After waiting in line for about 15 minutes at my local Starbucks (where they used to know me by name and have my order ready when they saw my car pull into the lot), only to be brusquely processed and dismissed by the worker at the cash register who was too busy worrying about when she was due for her next break to smile or thank me, I started wondering -- unemployment is going up. Shouldn't customer service be increasing as well?
It stands to reason. First, people want to hold on to their jobs and so should be bending over backward to show the boss that they are people-pleasing maniacs. Second, when business suffers, companies are looking for any way (preferably cost-free) to bring more bodies in the door and keep the bodies there from leaving. Wouldn't you think that being nice to people and doing your best to win their loyalty would be tops on the list? It costs so little to make customers feel valued and appreciated. And let's face it, I'm not paying $2.10 just for 12 oz. of iced tea. I'm looking for an experience.
I have to admit I noticed things at Starbucks suffering long before this. If you have read my blog with any regularity, you will know I'm pretty much a SBX addict, going there two, three, four, or even five times a day (refills are only $.50, so you do the math). But lately, I've found my little red bug driving right by instead of turning into the parking lot. Why?
Well, the whole thing with the Starbucks Gold card befuddled me. Why is there a separate rewards program? Why not just make the one they have better? I have enough trouble figuring out which telephone plan to buy, let alone spending thirty minutes comparing and contrasting the benefits of various frequent buyer programs.
Then there's the fact that several months back, I fell for the goodies that go along with the Starbucks Reward Card and registered my card with them -- in exchange, I was supposed to get a coupon for a free beverage. I never got it.
Let us not forget about the email exchanges when I contacted the customer service center to let them know I wasn't pleased that with the Reward Card, you got free coffee refills but had to pay for the iced tea and asked them why. They responded with some generic message like "thank you for your input, we'll contact you in a few days with a response."
A few days later, I got a message that basically reiterated the plan's benefits, but didn't answer my question. "Email us if you have further questions!" they chipperly (?) told me. I responded that my question hadn't been answered -- why free coffee refills but no free iced tea?
I got a third email saying, "You're right, no free iced tea. Thank you for emailing us."
At this point, the normal person might give up. But when I got a follow-up email asking how my experiences with their customer service had been, I couldn't resist. I shared my frustration with emailing several times and getting non-sensical auto-responses.
I never heard back.
The only thing worse than not being asked for your feedback is being asked for your feedback and being ignored. And I hate being ignored.
I don't think this lack of improvement in customer service is isolated to Starbucks alone. I wish that were the case! Instead I find it the rule more than the exception.
A trip to my local scrapbook store to find replacement paper for a project for a magazine assignment led to frustration. "Do you have any more of this paper?" I asked.
The clerk squinted, tilted her head, and said, "I don't think so..." I waited a beat, sure she would lead the way to the proper rack to check the stock. But she just looked at me.
I wanted to lunge across the counter and shake her. "You don't think so? Is that a yes or a no? Could you check? Could you find something comparable? Could you order it for me? Suggest another store?" But I just rolled my eyes internally and helped myself (I should have asked for a commission).
What are your experiences lately? Seen good service? Bad service? A change one way or the other?
All I know is, I don't want to hear any bellyaching when yet another Mom-and-Pop with lousy customer service bites the dust. What do you expect? Why pay a premium when I can go next door to Michaels or a big-box retailer? The service isn't any better, but at least I can be ignored at a discount.
