How Do You Define Customer Service?

[KYHeirloomer]

Apparently, retailers like Williams-Sonoma define it differently than I do.

Just before leaving on vacation we went into the local W-S to buy some knives. I've decided to assemble a culinary travel kit separate from my household stuff. By the time I'm done I'll probably have a thousand bucks tied up in knives and other cutlery.

So, figuring to start with a chef's knife, we asked to see several of them. The clerk rather reluctantly opened the display case (I mean, after all, she managed to show up for work; kind of mean of us to expect that she'll do her job as well).

We choose a couple of models to look at. And then I asked her for a cutting board to work on. "Whatever for? she asked. "So I can get a feel for how the knife fits in my hand when I'm working with it," I told her.

"Oh, no. You can't do that," she replied. "Because then it would be a used knife." We're talking knives from the display case, mind you. And the last time I bought a knife, from a real store, not only did they give me a board to work on, the clerk actually brought out an onion "so you can really feel how that knife works." Obviously, she wanted to make a sale. But the clerk at W-S could care less.

We walked out, vowing to not return to Williams-Sonoma. And, with that sort of imcompetence, it's easy to understand why they're in such financial trouble.

OK, jump ahead. This morning I attempted to contact W-S about that problem. For starters, nowhere on their site do the words "customer service" even appear. But there is a "contact us" navigation button. So that's where I went.

Apparently, W-S is interested in everything except identifying and resolving problems. The contact site tells me how to get a catalog. And how to track an order. And how to send W-S info to a friend. And, stuck on the bottom, is a response form. You fill out your contact info. And then you explain what you want. Except it's limited to 1,000 characters.

Alright, I managed to condense the problem into 800 some odd characters (including spaces). But it wouldn't go through because, the error message said, it "contained invalid characters." No other explanation. But I'm guessing they were confused by characters like "a" and "t" and maybe even "w."

So I sent a semi-nasty comment instead, telling them what I thought of their site, and their lack of customer service. Next comes an automatically generated response with this last paragraph:

>Have you checked out our Customer Service page? You will find order tracking and shipping information, as well as answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about our products and company at: www.williams-sonoma.com/customerservice.<

This is the first time the words "customer service" appear anywhere. And, if you follow the link, it merely takes you back to the same "contact us" page where you started.

I don't know who Williams-Sonoma's target audience is. But it obviously isn't serious cooks who know what they're doing. And whatever they're definition of customer service is, it doesn't fit any definition I'm familiar with.

[shipscook]

Wow that pretty much sucks!
actually to WS is a place to go drool and check out things that I usually end up buying from Amazon.
Have you ever gone to Gethuman - Home Page ? great site for checking out customer service.

WS only had one review, and it was from someone who was pleased, you might like to leave yours?
gethuman

Nan

[KYHeirloomer]

Thanks, Nan. I'm going to wait to see if I get any sort of response before going any further. I'm giving 12 to 7 odds I never hear another word from them.

Trouble with Gethuman is that it's based on calling the companies, which I didn't do. Why put myself in line for a run-around---presuming the number even gets you to customer service (All-Clad's customer service number, for instance, is the next best thing to useless. But, then again, All-Clad has no customer service to speak of, anyway).

[Mama Mangia]

Customer service is a thing of the past - and many places are doing the same as W-S - sad to say.

They all want $$$$$$$$$ and they will do anything to save a dime.

Using a knife before purchasing does declare it a "used" item - not to be re-sold. I cannot see WHY they cannot have a display of knives readily available to be "tested" - all they have to do is write them off for display purposes.

I am very particular where I buy things - regardless of what it is. Customer service is a first - I don't care what establishment it is.

I speak up - I don't take anything from anyone. You want my respect? Prove it. Are you a sales person? Prove it. I will ask questions - and I expect answers - not - "uh - I dunno" as an answer. If you don't know the answer then say so - it's better than the "I dunno" crap they expect you accept and forget about. And don't speak to me with "huh", "duh", "ummm" - use the English language to communicate. And Lord knows - don't give Mama an attitude - unless you want to see mine! Mamazilla is NOT a nice person. You don't want to meet up with her. And it takes a lot for her to come out - but when she does - the next best thing to an exorcism is needed to remove her from "Mama". Never do I look for any confrontation with anyone - but I'm ready for it when I have to be.

Regarding these sites with no customer service/contact info other than what THEY want you to see and comment on - I get through. And I b**ch. "I" get a reply. I make sure I do.

I have gone as far as contacting the CEO, VP, etc. of a company when I am totally ****edoff. I've had business owners, CEO's, etc. contact me to rectify the problem and they have even done follow-up calls to make sure I was:
1) treatly properly by the staff
2) satisfied with the results
3) if there was anything else they can do for me - etc.

