Customer Service - is it a thing of the past?

[unclejunk1]

Today I got my oil changed. Yes in the car! Normally I have no trouble with communication, I do speak english and most of the time pretty well. I ask for a simple oil change - just an oil change. Thats about $17.00 here and includes oil and a filter. I was charged almost $30.00 so I ask what else they did? My car has no grease fittings, everything is sealed. I wash it and vacumn at least once a year if it needs it or not, LOL so I did not want a vacumn done. The guy got mad at me for asking! We did a 15 point service and that is what you are charged for. I did not ask for a 15 point service I ask for just an oil change. How difficult is that?

A few months back I took my wifes car in ( different place) and the guy got mad at me for not letting them do extra services that was over $50.00 extra. He said your wife does it! I told him not anymore now that I know about it. They were ripping her off because she did not know better. I ask him to just change the oil, he refused so I went somewhere else. My question is this -has the world changed so much that this treatment is now normal? I was in busness for many years, when ask a question I looked at it as an opportunity to provide better service or make an extra sale by clearing up a question. Customer service to me is not getting mad at the customer for asking a question. Customer service is not pushing a service off on them that they do not want or need and then getting mad when they refuse it.

My wife say's people are spending to much time on the computer and not enough time actually talking to people. What is your opinion? Has this become the norm? How do we change it and can it be changed?

[mj-trading]

There doing it more and more now days with the ecomony the way it is they probaly lost alot of customers as they are doing it there selfs! Trying to make that extra bucks off people that come in to get there's done to try to make up the loss!

[katandron1]

Rick,
They do it to me every time I take my truck to have the oil changed. They look at that Chevy Avalanche and their mind starts running. I tell them to show me a price list of the oil change for that vehicle, then they will show me the invoice of work done at that time. If there is one thing extra done, I will not be paying and I will be calling the BBB to investigate. What are they gonna do?? Call the cops saying I refuse to pay.....fine call em. You didn't do what I asked you to on the vehicle. I have made them take an air filter out that I "just have to have" so they took it upon themselves to replace, and put the old one back in. And guess what, that Avalanche didn't run any worse with the old one in.

[Lanascountry]

I agree with you both, I hate it though, when someone ASSUMES they know what I
want or WILL pay for!! :mad:(you did the right thing, Rick, times are hard for everyone)!
Good query Rick!! :)

[Lanascountry]

Real GOOD one, Ms Kat!! LOL, and that air filter is just one less thing in the waste
dumps..this nation has GOT to learn ('bout too late already) if you can USE it, don't
re-fuse it..LOL, I made that up!! :D

[katandron1]

I beat the dust and dirt out of air filters all the time on my vacuum. Same concept, slap the air filter on one of those 20 55gallon drums you guys got sitting around in that shop to bang the dust out of it and put it back in the truck. See yall in 3k miles!

The best one for me though was a couple years ago, I replaced the tires on my baretta, went to the same place I always go to to get them. They pull the car in, put on the tires, bring it out, and proceed to tell me about a busted shock(yes, I already know its broke, will replace that myself cause is something I can do at home) and then went on to tell me that the brakes need to be replaced because they were almost metal to metal. I said "Really, cause I myself just replaced those brakes 2 weeks ago(which was true, I did change the brakes myself, and put new drums on the back), complete set front and back. That car will stop on a dime if I need it to. Now give me my keys and I'll be buyin my tires elsewhere from now on."

[unclejunk1]

Kathy if you have your own tools and a boat, shucks I'll marry you! Might even buy a nice ring if'n you change my shocks too. They do still sell cracker jacks don't they? Used to find rings in thoses boxes. Oh heck, I'll spring from one made from a fifty cent piece. Sure am glad to see I am not alone on how I feel about some of these things. We do have some very good people around here. The problem is the city is moving in on us. I came to expect this around Greensboro and would set them straight quick. Here they get mad at you if you just ask a question. Its like they don't know how to handle an objection of even the slightest degree. Lana knows, she lives in an area that back in the 60's really was somewhat like the days of Deliverence. Part of that movie was shot there and some parts near here. Still hear the banjo music in the woods from time to time! All jokes aside we did meet the guy that played the fellow that they showed playing the banjo in that movie. He was working at the now gone Cookie Jar Cafe, bet Lana knows that one! Nice enough guy but I don't think he really played the banjo. When I ask if he still played he avoided the question. You guys should ask Lana about living in Gods Country some time. She is surrounded by mountains and lakes, waterfalls and deep gorges that you could go into and never be seen again. Never make a mountain girl mad at you if'n you want to survive. You'ens know what I mean.:D

