I think a lovely gift certificate is in order!</p>

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<p>follow up:
By monday afternoon, the customer service manager for internet orders told me that they were having problems and the internet on their end was really running slow and I should try to place my order later in the day. (Im)patiently waited 2 hours and tried again. This time I got a message on my computer that my order could not be completed and to contact customer service. </p>

<p>Dailed them back, asked for the manager by name who told me that because I tried to place the order 3 times that day that I was locked out for 24 hours and I would have to try again tomorrow. I asked if she could do anything on her end to override this and she said no. </p>

<p>I called the 5th ave store to see if they could assist me. I called the department I needed, I told the young woman who answered (she sounded really young) that I was trying to order something on line. I did not have the sku number but I knew the designer, I had the description and the web id. She said she did not know how to help me.</p>

<p>I called the corporate offices tried to contact merchandising to see if they could at least give me a sku number. I ended up talking to a handbag buyer who was very nice. She took down the web id number for the items I was trying to order and told me that she would call the customer service people and call me back. The handbag buyer called me back and said that customer service was aware and they were working on the problem.</p>

<p>Tuesday </p>

<p>I get up bright and early to start this again. First I tried on line. I entered the items, put in my credit card information, click submit and get a message that order could not be processed. I called customer service and the yound man really did try to help but could not get my order through. He said that they their system was running slow and some of the orders were dropping. I asked for the customer service mgr by name. I was to the point where I was saying “Hi, this is sybbie, we spoke yesterday” and her response was “Hi Ms. Sybbie, yes, I remember you were trying to order the …” I am sorry but we are still having problems with our internet orders and I should call back in about an hour.</p>

<p>I call back, they are still having problems with their internet orders. I asked if there is any way she could give me the sku numbers or check and see it the items are avaialble at a brick an mortar store. She did not have sku numbers, but she told me that she could give me the number of the 5th ave store. I told her that I contacted them yesterday but the young woman was not able to assist me. The manager was not able to give me sku numbers but told me to try calling some of t hir larger stores in westchester and illinois. Called the westchester store. Woman who answered the phone said that she was the only person working and she could not check the floor to call back in an hour.</p>

<p>Called the Northbrook Illinois store. Thank goodness for Sonia!! I told her what I was looking for and she gace me all of the sku numbers. While she did not have all of the items at her store she gave me a list of stores that had all of the items in the sizes that I needed. Guess where they had the pieces: NYC at the 5th ave store. I called the 5th ave store armed with my sku numbers and spoke with Sandra. She looked up my stuff said they had it in stock and she would pull it for me. I asked about having it shipped. She said that for phone orders they only ship to the bill to adress. I gave her the condensed version of my past 2 days and asked if she could hold it for me and I would come and pick it up. She said yes and to come see her. I called Sonia in Northbrook back and thanked her for all of her help. I asked her for her manager’s name because I wanted her manager to know how she helped me and she said, that it was ok, just in a days work.</p>

<p>I went to the store picked up my items. While they were no longer eligible for the 15% discount and she culd not give me free shipping from the store, she did me a 20% visitors discount. I was ok with that . I went to the 34th street post office, mailed it and now we are done.</p>

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<p>sybbie, cracking up. What gave you the idea to call the Illinois store? That was brilliant. I once had a four hour long phone call with ATT about various cel phones. I did finally get everything “fixed” but afterwards I needed a warm shower and a cold beer.</p>

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<p>I’m glad you got the merchandise you wanted since that’s obviously the most important thing, but I still recommend documenting your experience, good and bad, for the corporate headquarters. At the least, you deserve a coupon, gift certificate, and/or letter of apology.</p>

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<p>Good customer service is so difficult to find that when I find a company that has it, I stick with them. Shoe stores are the worst. There is a local sporting goods stores with a big shoe department. I used to take my kids there for soccer cleats, etc. They did not so much as carry a measuring device to size the feet in a store that carried kids shoes. If you asked for help, they looked at you askance. You couldn’t get any input from a salesperson.</p>

<p>Here is the best customer service story I’ve ever heard and it happened to a friend of mine. He and his wife were going on a big trip. Before she left the east coast she bought a pair of shoes from Nordstroms. By the time she was on the plane, she realized the shoes were hurting her feet and would be a problem on the trip. They had a layover in Los Angeles. From the plane, her husband called the LA Nordstroms to see if they had the shoe in a larger size and to see if there was time to get there and back to the airport. Nordstroms told them not to worry, that they would send someone TO THE AIRPORT (no one in LA goes to LAX if they can avoid it) with shoes for her to try. Sure enough when they deplaned, someone was there and he got down on the floor and helped her try on the shoes. I think my friend tried to tip him and the guy refused saying, “It’s Nordstroms” as if to say this was nothing out of the usual. My friend wrote a letter to the corporate office praising the customer service he received. The letter was used to train new employees. You can be sure they are lifelong customers. I don’t understand why so many businesses fail to understand the importance of customer service.</p>

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<p>If you didn’t say that happened to a friend I am not sure I would believe it. Was your friend or her H a big Nordstroms spender? Do you know?</p>

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<p>Speaking about poor customer service. I have had my windshield replaced twice this week. A week ago, I discovered a bad crack in my windshield. Covered by insurance, I called and was set up with Safelite Auto Glass, a national windshield replacement company. They arranged to come to my place of work and replace the windshield in the parking lot. (This is a typical service.) The first one replaced it with the wrong windshield (I have a rain sensing windshield and this one wasn’t) and the wrong molding. I called. On Friday another person came out and put in the right windshield, with the right molding, but the workmanship was atrocious. I drove it to the shop this morning and they could see how bad of a job the second replacement was. I am supposed to have a new one this Wednesday. Hopefully third time will be a charm.</p>

<p>What I am most surprised is that in this economy I would think everyone with a job would work hard to do their best so they don’t lose their job.</p>

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<p>To me, the worst is when I’m having trouble with a website, and when I call the company I have to listen to a recording of how I can do x,y, and z by going to their website at w w w dot whatever dot com. No, I can’t - that’s why I’m calling them!</p>

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<p>That’s an interesting Nordstrom story- recently I had what I thought was possibly the worst customer service experience at the hands of Nordstrom only to have it topped by Kate Spade a few weeks later. Things have changed in the retail market for sure.</p>

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<p>I heard the story directly from him. I imagine they were not first-time customers, but they are not wealthy big-spender types either. I think the reason he tells the story and was so impressed is because they didn’t fall into the kind of category where you would expect such treatment.</p>