Companies That Don't Say "Sorry" to Their Customers

[MIGrandma]

I think it's rude for a company, doing business with the public, to not say "sorry" when they should. Two separate incidents.

We are on an "on call" basis for our trash. We have a dumpster on the farm and when it's full we call the company and they come and dump it and send us a bill. The dumpster needs to be dumped so DH called and left a message on their machine. He also said we hadn't been billed for the last two dumpings.

They have not come to dump the dumpster, but we did get a bill today for the last two dumpings. No "thanks for bringing this to our attention, we appreciate it", nothing at all. And it's not like they were behind on their billing and just not caught up or something. We only have the dumpster dumped every couple of months.

Second, I called Tuesday night to make a cabin reservation from a company in Pigeon Forge. She asked for my e-mail and said she would get an e-mail confirmation right out to me. I waited until this morning (Thursday) and there still wasn't one, so I e-mailed to ask about it.

The e-mail I got back was "here is your confirmation, we had your e-mail wrong." No, "I'm sorry" at all.

Is it so hard to companies to say "sorry" or to acknowledge a customer's honesty?

I know these may seem like petty things to some, and in the grand scheme of things they are not mountains to conquer or anything of the sort. It's just odd, to me. Another small decline in customer service I guess.

 

[happygirl]

I think it's rude for a company, doing business with the public, to not say "sorry" when they should. Two separate incidents.

We are on an "on call" basis for our trash. We have a dumpster on the farm and when it's full we call the company and they come and dump it and send us a bill. The dumpster needs to be dumped so DH called and left a message on their machine. He also said we hadn't been billed for the last two dumpings.

They have not come to dump the dumpster, but we did get a bill today for the last two dumpings. No "thanks for bringing this to our attention, we appreciate it", nothing at all. And it's not like they were behind on their billing and just not caught up or something. We only have the dumpster dumped every couple of months.

Second, I called Tuesday night to make a cabin reservation from a company in Pigeon Forge. She asked for my e-mail and said she would get an e-mail confirmation right out to me. I waited until this morning (Thursday) and there still wasn't one, so I e-mailed to ask about it.

The e-mail I got back was "here is your confirmation, we had your e-mail wrong." No, "I'm sorry" at all.

Is it so hard to companies to say "sorry" or to acknowledge a customer's honesty?

I know these may seem like petty things to some, and in the grand scheme of things they are not mountains to conquer or anything of the sort. It's just odd, to me. Another small decline in customer service I guess.

I know has horrible as it seems, Every customer service place I have worked as always taught us to never apologize or take blame.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I know has horrible as it seems, Every customer service place I have worked as always taught us to never apologize or take blame.

That seems odd, because I do customer service, and I was always taught that I should apologize, and not blame others, regardless of what it is.

 

[FireDancer]

Maybe they aren't actually sorry. If they aren't genuinely sorry I don't want them to just say it. It is just lip service at that point and a waste of everyone's time.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Hmmm. I've never been told that. I've always apologized (even if it's not our fault.) For instance: your kid is too short to ride and is upset. We have always been taught to say, "I'm sorry sir (or madam), but in order for your child to safely enjoy this attraction, they must be at least 54 inches tall."

Or if they are mad about our special access policy: "I'm sorry sir. With that pass I give you a return time that is equal to the wait time for the attraction at this point. I am not allowed to let you on early. If you would like, I can call a supervisor."

At no point is it my fault (or really the company's fault since we are adhering to policy) that they are upset. But I am sorry that they are having a hard time with the policy and try to help them understand it. At no point does saying sorry indicate an admission of guilt. The only time I have been told not to say that is if you are in a car accident.

 

[wvjules]

Actually I don't see a need for an apology in either situation.

#1 - no bill, bill was sent
#2 - no confirmation, confirmation was sent

 

[happygirl]

That seems odd, because I do customer service, and I was always taught that I should apologize, and not blame others, regardless of what it is.

It has to do with liablity. If you take resposbility then you are to blame or the store is to blame.

We were to listen to the customer, If we could fix it then fix it if not get someone who could.

