I walked into Pier 1 the other day. Three employees were seen near the door. Not a hello. Not a smile. Nothing. I’m pretty sure I was the only one in the store. For crying out loud folks, we’re in a recession. Money and credit cards just walked in your door. You should be offering me cocktails; be willing to wash my car while I shop. But it makes you wonder if employee morale is so low and fear of losing jobs is so high that people cannot focus on their work.
Rosemary’s Baby movie download Now if you’ve ever been inside a Pier 1 you know that there is crap (in a good way) all over the place and unless you have time to browse it is just better to ask. So I asked for help. The response was “I don’t know.” That was it. No, let me see or let me ask someone else. I didn’t think it was my job to tell her how to do her job; although if the folks at Pier 1 Corporate want to talk with me about a Customer Service/Employee Morale presentation click here. I walked out.
Yesterday I received a statement from my disabled uncle’s landlord (Westchester Property Mgmt, Hartsdale NY) . All it says was his June rent was not received (July was). There was no contact information on the ledger record printout. No business card in the envelope. Nothing. First I checked to see if the check cleared. It did. Then I searched the Internet for a phone number. I called and spoke to Adele. During our conversation I offered Adele a suggestion…….Perhaps putting some contact information on documents they send out would be helpful. Her response to me was that I was lucky (yes lucky!) that she even sent out the form. Nice!
Well the witch said she would do some research and get back to me. I shot off the following email to the CFO; who I had to deal with in the past when their office screwed up.
Hi Paul,
Once again your office gives me a poor example of customer service which I can’t wait to use in my next customer service presentation. I’ve already Tweeted about it.
I offer a suggestion, like putting some contact information on documents that you send to a tenant (to make it a bit easier to follow-up), and Adele gives me a response that I am lucky she did me a favor by even sending the information. NICE!
How about “good idea.” Or “thank you.” Or “we’ll look into it.” Did you folks ever hear of just making the customer feel better and agreeing; even when you do nothing.
Quite the organization you have there; I’m glad my only dealings with the staff have usually been with them fixing their own internal errors/bookkeeping. Keep up the great work. Superman II: Director’s cut release
Assuming she needs a copy of the lost/misapplied check for Mr. Singer’s Account, XXX River Road, maybe you can let me know, instead of her contacting me. I have no time or patience for arrogance. You have been quite helpful in the past which is why I am sending this to you.
Of course it was their error. Again – by the way. Not that I’m counting. But this time I put the phone number in my contact database. Paul laughed off the witch’s comment when he called me.
We can argue whether employee morale and customer service are getting better or worse in these tough economic times. I’ve seen surveys that show both are true. And we all know how surveys can be skewed or falsely interpreted. But here is what I do know………If your employees are unhappy it clearly is going to impact your level of customer service; and usually not in a good way. Keep your eyes and ears open and most importantly keep communication, team meetings and training opportunities in your plan now more than ever. You have the resources for this. You do.
The property management company has me by the you-know-whats. I’m not about to move my uncle; but in most cases, especially retail, people have options. And for those reading this in a business where there are options, what can you do today to make sure morale and service are improving?
