We have our phone, internet and cable service as a bundle, so we deal with one company for all three products. We decided we wanted to make some changes: downgrade our cable but move up a level in our internet speed. Since Randy delivers mail, he can’t always make calls like this, so I called.  After I explained what we wanted to do to the representative, she very quickly told me she’d be glad to upgrade our internet, but if we wanted to change to a lower package on our cable, my husband would have to call, because I wasn’t listed on the account to make changes… duh! So let me get this straight- you’ll take my word that we want to upgrade, but not to downgrade? How dumb is that? So Randy had to call and get things changed, and to add me to the account (this is the second or third time he’s called to add me, by the way).

Then several weeks ago, Randy’s bike messed up,  so he found a place online that sells used parts and ordered what he needed. He told them we were headed to Thunder Beach so he paid extra to have it shipped quickly. The part online looked exactly like his, same numbers, etc.  It got here all right, but it was the wrong part, but Randy didn’t know that until he’d tried to install it on his bike. He had to remove a couple of tabs so it would go in to the slot made for it. He and I both figured that since they sent it, it would work on his bike. It didn’t. We ended up using a friend’s bike to go to TB, and when we got home, Randy started working on getting things resolved. He emailed them to let them know they’d sent the wrong part, and that he’d taken the tabs off. ‘No problem’ the guy answered, just send it back and we’ll make it good. Randy sent it back  with delivery confirmation, and they got it within 3 or 4 days of him mailing it. About a week later, the guy decided to email Randy and let him know that the tabs were removed (!) and that they couldn’t accept it.  He said if he’d known Randy had done this, he wouldn’t have told him to send it back. Randy had in fact told them in one email that if they couldn’t take it back because of the tabs, he understood; they just needed to let him know one way or the other.

I understand anybody can make a mistake, but we’re still working on getting things straightened out with them.  I finally called this week to see what was going on; when I told the person who answered who I was and what I wanted he recognized the name and started in fussing at me.  He tried to say that Randy hadn’t told them he’d removed the tab- I pointed out I was looking at the emails that were sent, and yes, they were told before it was returned. Then he told me how big a company they were  and how they were so busy they didn’t have time to answer emails quickly. Apparently they’re so big they only have one person to answer phones, emails and fetch parts… he was one of the rudest people I’ve ever talked to.  I will steer clear of them in the future, and I’d suggest you do too- the name is  Drum Hill Cycles.  They’re mailing the part back, but I don’t expect to see it any time soon.

And then to top things off today- a friend who has trouble hearing on the phone asked me to call and find out when his billing cycle ends. I called, explained what I wanted and gave them all the information I had – their response? If he would call and verify that they could give me information, they’d be glad to talk to me. I said I understand, but if he could call to verify it’s OK for you to talk to me, then he could get the information himself. He can’t hear well enough to understand you, so how is he going to tell you it’s OK?  Talk about Catch- 22.

I just wonder at what point did we all get to be nimrods? Does good customer service not mean anything anymore? Are folks here in the south the only ones with enough gumption to be polite and kind to be people?  The guy at the parts place – he could just as easily say “ma’am, I’m so sorry, but there’s not anything we can do to help you. We can’t take the part back – we’ll have to ship it out to you.”  A little kindness would have gone a long way to make me feel better, and I would have considered using them again.  I guess that’s what we get for shopping outside the southern states.

• I’ve given my cell number out to my clients so they can reach me when they need me
• my daughter, who is 15, has after school activities and might need to contact me
• I paid for my phone service and I like to get what I paid for

While on the phone with my service provider yet again, trying to get this straightened out, my son made the statement “Mom you know you’re going to have to pitch a fit to get what’s right”. Well, I know that, but that doesn’t make it right. Why can’t companies just give customers what they pay for? This last call ended up with them telling me that they couldn’t talk to me because my name isn’t on the contract -?!?!. So when my husband got home, he called them, and they basically told us we were eligible to upgrade and get another phone, which also meant we had to sign another contract to extend our service time. Nothing else they can do; they can’t give me another phone that will work correctly – too bad, so sad. Of course, that’s not going to stop them from charging me for my service. So, my next step is to see if they’ll let us out of our contract early. Probably not, though.
The other situation involves my college aged son – I ordered one of his books from the online bookstore related to the university. The order form says, ‘you’ll get a confirmation email when the book is available for pickup’. Got the email, printed it out and sent it with my son to school so he could pick up the book. He gets to the bookstore the first time, he’s told they’re not quite ready, come back later. Goes back the next day and is told they’re sold out, check back later (I’m thinking why did they sell the book I paid for?). They give him a paid receipt so he can show that next time. He goes back yesterday and they tell him he can’t pick it up because it’s not in his name, but mine – well duh, my name was on the card I paid with; no place on the order form to put his name.
I called and went ‘Sugarbaker’ on the girl who answered- I told her the sequence of events, and that we live 30 miles from the school, he’s there and I can’t just turn loose and drive over there to pick it up and hand it to him. She asks if she can put me on hold and check out some things.
She finally comes back and tells me that there was a mistake – those books had never come in and I shouldn’t have gotten a confirmation yet. She had no explanation for the other things; of course I apologized to her, it’s not her fault, she’s just a student worker. But somewhere, somehow, folks have got to realize they’re being paid to do a job. Don’t just say the first thing off the top of your head, and brush off customers.
Why are we as a society doing this? I want to challenge you- go over your customer service guidelines; if you’ve got employees, discuss with them how they should treat your customers. Ask them to remember that the customer is their real boss- if the customers quit buying, you go out of business.
Start taking care of your customers!