Customer Service

[precious_bear]

Tonight on my way home from work, I stopped off at the local Post Office agency to post some things to a friend about 150km away.  As I'd been in BigW earlier in the day, I'd already bought a tough envelope and packaged it up before I got there.  Once there, the girl behind the counter took the envelope and measured it on the cardboard thingy which was under the counter (I couldn't see it) and told me it was too big, it would have to go as a parcel.  Fair enough, she weighed it and told me it would be just under $7.  As I was paying her, I asked her how much too big the envelope was, because it seemed pointless buying those particular ones if the postage was going to be extra.  She got the guide out and showed me, seriously, it was probably about 2mm too wide.

However, I get that, it was too wide.  So I asked her how much it would have been if the envelope had been a little bit smaller - again, trying to weigh up if it was worth buying those envelopes - I don't post much!!  She then tells me it would have been $1.80.  Another shopkeeper had come over as she was showing me how much too big it was and said very kindly to me "next time, just fold it over a little bit to make it fit and stick it down".  I know this girl from being in the shop a lot and I said (not being rude, just chatting) "I wish I'd been told that before I'd paid this time!" at which the first girl who had served me said "Well, I didn't know, did I?"

I understand she may well have not known, we all learn things bit by bit, but was it really necessary for her to speak to like that?  A simple "I'm sorry, I didn't realise" and I would not have given it another thought.  I think I'm turning into a grumpy old woman

Rant over!!

Precious

[meh_too]

Hooray for grumpy old women!  I had a crack at a colleague today for being a patronising young pup.

[acacia_pycnantha]

Talking of Customer Service;

I get annoyed when I walk into the bank and an assistant greets me and asks if they can be of help.

I explain I want to cash a cheque and they direct me to stand in a queue and wait for a teller.

I then (always) reply that if they really wanted to help then they might like to sit behind one of the vacant teller's window's and serve me.

So far, this has never worked and I have had to stand in line looking at empty teller's windows while other, albeit thoroughly greeted and questioned customers queue up behind me.

I have explained that this is frustrating and is not good PR or good customer relations, to say nothing of a profound lack of manners.

Oh, I can hear you asking . . "Which bank?"

I'm thinking of taking my business elsewhere, sometime soon.

[youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit]

totally get that acacia! really grinds my gears when that happens..

I dont need to be greeted- its a bank, what, do they think I cant see the queue??(and theres almost always a queue) grrr

Put the staff to better use, serve the customer/client whatever!! 

[**meep**]

Customers that join the wrong queues can be really annoying. 

[poddster]

Acording to Basil ALL customers are blardy annoying

[**meep**]

LOL they can be

[everything*that*i*ever*wanted]

The "Greeters" are Customer Service Officers and specialise in products. They aren't allowed to act as tellers unless rostered. The ones behind the windows are Customer Service Representatives and specialise in processing.

Yes it seems silly, thank the unions.

It comes down to targets...if the CSO's do the job of a CSR they could be taking away their target potentials, and thereby income / bonuses. And vice versa.

[kennedia_nigricans]

wife of acaia replying:

we don't           care about their inside politics or policies.

if that person can't serve us, don't be there at all cos their current practise is infuriating.

we are customers and we want to be served and not treated as if we were idiots.

as someone said above "we can see the         queue" we do NOT need someone to tell us to queue up there while that person stands around doing nothing than stating the obvious.....AAARARRRRGGGHHHHH

common sense? fat chance.

we  have seen those greters go behind the teller and serve people. i observed that it happens when the queue gets too long.

they then call in someone else to do th egreeting *rools eyes*

[**meep**]

the "greeter" doesn't know why you're there.  imagine if you joined the long queue only to be told you didnt need to wait or worse, to join a different queue.   believe me, the "greeters" are there for a good reason.   it would  be great if every customer understood the difference between personal transactions, business transactions, opening bank accounts, closing term deposits etc etc, but they don't.  They need to be informed of who will be best suited to serve them.  I agree though, if you want to avoid that, you should join a smaller bank.