Is this bad customer service?

[nile455]

I was in a radio shack earlier this evening buying a new cell phone. I was taking advantage of a special promotion where you trade in an old phone and get $50 towards the new phone. Because of this trade-in, it wasn't the simplest of transactions and it was taking the salesman (who happened to be the manager) a long time completing the purchase. Here's my issue: Every time a new customer would enter the store, he would stop what he was doing with me and help them. I was okay with this for the first two people (who knew what they needed to buy), but then a third person came in and once again he left what he was doing with me to help her, and this one took a while. I got angry and asked why he keeps interrupting my purchase to attend to customers that are coming in after me, and he said something to the effect of "well yours is a little complicated and takes a while and I'm trying to handle everyone as quickly as possible". After that I got angry and just left the store.

Is this the right way for a salesperson to handle customers? Maybe it is, I don't really know. My thinking is, it's THEIR promotion so it's THEIR fault they don't have a faster way to do the transaction, and that he should not keep prolonging the purchase time by helping other customers when I've been waiting there a lot longer.

 

[Cinderella94]

I agree- he could have scheduled more people to work then, also, and one customer shouldn't be abandoned to go greet/work with another. My dad owns a local store and when all of the employees are already working with someone when a customer enters, one of the employees looks up and says to them "hi, we'll be with you as soon as we can" or something to that effect.

 

[happygirl]

I was in a radio shack earlier this evening buying a new cell phone. I was taking advantage of a special promotion where you trade in an old phone and get $50 towards the new phone. Because of this trade-in, it wasn't the simplest of transactions and it was taking the salesman (who happened to be the manager) a long time completing the purchase. Here's my issue: Every time a new customer would enter the store, he would stop what he was doing with me and help them. I was okay with this for the first two people (who knew what they needed to buy), but then a third person came in and once again he left what he was doing with me to help her, and this one took a while. I got angry and asked why he keeps interrupting my purchase to attend to customers that are coming in after me, and he said something to the effect of "well yours is a little complicated and takes a while and I'm trying to handle everyone as quickly as possible". After that I got angry and just left the store.

Is this the right way for a salesperson to handle customers? Maybe it is, I don't really know. My thinking is, it's THEIR promotion so it's THEIR fault they don't have a faster way to do the transaction, and that he should not keep prolonging the purchase time by helping other customers when I've been waiting there a lot longer.

I think you overreacted, He trying to please everyone How would you feel if you came in and need something that would take 5 seconds and had to wait for a customer that needed something that took longer. If I'm in the postion I say go ahead mine wil take a little longer.

 

[RitaZ.]

I was in a radio shack earlier this evening buying a new cell phone. I was taking advantage of a special promotion where you trade in an old phone and get $50 towards the new phone. Because of this trade-in, it wasn't the simplest of transactions and it was taking the salesman (who happened to be the manager) a long time completing the purchase. Here's my issue: Every time a new customer would enter the store, he would stop what he was doing with me and help them. I was okay with this for the first two people (who knew what they needed to buy), but then a third person came in and once again he left what he was doing with me to help her, and this one took a while. I got angry and asked why he keeps interrupting my purchase to attend to customers that are coming in after me, and he said something to the effect of "well yours is a little complicated and takes a while and I'm trying to handle everyone as quickly as possible". After that I got angry and just left the store.

Is this the right way for a salesperson to handle customers? Maybe it is, I don't really know. My thinking is, it's THEIR promotion so it's THEIR fault they don't have a faster way to do the transaction, and that he should not keep prolonging the purchase time by helping other customers when I've been waiting there a lot longer.

It isn't. Even if he was by himself running the store, he should have served the customers in order of arrival. Maybe he just didn't now how to handle the transaction and was hoping you'd leave.

 

[nile455]

Maybe he just didn't now how to handle the transaction and was hoping you'd leave.

Ha you might be right!

 

[MushyMushy]

Sorry, but that drives me insane. It's even worse when you've waited in line yourself, only to have them interrupt your transaction to help people who came in after you.

 

[LilyWDW]

I don't think he should have abandoned your transaction in order to help other customers. You assist the customer in front of you first until you are finished. You can greet with a "Hello, I'll be with you as soon as I can." (and you should), but you should never walk away from a customer.

I would have left too.

That said, I do sorta feel for the guy. It appears from the OP that he was alone in the store. While it is so easy to say "he should have scheduled someone else to be there to", it's not always as easy as it sounds. His associate could have called in sick and he had no one that could come in at the last minute or corporate cut his payroll hours and he simply couldn't schedule anyone else. There just is simply no way to know, so I would be willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

Oh, and from what I have heard from a friend, Radio Shack is bad for having promotions like this and not giving them adequate information on how to do it.

 

[merryweather20]

You were right. I'm floored he didn't clue in and apologize after you mentioned it to him

Honestly phone + $50 off doesn't really sound that complicated . If you were filling out a form, or something I think its perfectly acceptable to ring someone up, and then turn his attention back to you, bu he shouldn't be trotting around the store.

 

[Bonnie151]

I think you overreacted, He trying to please everyone How would you feel if you came in and need something that would take 5 seconds and had to wait for a customer that needed something that took longer. If I'm in the postion I say go ahead mine wil take a little longer.

Not the OP, but I would think that I had to wait my turn in the queue. It happens all the time when I nip into the local shop to just buy a paper and there's someone in front of me with lots of items and doing various other types of transactions.

 

[goofyernmost]

The others probably had a Fastpass.

