Do you stand up to bad service?

azia

azia

Member
Aug 27, 2006
2,675
5
#1
I'm not talking about waiting until you get home and writing a letter to head office but when you're in the moment. Do any of you speak up when you're being ignored, talked to rudely, or serviced in an unprofessional manner?

I have read so many stories of people on here (including those who spend THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on bags) and get treated horribly. Sometimes I feel so frustrated for these people who almost have to kiss at the feet of the sales associate before getting help when really, without customers a business (and therefore their jobs) would not exist. Yet, rarely do I hear of people complaining about it even though they fully deserve to.

So I just want to know, does anyone here do that? Speak up and ask for service or tell someone they're not being professional? Let me here your stories.
 
#2
As much as I would love to confront the salesperson and say something, I have never done it for bad service. If I'm getting bad service, I do a little mental calculation to see if I want what I'm trying to buy badly enough to put up with it, if I'm willing to come back at another time, if I can switch SAs, etc. If I don't have any options, I usually just leave. I just figure it's not worth the headache of confronting him or her.

The only time I've said something is when the SA says something offensive, in which case I would just say something like "That's disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself" and walk away. But that has nothing to do with poor service persay.
 
#3
Yes I do. Yesterday I was at the counter waiting to pay for my dinner at a sushi bar and the lady and the cook kept talking (looking at me and ignoring me completely) and laughing, having a good 'ol time. I just basically said if they do not want to stop being rude and ignoring me while I'm standing RIGHT IN FRONT of them then I'm going to take it as if they don't want my money. They were like "oh. Oh you're ready?" and I just replied "I've been ready for a long time. If two of you cannot run a till I suggest hiring a third person because it seems to me that you all like to ignore your customers and because you all do so it seems as though you're highly understaffed." They just looked at me with a blank face.

If the place is really busy and their flustered and forgetting things, then I'll give them a break. But if they are rude to my face and absolutely show no customer service whatsoever for no reason at all. I will definitely say something.
 
#4
AHH, I hate hate HATTTTTE bad customer service! It bugs the hell out of me! I don't think I have ever confronted someone about their service. I usually just give them the same attitude they give me and look really upset (cause I am!). Most of the time, I really do want to say something and complain to a manager, but I always remember what one of my HS teachers once told me, "You don't know what burden someone is carrying on their shoulders". Sure, they should be doing their job politely, but I start to feel bad thinking if they've had a horrible horrible day, maybe something really bad happened for them to have this attitude. Therefore, I just let it go.
 
#6
Yes, always. I only expect to be treated in the proper manner given any situation, nothing more or less. I always complain about bad service and even send food back if I have to. I am, however, very appreciative of great service and am happy to tip heavily or recommend a service or compliment an employee if they go above and beyond. I just expect to get what I pay for.
 
#7
I was recently on the phone with one of the major airlines, and the guy I was talking too gave me the worst service ever!! Every time I finished a sentence or a question he would say, "Thank you have we serviced all of your needs today", without giving me an answer! He acted like I was putting him out!! After a few minutes of this I asked him if iI was boring him. He asked me what I meant, and I said, "It is obvious that you cannot wait to get me off the phone, and you still haven't answered one of my questions." He said, "I'm not bored, but I am also not an Academy Award winning actor!" So I told him that if he finds his job so painful...he ought to do not be working in customer service!
It is very rare that I will say something...but I am always so friendly to whomever is helping me...that if someone is blatantly rude...and they catch me at the wrong time...I will say something!!!
 
#8
GUCCI_COOCHIE said:
AHH, I hate hate HATTTTTE bad customer service! It bugs the hell out of me! I don't think I have ever confronted someone about their service. I usually just give them the same attitude they give me and look really upset (cause I am!). Most of the time, I really do want to say something and complain to a manager, but I always remember what one of my HS teachers once told me, "You don't know what burden someone is carrying on their shoulders". Sure, they should be doing their job politely, but I start to feel bad thinking if they've had a horrible horrible day, maybe something really bad happened for them to have this attitude. Therefore, I just let it go.
Click to expand...

