Wednesday, June 9, 1999 | 9:35 a.m.
Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at [email protected] or 259-4080.
Remember when shopping was a pleasure, not a chore? Remember when the customer was always right?
Mostly what I do is enjoyable. I've had lovely experiences. There's a special joy that comes from being served by people who appreciate your patronage. I'm pleased to report that there are many times when I've rejoiced over exceptional service.
Just recently I called my bank to find out what had happened to the order for checks I had sent in many weeks ago. I was now down to my last pad of checks.
I'm not crazy about the way banks do business these days, but the response to my query about the checks made my day.
Since the advent of automated phones I dread calling any business. Instead of a pleasant live voice, a litany of recorded choices must be listened to before you're finally connected. If you're calling about a problem, the time you spend listening to the recorded message doesn't enhance your mood. This is the time to take a deep breath and be patient.
None of this happened the day I called to track down my checks. First to answer the phone was a young man who agreed with me that something must have happened to my order. He then advised that the person I needed to speak to was on another line and he'd have to put me on hold.
All pretty standard stuff, but this operator kept coming back on the line to assure me that I was next and to thank me for being so patient. How could I have been anything but patient with such caring service?
I was almost delighted to wait. When the service rep finally was available, she, too, apologized for the delay. She then confirmed my check order had not been received. She would reorder the checks and put a rush on delivery. I was satisfied.
Then she said that the fee for the checks would be waived since I had been inconvenienced. I was speechless. "We appreciate your patronage and this is our way to say thank you," she continued.
Such service from a bank that not too long ago I was considering dumping for what I thought (and still do think) were asinine policies that caused delays every time I made a deposit. I got tired of asking about why deposits had to be "approved" and what my deposits had to do with the tellers' "limit."
I never got a reasonable answer from any BofA supervisor, but with one considerate action they've regained my loyalty. It doesn't take much to keep customers happy. That's one side of the coin.
Here's the other. On Memorial Day I stopped by a local supermarket to pick up two cleaning items. No big deal.
I should have been out of there in just minutes, but in the "quick" line that only accepted cash and had a limit of 10 items was a store employee breaking every rule. The sign above the next aisle said it accepted 15 items, checks and coupons. Of course, it wasn't open.
I was two places in line behind this employee who kept dashing in and out of line to add more items to her basket.
Like me, the woman in front of me had just two items. The employee had many more than the specified 10. While the two of us behind her grumbled, she suddenly discovered she didn't have enough money for her purchases. With great abandon she now started to toss items on to an adjacent counter.
Looking into her basket, with all the boxes of cereal, I tried to be understanding by convincing myself that she was pressured because she was in a rush to get home to her kids.
That reasoning lasted until she took three boxes of frozen dinners and tossed them on to another counter, and then from the pocket of her apron pulled out a wad of coupons.
This was too much. "Are you aware of the rules you've broken, and how you've held up a line that was supposed to be a fast line?" I told her. "What's your problem?" was her response. I then told her how I felt about the danger of frozen food thawing before being returned to the freezer case.
Her response was to command a box boy to return the food to the freezer case before this woman "freaks out." So much for customer relations.
As for the other things she'd done? The cashier defended her, saying that this check-out stand, even though the sign didn't say so, also accepted coupons and charge cards. Why didn't the sign say this? No one had the answer.
By this time the stalwart employee had thrown back enough items to be within the limit, so it was now a moot point.
What was surprising was that no manager came to see what was holding up the line. There was never any loud exchange, so the managers probably weren't aware that anything was amiss, but the line was at a standstill while this employee was checking out.
I will call the store and tell a manager what happened, without giving her name. With such a lax system of employee education, her name doesn't matter.
What does matter is that signs over the counters clearly state what they'll accept and that the employees understand how terrible it is to allow perishable foods to languish on a counter.
Most of all, the rules should apply not only to the long-suffering customers but above all, to the employees.
archive
