We have vacationned quite a bit in the Far East and one of the things I cherish is the customer service. Clerks routinely give a little nod of the head when they hand you your change or your credit card and reciept.
In some countries, this is called a wai, and the lower the bow of the head, the more esteemed the customer.
I despair of customer service here in Canada. It’s hard to find a clerk and when you do, they often aren’t very informed. They can’t tell you where to find something or when an out-of-stock item will be in.
I recently ran into a problem ordering wallpaper. I gave the clerk the wall dimensions and she assured me one double roll would be more than enough. It turned out I needed twice that much and had to push them to get it in before my painter was done.
If you don’t know, don’t pretend you do. Refer the customer to someone who does know. I know it’s a problem getting good help but bad service will drive away customers. I know I won’t go back to that store again.
On the other hand, good service means loyal customers. I have a great guy who does windows, another man who I call every year to deep clean my BBQ and a company that responds promptly when we have trouble with our electronics.
I am also very lucky when it comes to my vet, my family doctor and my dentist.
We recently had to buy a mattress and box spring. Talk about an expensive grudge purchase. The first mattress turned out to be defective and they sent out a service guy right away. After he confirmed the problem, I called customer service back and they gave me the name of the replacement model we could get at no charge.
We didn’t like the new model and asked if we could replace the replacement. After the service rep checked with her boss, the answer was “yes”. I am very impressed with Sleep Country and when I need another mattress in a decade or so, I know where I’ll go.
Mary Ellen Beninger