I've received letters from them - letters of apology - etc.

So you CAN get through to someone there. It just takes time and work.

[KYHeirloomer]

I'm with you a hundred percent, Mama.

What got me, in this case, was two things. First off, getting to play with a sample knife before you buy one is a standard industry practice, allowed by virtually any place that sells top-end cutlery. Display knives are, by definition, "used," and cannot be sold as new---which a customer has handled them or not.

Second was the complete indifference on the part of the sales clerk. It really was a case of, "hey, I spend 8 hours a day here. You want me to work, too?"

In the past, given a situation like that, you could talk to the store manager. But anymore they're all 12 years old, and no more qualified than the clerk.

We'll see how far I take this. All Clad learned the hard way not to F... with the kid. Maybe Willaims-Sonoma will too.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Customer Service should begin with a greeting as soon as you see or speak to the Customer Service Representative (who can be a clerk, waitstaff, cashier, an operator on the phone, etc...). After greeting: ask the customer/client how they may be helped, use eye contact and be cordial and professional and polite; in otherwards show you care! Then do everything you can to perform the task at hand efficiently, and try always to make your customer a "Happy Camper" in other words assist them in whatever they came in to see you for. When done ask if that if that is all they needed and as they prepare to leave thank them and say "good-bye; what a pleasure it was to serve you today!" Many of our customers ask for me or the owner, they refuse to deal with anyone else in the Agency because they want competent, caring, helpful, and reliable people to help them. There are a few youngsters here at work that give the impression that they could care less, or you're bothering me. These individuals may do other duties correctly, but their C.S.R. skills SUCK! If it were up to me totally I would fire them, I have no patience for that type behavior, at work, at home, or when I am the customer/client. I was taught long ago that "the Customer/Client is #1, and they are always right! They pay our wages and keep us in business!!!

I hope Williams & Sonoma folds and then we can purchase their stuff at Big Lots for a fraction of the price they charge

[jglass]

I was shocked last week when the lady at the JCPenney catalog place here in town went out of her way to help me. I had ordered Jons Dad 2 pairs of overalls. I ordered them to small and took them back to the catalog place here in town to send them back for a bigger size. When I ordered them they were $29. When the lady at the catalog place called them to get the next size up sent they were going to charge me $39 because they were no longer on sale. Since I was returning them they had to give them to me at $29 but the lady she had on the phone didnt want to do it. She stood up for me and insisted on speaking to that persons boss. She stayed on the phone with them til she got them for me at $29. When she got off the phone I told her how much I appreciated it. She goes some people you get when you call them are rude and you have to get rude right back lol.

[KYHeirloomer]

Just an update on the Williams-Sonoma situation.

Apparently, any complaint filed with corporate is automatically forwarded to the appropriate district office.

A good thing, as the corporate customer service people are the next best thing to useless. I don’t begin to understand why they don’t just say that, instead of sending all the BS messages.

At any rate, I received an email from Lisa Arnold, the Midwest District Manager, who, among other things, said she’d like to discuss the problem. After a bit of phone tag we finally connected.

She was very sweet; very personable. In fact, in addition to the problem, we had a nice talk about food and cooking in general, and exchanged a few recipes. She'd be a good addition to our little SpicePlace family, in fact.

She apologized profusely for the problem, thanked me for bringing it to their attention, and told me she’s spoken to “her team” in Lexington, to assure it wouldn’t happen again.

She also pointed out that W-S’s policy is to allow customers to handle the display knives, and that most of their stores actually have a pull-out cutting board for that purpose. The Lexington store lacks such a board because it’s old, and smaller than most. But that the clerk should have taken me somewhere in the store where I could have handled the knives properly.

She did not address the clerk’s stupid comment that I couldn’t play with the knives on a board because they would then be used knives. Obviously, the clerk made that up out of whole cloth for whatever reason.

She also indicated that at the next corporate meeting, in July, she would be talking to the appropriate people about making both the web page and the corporate customer service people a little more customer responsive.

Finally, she said, she hoped I wouldn’t let this experience sour me, and that I would give them another chance.

On my end, I pointed out that she was the only person in the W-S hierarchy who seemed to care, one way or the other. And I thanked her for her concern and for following-up. But that given the overall experience I’d had at both the retail and corporate ends, and given the store’s location, it was doubtful I would ever enter it again.

And that was that. Very friendly. And I certainly appreciate her follow up, even though there was no direct resolution of my problem. But maybe some good will come out of it, so that other customers don’t go through what I did.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

All we can do is hope, but you did your part, and that is all it might take if Ms. Arnold will jump right on it and make a little noise!

[jglass]

You did your part to make sure it doesnt happen to anyone else.