As I think about customer service or the lack thereof in our society I continue to happen upon circumstances that validate my position that companies no longer value us as customers.
My mother and I went to a major department store recently and she found a summer skirt that was marked down that she wanted to purchase. As she went through the skirts, she saw that they were all marked down to $29.99 except of course the one in her size. So she takes the skirt to the register and informs the cashier that all of the other skirts were marked down to $29.99. The cashier scans the tag and it rings up at $49.99. Mother simply informs the cashier who is new that all of the other skirts have tags that state $29.99 on them and asks that she honor the price. The cashier calls a coworker over to assist her. The coworker tells my mother that the skirt is $49.99 according to her scanner and wants to know if she would still like to purchase it. My mother becomes frustrated – as she is used to the days when items are sold at the price they are marked…calls me over to the register. I explain to the “customer service associates” again that all of the exact skirts have clearance tags of $29.99 on them thus we would like to purchase this one at the same cost. The sales person continues to tell me the skirt is $49.99. I then asked to speak to a manager , not once but three times- it is finally discovered that some store clerk marked down the wrong items but the manager sells the skirt to us for $29.99.
Really, this is clearly an example of poor customer service. I would think this is a simple case of false advertising. If all items are marked at a certain price…how can you then try and sale them at a higher cost and then argue with the customer about your mistake. I spent 30 minutes in a store to buy an item at the cost the company had marked. Needless to say we left this very large department store with a sour taste. It was not a good customer experience.
Again, I ask – “What Happened to Customer Service”?