Honestly, this is really great advice. I worked at McDonalds as a kid and that really opened my eyes to what people go through when they are in demeaning customer service positions that force them to give up their dignity just to "make the customer happy". Sure, I tried to be pleasant and was never intentionally rude to anyone (except a few occasions when the customer absolutely deserved it), but after a while you get the sense that certain customers feel like they own you and you are their personal punching bag just because they're buying a happy meal for their kid. I can tell you stories of having coffee thrown at me, customers call me names in another language which I understood, people freaking out on me personally because their bigmac with extra cheese cost 30 cents more, etc. After a while, you just develop an "f-you" attitude towards all customers, regardless of whether or not they personally have done something. I'm not saying it's a good thing or should be excused, but I guess its important to understand why some people in these may not be totally pleasant 100% of the time.

Of course, I think its different if you're talking about, say, a professional SA at Holt Renfrew. That person is being compensated well for their job and has infinitely better working conditions, so I would be a little less forgiving of bad service.
 
#9
I agree with you completely...I am more than willing to treat people in the same respect they treat me. What really gets me is when a sales person is snooty....especially when they are working and I can afford to shop in their boutique...I boycott certain NYC stores because of this. Its not like a spend a huge amount of money but I have been know to go on sprees...just makes me feel better not to shop in certain stores with terrible service...
 
#10
Bad customer service is my pet peeve. So yes I say something every single time. I very, very rarely get rude about it. But I do stand up to people.
Just this weekend I had a minor scuffle with Zappos.com. When I hit a dead end with the SA, I just calmy asked to speak with someone who had the authority to fulfill the request I was making.

Once, in a dermatologists office, they screwed up my appointment and then told me I would have to see a physicians asst instead of the Doctor. I refused because I did not make an appt with the PA. I specifically stated that I wanted to see the Dr. So the receptionsist goes and gets the office manager. This guy is 6'2" and gets all condescending wiith me. He said, I would have to pay a cancelled visit fee if I did not keep my appointment. Fist of all, I was pissed off that this big guy is trying to intimidate me. Second of all, I never made an appt. with the PA. I told that guy that I had abolutely no intention of paying a fee for an appt that I did not make. And furthermore, I expected an apology because I was inconvenienced by their decision to push me off on the PA instead of the DR. And moreover, if he wanted a dime from me, it would have to be through a court order.
He cancelled the fee and rescheduled the appt. and got the heck outta my face.
 
#11
I don't think I've ever been treated so bad I felt like pulling somebody's hair right there and then but I have stood up in a discreet manner when I felt the service was not good enough.

Also I don't know where this stupid idea that you should be forever grateful to somebody for giving you the privilege of spending your cash on their goods came from. If I was ever in a shop and the SA was condescending to me, I would drop the goods right there and then and never come back.
 
#13
Yes, I always do! I will first address it with the SA and if nothing changes I will ask for a manager. That is one thing I cannot tolerate is bad service.

A month or so ago I was at a restaurant and we got put all the way in the back in a corner booth. I didn't mind because there were a few older ladies in the booth next to ours. Long story short I told the waiter that I felt as though he was neglecting us (he would check on their table and not ours, and I asked him for something which he never brought). It was written all over his face that he could have cared less and asked if we wanted to move to another table. I told him no and was about to tell him we should get the same service where ever we sat but before I could finish he walked off. Went to get the manager talked to him and he said he would handle it, after 5 minutes no one came to our table so we just got up and left. So I wrote a letter to the company...

So I say you should always stand up for yourself right then and there because if they feel they can get away with it they will continue to do it.
 
#14
We were at Target a couple days ago and I found a charger for my sons PSP for $14.99, there were like 3 of them on this hanger for that price. So I go to pay for it and it rings up at $29.99 and I was like hey wait a minute that said $14.99 over there! The teller just says "well i'm sorry that's not what it rang up at." No offer to call and double check the price, nothing, just a flat out too bad for you! I worked retail for YEARS, and I know that when something rings up wrong you make some effort to double check for the customer. I had to tell her to take it off my items, pay for that stuff then go all the way back to electronics and buy it back there after pointing out to the sales person that it was labeled one price and ringing up for another. It was an extra 15 mins of my time cause she couldn't pick up the phone. I took a detour and spoke to the manager about it, just as an FYI that she wasn't doing her job correctly. :s
 
#15
I absolutely do. If nothing, I inform them I will be contacting their customer service department and ask for their full name. And I always call!

Sometimes I feel a little bad because the person could lose their job...but other times I don't care and I'm frustrated (UGH United Airlines comes to mind LOL)!

I will also speak up in establishments I am at as well.

Hubby is really good at doing this too...better than I am!
 
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