 

[mvazul]

I agree that sometimes an apology is needed. I ordered my wedding dress from David's Bridal near Philadelphia. It arrived 6 weeks before our wedding. It was the wrong dress. It had HOT PINK flowers all over it and a butt-ugly train. My dress certainly did NOT have hot pink flowers on it or a train. They offered to order another dress, but they could not guarantee it would come in before our wedding. I ended up taking the one off the rack. No discount. No apology. Nothing. They were wonderful to work with for my bridesmaids' dresses, but for my dress, they were horrible.

Sometimes, "sorry" really needs to be said.

Michelle

 

[LuvOrlando]

MiGrandma, this is one of my very few but immensely irritating pet peeves. The way I see it, if an organization full of workers is paying it's bills, in part, because of my patronage it is the least they can do to pretend to care when they mess up. If a company won't do this I get spiteful and pull my business, and tell them about it as I walk away.

I always wonder, with all the $ they spend on advertising isn't it better business sense to work on keeping the customers you already have happy? One angry customer can go on for years bad mouthing your business anytime the name or type of business comes up. Some folks just don't have any sense because they don't realize customer service has such a huge impact on customers, and that each customer has friends & family, and that their friends & family are going to hear about it, and retell the story if it's interesting.

Op, I think you are right for expecting a bit of courtesy in exchange for your check each month.

 

[tileman]

Yep been working for myself for over 19yr and that's the 1st thing to learn.
If I did wrong for a Customer I will step up and say so even if it cost us money.

We do tile & epoxy flooring and last year & this year we have been crazy busy have about 7 nice jobs to start in late jan / feb.

As I see others go under but most of them were one hit jobs make as much and run away And they wonder why they are out of work.

Ron.

 

[livndisney]

Walmart does not say "sorry". A Walmart employee injured my child, saw that he had caused an injury and would not apologize.

 

[happygirl]

Walmart does not say "sorry". A Walmart employee injured my child, saw that he had caused an injury and would not apologize.

It just not Walmart sadly,

 

[DizBelle]

Walmart does not say "sorry". A Walmart employee injured my child, saw that he had caused an injury and would not apologize.

I'm sure there are legal and liability reasons the employee did not apologize. Just because they didn't apologize, it doesn't mean the aren't sorry. I'm sure they were trained to not apologize.

On another note, I'm curious what the story is here...

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm sure there are legal and liability reasons the employee did not apologize. Just because they didn't apologize, it doesn't mean the aren't sorry. I'm sure they were trained to not apologize.

That is it exactly. Unfortunately the courts have decided that an I'm sorry = I am guilty and therefore liable for whatever went wrong, here is some money.

 

[livndisney]

I'm sure there are legal and liability reasons the employee did not apologize. Just because they didn't apologize, it doesn't mean the aren't sorry. I'm sure they were trained to not apologize.

On another note, I'm curious what the store is here...

Trust me he was not sorry. He started yelling that it wasn't his fault.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I'd rather not be told anything at all than to be told a very generic and fake "I am so sorry, ma'am" from a customer service rep, but that is just me.

 

[Sparx]

i was pulled over once (well the only time i've been pulled over) and i was in park, and had my foot still on the break, and i was turning my car off. then the police officer hit my back end twice. and tried to tell me that i hit him, and i was going in reverse. uh, really? with my car turned off? on a flat road? he never apologized, but he finally stopped blaming me, after the dash cam was reviewed.

 

[livndisney]

I'm sure there are legal and liability reasons the employee did not apologize. Just because they didn't apologize, it doesn't mean the aren't sorry. I'm sure they were trained to not apologize.

On another note, I'm curious what the story is here...

Not sure what "story" you are looking for.....

But if you asking did I sue-no. The only thing I "wanted" was an apology to my child and maybe some ice to limit the swelling. They failed on both counts.

If they were concerned about liability, the manager that showed up should not have started yelling at the worker for causing the injury by his "carelessness".

 

[MrsPete]

It isn't JUST companies -- it's SOCIETY. People don't say "sorry" any more because the vast majority of the time THEY AREN'T REGRETFUL for anything. Being sorry implies that you've done something wrong -- even something slight. It's all tied into looking for someone else to blame.

 

[livndisney]

It isn't JUST companies -- it's SOCIETY. People don't say "sorry" any more because the vast majority of the time THEY AREN'T REGRETFUL for anything. Being sorry implies that you've done something wrong -- even something slight. It's all tied into looking for someone else to blame.

Well said!