[katandron1]

LOL Rick, It drives Ron nuts that I do alot of things on my own. He bought me the Avalanche and got the extended warranty on it, so that if anything should ever happen while he ws gone, I would not be stuck on the side of the road. Fine, well long story here but good read. The anti-theft module goes out, truck goes to dealership to be fixed. Dealership calls me says all we have is powertrain coverage. I take my copy of the warranty paperwork, dealership had changed it after we left (fraud)....I tell dealership to just sit tight, will be contacting them in a couple of days, I hire attorney, everyone is talking with me until the conference with all the attorneys, then they call Ron who is in Sweetwater Tx on a job, they get him all mad he says fine, I'll pay for the part and you guys pay the towing and labor. End of phone conversation. Two days later, dealership calls me to tell me truck is fixed and will cost 250.00. I say really, nothing will stand up in court until written on paper, verbal contract will not hold, truck should not have been touched until Ron came back and signed verbal, you guys are not getting away with what you did and making us pay, you just fixed my truck for free. The only thing I will pay is the 100.00 deductable that we would have had anyway, AND you will retro the contract to make it what my husband bought and paid for. Don't wanna do that? See ya in court and I will own your dealership. Got a call 10 minutes later from the owners wife telling me that all I had to pay was 100.00 and pick up the new warranty contract corrected.

P.S. That dealership is no longer owned by those people! And all of this happened just last year.

I believe they do still sell cracker jacks. Not sure if they still have the trinkets in em though. LOL And yep have my own tools, no boat though.

[unclejunk1]

Thats Ok I have a boat. Can you dig worms? You be one tough woman-huh? Just bet Ron tip toes around when you are sleeping so you don't reach for that gun under the pillow.

You really do have to watch some people now. I stopped by the butcher earlier today and he was telling me about his supplier putting a surcharge on his deliveries due to the gas cost. He understood the $10.00 charge and did not fuss, after all that was about what it cost extra with the increases. This week they dropped the surcharge and raised the price two cents a pound. That he said was gouging, it went from $10.00 to $100.00 with the change. He still has not raised his prices to the public. Just one more example. We have to look around more now with food going so high. We can buy more for less buy buying from a butcher and veggies from a guy at the flea market. Better quality for less than the grocery stores.

The Korean's are beating us to the draw on technology when it comes to fuel for the car. The US is being run around by the oil companies to the point that we are being stalled to make them more money. The technology has been there since the 1800's to produce fuel from water by using electricity to seperate hydrogen and oxygen and burn as a gas. The Korean's are already doing it for welding and jewelry making. We need to apply this to cars! It is safer than anything else out there are - cheaper and no pollution! Write your Congressman/woman or Senator and tell them you know about it and want it here. That alone will bring prices down to what they were years ago by reducing cost. It is stupid to subsidize oil companies and farmers to produce oil and corn to make fuel that makes for more cost and pollution.

Look up Browns fuel or hydroxy on the net to get more info. We have the engineers and the money needs to be diverted to them to develop it to be used on existing cars. You could actually drive a large vehicle cheaper on this than a small car on gas. I bet NASA is looking into it for space travel.

[Lanascountry]

Lana knows, she lives in an area that back in the 60's really was somewhat like the days of Deliverence. Part of that movie was shot there and some parts near here. Still hear the banjo music in the woods from time to time! All jokes aside we did meet the guy that played the fellow that they showed playing the banjo in that movie. He was working at the now gone Cookie Jar Cafe, bet Lana knows that one! Nice enough guy but I don't think he really played the banjo. When I ask if he still played he avoided the question. You guys should ask Lana about living in Gods Country some time. She is surrounded by mountains and lakes, waterfalls and deep gorges that you could go into and never be seen again. Never make a mountain girl mad at you if'n you want to survive. You'ens know what I mean.

