What is wrong with people??

This doesn't really have much to do with customer service.  Well, maybe a little, since fellow human beings are supposed to be our customers.  You know...the Golden Rule.  Although quite cliche, that rule stands the test of time.  It's a pretty good one....treat others as you would like to be treated. It actually works. Unfortunatley, I don't think that many people have time for that rule anymore.  Maybe they don't believe in it.  I was walking to the wine store to get something for Thanksgiving.  The parking lot was pretty busy so I had to wait a little while.  When I thought it was safe, I proceeded to walk across the lot to the store.  All of a sudden, this big truck with a hemi-engine came out of nowhere and was headed right for me!  Well, actually, I saw it.  It was quite a ways away, though.  I thought that I had time to cross.  Little did I know!  That truck that seemed like it was pretty far away to begin with, started speeding up when it saw me.  I must have been worth a lot of points.  Needless to say, it almost hit me.  When I turned around to look at who was in the car, I got a pretty dirty look from the passenger.  I was already irritated from almost getting run into by several shopping carts in the grocery store.  I went right home and stayed there.  What is wrong with people?  What has made them have little regard for other human beings or the law for that matter?

Awesome Phone Conversation!

I don't know about the rest of you, but Kelly and I are not wizards when it comes to websites and business. We are very intelligent at times! We are so intelligent that we actually ask for help when we need it, unlike most people. I spent the morning talking to a very nice person from a website company that had the best customer service ever. She was more than happy to assist me and never once did I feel like I was taking up too much of her time. I asked ever question that I could think of and she put me on hold a few times, but only to find out the answers to my questions. I think we both did a little bit of learning today! 

We would love to hear from you about your customer service successes or failures. Feel free to comment. Enjoy your day!

Automated Systems....Uggh!

Hi, everyone!
You have all probably had experience with automated systems, right?  They are soooo frustrating!  What happened to the days when we could talk to a live person easily?  I admit that they can be easier sometimes. However, when you have an issue that can't be resolved without speaking with someone, though, getting a live person can make you want to scream!  I called the customer service line for a credit card company today.  Of course, I need to speak to a live person to resolve my issue.  It was not easy, to say the least.  After entering all kinds of different information like the last four of my card number, my zip code and so on,  pushing all different numbers for my issue, and waiting on hold for the customer service representative, I was disconnected!  The system, for some reason, could not complete my call.  Why?!  I called back.  This time, I thought that I would outsmart the system and just opt to speak with a representative right away.  This was going to be easier.....not! After doing almost the same thing, I was transferred to the same line that hung up on me.  I was prepared to be disconnected again when all of a sudden, I got a real person.  Oh wow!  After I told her my dilemma, I expected to be transferred again (You never get the correct line.).  I wasn't transferred, though.  She took care of my issue in no time.  I was so glad because I was getting a little testy.  I was already unhappy because of the issue in the first place.  Although my experience ended up being good, it was really frustrating to get there.  Someone has to come up with a different way!

Saving those pennies...

Most of us are feeling the crunch of the purse when it comes to buying huge items like cars, tv's, boats, etc. Even more of us pinch pennies when shopping at the grocery stores.  Today I went to the grocery store across from where I work, looking to see what kind of deals they have there. I'll admit I was walking around for about 20 minutes because I was on break anyway.  I checked out the meat section, cereals, pasta, and more. While looking through the meat department I asked an employee if there were any "specials" on meats or if there was a certain day of the week that the butchered meats were on sale. The guy said, "How am I supposed to know?" Curious. He was wearing a uniform for the same grocery store that I was in, he was behind the meat counter and he was putting meat on the shelves.  I wonder why I thought he might know the answer. I just let him know that I would ask the manager instead. Then I apologized for interrupting his hard work. As I started to walk away he walked after me and then decided that he could help me after all and that he wasn't too busy. I politely declined and spoke to the manager instead.

Has this happened to anyone else? I am just trying to save some money and still get quality food items, but not at the expense of customer service. Let us know what you think! Comments are always welcomed.

We don't have that!

I am just returning from a training function for work. While at the hotel on Tuesday evening, my roomie told me that she found a coffee/ice cream place within walking distance. I was thrilled and craving a oreo cookie coolatta! I marched over to the business and upon walking inside was greeted not by the staff, but by the wet floor where I almost fell on my butt.  Not awesome. I made it to the counter and placed my order for the oreo cookie coolata. The cashier says, "Oh we don't have that".  I look at the signs all over the store and on the front windows that show this product and then look back at her. I asked if they were out of it or if the machine was broken. The cashier then tells me that they just don't have it there. Ugh. I am so upset because I really wanted one. I then remember that this place has ice cream. I order some ice cream, again to be told that they don't have any. It was almost as if they stole uniforms and signs from a retailer and are pretending to be the same company. I was completely heartbroken and left with a mocha caramel something. Definitely not impressed!

Has this ever happened to you? I wonder what Kelly would have done if she had been with me. Let us know about your adventures!

Education Ally

I called my finance counselor at my university yesterday.  My normal counselor was not in so I talked to Brandy.  She was absolutley awesome!  I asked her my questions which she answered very thoroughly and made sure my financial aid application was sent promptly to the certificaton department.  She even took it upon herself to put in a request for someone to call me about starting my Master's degree.  That is something that is usually the job of my academic counselor.  I talked with her for about 20 minutes about her experiences about the financial aid process and being so close to my degree.  She probably didn't have time time to do any of that, but she did it anyway.  I told her that I was getting really tired.  She told me to hang in there and that it would be here before I knew it.  I felt really comfortable and like I was talking to someone who really understood what I was going through.   Now that was excellent customer service!  All of my counselors at University of Phoenix are awesome! Thank you Shane, Darlene, and Brandy!

Sunday Getaway

Kelly and I ran away last Sunday!  We really needed to.  Atlantic City and the ocean called to us and we drove there to walk on the beach and get our toes wet.  What can make any trip more complete than that?  Stopping at the rest stops along the way can!  Here you will find screaming kids, unresponsive parents and disgruntled workers.  Yay! At one particular stop we picked up some pizza, since we are vegetarians there isn't much of a selection anyway.  We then stopped at another stand to get a drink.  The worker was too busy with both hands stuck in the ice compartment.  When I leaned over a bit to ask for help I realized that he was texting on his phone.  That's a new one, pretending to scoop ice so you can text. Is it really that serious of a message? He just looked at me and then said, "Yeah"?  So I said, "Uh yeah, we would like something to drink, please."  That was his only function at work. He was the drink guy. It consisted of scooping ice into a cup and adding a beverage, that's it.  Must have been too hard to do on a Sunday.  Where do they find these people? 

Has anyone else had an experience like this at a rest stop?  We all know it gets extremely busy, but being rude or void isn't going to make the day better. What do you think?  Feel free to comment or share your own story. We hope to hear from you!