Will customer service ever get better after the pandemic?
July 09, 2024
Although I’m used to the fact that customer service these days is abysmal, my experiences on a hot day Monday about made my head explode.
I’m shopping for a new garden shed. I don’t have a very big space so I’m looking for a metal shed 4 feet by 6 feet. I like blue, so after lots of research, I headed off to Lowe’s with my contractor to look at the quality of the Arrow sheds and see if they have one in the correct size in blue.
Online, Lowe’s didn’t have a blue Arrow shed in the size I need, but another website showed one only it had a slanted roof, not a gable roof.
I’d gone to Lowe’s in the evening a couple of weeks ago. The customer service representative couldn’t help me, fumbling around for 10 minutes or more to try to locate information on sheds. She told me to come back another day and talk to someone at the “Pro Desk” before they closed at 4 p.m.
I wanted to buy an Arrow shed because I could see its quality in the parking lot at Lowe’s and I wanted to buy it at Lowe’s because I could take it back more easily if there was a problem.
My contractor and I waited 20 minutes to get help at the Pro Desk. When a customer service representative finally was available, he also fumbled around on the computer. He couldn’t find out if Lowe’s had the blue, Arrow shed I’d found on another website. He said “Can you order it online from them?” like he was hoping to get rid of us.
I’d taken a photo of a picture of a blue shed that was posted on an information sheet on a gray shed in the parking lot. The model number wasn’t clear so the customer service representative walked across the parking lot to get the number. After more time on the computer, he said that it probably wasn’t really a blue shed, that the sun had faded the information sheet so it looked like it was blue. What?
The customer service representative passed us off to another man. He wasn’t helpful either.
My contractor left and I asked the second rep if Lowe’s had any of the five portable air conditioners I’d printed out from Consumer Reports. Although we only get a few days during the summer when my house is uncomfortably hot here in the Seattle area, I’m going to get an air conditioner because with climate change, hot summer days will be increasing.
The rep pointed to the other corner of the store and said they had a lot of air conditioners and I could go over there and look. I asked him to look them up for me because it would be easier than me hiking across the big box store and trying to figure it out. He hemmed and hawed, complaining that the list didn’t have Lowe’s numbers. He thought the first air conditioner on the list might be sold at Costco. Maybe the second one, a Honeywell, was over there across the store.
It was so discouraging that the rep so didn’t want to help me or sell me anything. I just left and went to Costco. At the door, a Costco employee said they were sold out of air conditioners. Darn. I complained to several Costco employees about the lack of air conditioners. I bought berries and hummus and left.
I tried Walmart, which is located next to Costco. I asked the employee at the door checking receipts if they had any air conditioners. He didn’t know. He fumbled around for several minutes and determined that air conditions were located on aisle L1. As I was trying to find L1, I asked another employee if they had any air conditioners left. He said he didn’t know. When I finally got to L1, the shelves were bare.
It was so discouraging that employees at Walmart were so uninformed on one of the hottest days of the year that they were out of air conditioners.
I was so frustrated on a hot, hot day. No sales people were interested in helping me find anything. They weren’t interested in selling me anything. They just wanted to get rid of me and move on to the next person, who they probably couldn’t help either. I can’t imagine being in a job where you just fumble around on the computer and don’t help people.
I wonder if the store model is to continually hire new people to keep costs down? And, it doesn’t matter if there are only a few employees and that they aren’t informed because customers will finally find and buy enough items to keep the business running? All in all, a very frustrating afternoon.
You might not be able to find the shed you want, but sometimes I've had fairly good luck at franchise hardware stores--True Value & Ace Hardware (how good the stock & service may depend on the franchisee) , or lif you can find one in your area--looking at what an independent hardware/building supplies store offers. In Eugene, OR, Jerry's Home Improvement Center had (maybe still has, I haven't been there in some time) alot of stock to look at, and some knowledgable & helpful sales people.
I'm sorry you had such a frustrating experience.
Best customer service I've had recently was w/B & H photo/viddo, which is located in NYC. I've been to the physical store only twice over the years (I left NY years ago) but recently ordered a flat screen monitor online. I received it promptly, it seems to be in good condition, but neither of the connection cords I was sent were compatible w/my laptop's plug-ins or ports. The enclosed page of instructions was not helpful. I've been able to avoid becoming as knowledgable as I might've because for 8 or 9 years I mostly bought through a local independent comptuer business, they would build customized desktops, also more standard desktops, did repairs, trouble shooting, sold peripherals, portable hard drives, transfered data/files/whatever from an old to a new PC. The owner decided to retire during the pandemic.
I made a telephone call, got one suggestion (service person was hampered by my not being in front of my PC) wasn't sure about his recommendation, so I found the specs of my laptop, looked for information online re: DP, terms for different types of ports (and that they meant/referred to in terms of function) so I could speak/write more coherently about my problem, emailed customer servic & provided them w/the information & asked again did I need an adaptor or what? Or should I return the flat screen? I was assisted by email, very promptly, and I've ordered the recommended adaptor.
Then I received another email from B & HI in response to a survey re: my satisfaction w/my order (shipping time, etc) & I had described the problem(s)--that email informed me I'd be hearing from someone in X dept to assist me. I replied I thought I'd gotten the help I needed, but I guess word had gone out as shortly after I sent my reply, I got a phone call from X dept. He went over what I needed, agreed the adaptor would work for me, provided some information re: definitions, and something that had appeared on the flat screen when I turned it on. Said he'd send me his email address so if I had any further problems, I could email him & we'd talk again if needed/ntil he was sure I could do all I wanted w/the flat screen. He said he was sure that my laptop could work well w/the new flat screen, that he'd make sure that happened. Also said he could alao assist me if I wanted to use two ports or plug-ins to power two of my peripherals (which I hadn't known was possible to do w/the monitor but might be useful to do). I received his email w/contact information almost immediately.
Been awhile since I'd dealt w/such helpful people. So, good customer service still exists, even if you can't find it locally sometime or maybe all too often..
I don't know how well Lowe's pays it floor sales staff. I knew someone who'd worked at Home Depot (similar chain) pre-pandemic as a sales associate (or whatever the job title is), and he wasn't paid well,he worked there for several years before leaving. The closest HD to me is hit or miss when it comes to customer service, I've been assisted by helpful & knowledgable people sometimes, uninterested/seemingly not knowledgable people other times.
Posted by: azure | July 11, 2024 at 04:56 PM
I'm glad you had a good customer service experience. It's good to know it still exists.
Posted by: Rita | July 11, 2024 at 09:57 PM