Oh my buddy, Rick..that there feller is one of our Wal*Mart associates and yes DOES
still play the banjo round n' about..He also does a bita cookin' and was at the ole cookie jar, Waffle
House and Huddle House..You'uns know what..JB just told me he believes he knows Rick from our
antique store days..Rick do youns remember the Old Black rock Market or Lana's Country Store in
Mountain City? That were us! :D Ever go to GREG'S AUCTION SALE in M.C., Ga?(real high $$ now)

[Lanascountry]

BTW, Rick...ALL of 'Deliverance' was done HERE and in Macon County NC (just
over the line) cast and crew stayed at the DILLARD HOUSE.. (no joke)

[unclejunk1]

Gregg Petters, sure and yes it can be high dollar on the special auctions. Been a while now but the Monday sales were not so high. No I was not here when you had your store or at least don't remember it. Moved here five years ago. Back to Greggs sale, I liked the way he set up the cameras and monitors for small items. You don't see that much in this area, most are run on a shoe string.

Don't remember the guys name that was in Deliverance but do remember he was talking with Tim Burton about a part in another movie at the time. Miss the Cookie Jar, prices were reasonable and the food was good. The lady running it was nice.

Its about time for us to make another run into your area, maybe stop in at the Gathering Place near Brasstown Falls. Closest thing to good BBQ around here. Had to start making my own due to the horrible stuff we found close in. Sure miss that Lexington Style NC BBQ. If you like BBQ you might want to try them. I have been told there is a good place in Clayton but have not tried it yet. I understant it is on the way to the lake. If you ever find yourself in NC and want BBQ stop in Lexington and ask for directions for Cooks BBQ - no doubt the worlds best. Its on the way to Lake Badin. I have now made it on the grill, in the oven and in a crock pot. Nothing like a wood fired slow cooked piece of pork, just have to have that tender juicy smoke flavor to be real. This junk smothered in sauce is awful. Oh, you can't find good hushpuppies here or BBQ slaw. They think a loaf of white bread and bad beans or really bad stew is the ticket but they are so wrong. Remind me later to give you a really good recipe for hushpuppies.

Its almost midnight, got to get some sleep.

[Home and Hearth Shoppe]

Yes customer service is a thing of the past...just got the Comcast bill...on it they said If you do not like the recent changes you are free to take your business elsewhere.

[Data Cowboy]

Hi all!!


Not to sound like I am whining or anything, because I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of customer service going downhill, but there ARE some exceptions....<ahem!> :)

Would you believe that I fired a employee for being impolite to a customer? Seriously! I did! Really!

The discount store that I manage (just a peon with keys, not an owner!) has an outstanding reputation for customer service - and in a town of only 2000 people, we need to! Everyone knows everyone (someone mentioned Deliverance somewhere in here??), so if you make one person angry, they will tell more...and more....and more! Suddenly, you are getting really strange looks while standing in line at the bank, the grocery store, etc.

The employee was actually SNAPPING her fingers at a very good customer of mine, trying to get her to hurry up!!! I happened to look up at the video monitor at the right second and caught her. True, this employee had been warned more than once about her attitude, so the firing was justified.

Anyway, thought I would throw my two cents in!

Data Cowboy

[Home and Hearth Shoppe]

Here is another example of companies not providing customer service or in this case any service...except... lip service. I lost it today and actually got off the phone without crying. I am in SE GA the other company is in Raleigh NC. Since Dec and as recently as last Wednesday, I have heard over and over how their catalog and pricing sheets are in the mail. They might actually be this time, I told the sales rep. that if I did not have ALL the information by 9:00 Friday morning, I would not be needing them because at 9:01 I was going with another supplier.

[Home and Hearth Shoppe]

on another site I have two accounts (one to buy, one to sell) called their wonderful 866-515 number, get custmer service, the employee verfies the buying id....so far so good....I asked for the password link as I didn't know the password anymore....the "highly trained helpful customer service rep" then said he needed to confirm that I needed help......I told him, not really I only called out of boredom. Yes, he sent it to me. Customer service does not exist over there.

[springsale]

You would think in these hard times, places would be bettering their customer service? They need the money, why drive it away. Most places around here seem to know that and have very good customer service. I do go to get an oil change and they run the computer check and say this and that. I say, no thanks, and that is the end of the conversation. I had a tire that kept going down not long ago. I stopped at a new automotive shop to have them check it out. The gentleman gave me the screw that was in my tire in case I wanted to make it into a necklace (LOL) and said no charge! He said just come back and see us if you ever need service.