 

[bfeller]

I have had a similar thing happen at a local paint store. I had waited in line with two people in front of me. He got my paint, mixed it, and finished shaking and he was starting to ring me out and the phone rang. He answered and then began to answer a ton of questions for the person on the phone. He stopped ringing me out. This went on for 5 minutes. I know I started playing with my keys and looking a little irritated. He finally got all the guys questions answered and then hung up. He said he was sorry, but I did mention that he should have put the phone customer on hold to finish my transaction. He acted like that was a new bright idea.

Do I think it was bad customer service? Yes, you do not wait on someone else who has walked in later or during the sale and you do not answer the phone and continue to stay on the phone. You wait on the present customer and acknowledge the new customer and if the phone rings you say "Could you please hold?"

 

[Megan_J]

When I worked in retail we were told to greet every customer even if we were with another one. However, if another customer needed help they would have to wait their turn. It's rude to keep interrupting a transaction. When it comes to scheduling more employees, stores are given a certain number of hours in which they can schedule people to work. That is usually done on a corporate level, so the lack of good customer service these days is due to companies trying to make more by scheduling less hours. Hours don't just come magically out of the air when you want them.

 

[JVelasquez]

He could have helped you and still greeted the other customers. He also should have had other people there as well working. Unless of course someone was scheduled and called in sick with no one to replace them.

 

[MIGrandma]

I would have been upset too if I were in your shoes. I don't think he should have stopped the transaction with you to help other people. They all should have waited their turn.

I don't like it when a salesperson is helping me and they answer the phone and proceed to help the person on the phone, leaving me standing there waiting. I understand answering the phone, but the salesperson should let the caller know he/she is helping an in-store customer and will be back with the caller shortly. I don't think a phone customer trumps an in-store customer.

 

[kamik86]

I am ok with an employee answering quick question (like if your buying something at target in electronics and a customer asks where something is). But to physically leave and help them is not ok in my opinion.

Stores really should have enough people to handle these situations. I know corporate only gives so many hours but if people leave because of that then as the manager of a store they really need to start telling corporate that and trying to get more hours. If corporate doesn't agree then they are just going to lose people.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Working in retail, I can understand why the manager helped the other customers... he would have lost three customers if they had to stand around and wait for your transaction to be completed. However, there are other ways he could have handled yours to keep everyone happy... one, he could have kept up a light conversation with you as he worked, which would have softened your opinion of him, and you would have been more forgiving if he excused himself to help another customer. Two, he could have told you the process would take a while, and offered you the opportunity to leave and browse other stores while he processed your transaction- then you would return to a completed transaction none the wiser of him helping others. Or three, he could have told you up front that he is alone and would help others who came in while he helped you.

Should the store have scheduled more staff? Would be nice, right? But labor is the most controllable cost in retail, more employees equals more payroll, equals rising prices to cover the costs.

I think we are becoming too much of a society where everyone wants immediate attention, and everyone expects compensation for inconvenience. Compensation costs...prices rise, it's all a vicious cycle.

 

[simba20]

I was in Ritz camera the other day buying a new point and shoot digital camera, and the same thing happened to me.

Actually, there were two people working int he store, but the manager was tied up explaining a DSLR to a customer (who I later learned was a personal frined of his through their conversation) and the only other person was a girl, who had to handle helping cutomers at the computer kiosks with printing photos, developing photos, and any other sales. Enter me, walkign into the store.

I walk in and she asks if I need help. I tell her that I want to look at some cameras. I knew what models I wanted to look at (they only had one out of three, but there were two others that caught my eye as well). So she's explaining that cameras to me, and somebody walks in and goes over to the computer kiosks to choose photos fro printing. She excuses herself to help them set up. I didn;t mind, a lot of people who walk in have no idea how to operate those things.

So then she shows me some more about the cameras I am looking at, and I quickly make my decision. After she gets my camera, another customer walks in to pick up photos. They had already paid, so she goes off to grab them for the guy.

Ritz was offereing my camera at a great price, if I joined their prints club. I pre-pay each month for prints (I am usually there anyway getting prints) and I get $75 off the price of the camera. I also have one of their frequent photo cards, so it turned into a very complicated transaction. The ENTIRE time I was in the store, the manager was still with the same customer and the girl who was helping me, had to do it all, and then my transaction became very complicated. Having to do with registering for the pre-pay service to get my $75 off, apply the discounts I had earned with my frequence photo card, and slow computers -- to the point where the girl had to call headquarters because the register was not applying a discount to my purchase. I felt so bad for her.

Maybe it's because I have worked in reatil and have had days like hers. Maybe it's because I really wanted the camera and wasn;t leaving until I got it, but I waited PAITIENTLY. Her, pausing to help others during my transaction did not bother me at all. I told her that I understood and I was aware that she and the manager were the only ones working. However, I do think the manager needed to sometimes stop what he was doing (his customer was not planning on buying and was a personal friend and kind of "hanging out" -- I gathered all of this through their conversation I was in the store for 45 mins), but he should have excused himself as well to help other customers out.

I ended up, as mentioned, being int he store for 45 minutes. At one point my salesperson really wanted to help me and get through my transaction as quickly as possible, and had one lady walk out. Things happen and I am totally understanding.

My transaction and yours needed concentration that took time. If my sales person had simply rung me up and assumed that my old frequent photo card was immediately transferred to the old one, then I would have lost my $75 disocunt. Alos, I had earned $13 in store credit that also was being applied to the camera and it didn't take (hence the call to headquarters). I was paitient and understanding, and being that she was workign her booty off, I gave her a break (but then I've been there).

If you want to complain go back to the manager and ask about scheduling and calling in backups for people who call off. You got impaitient too easily. As you saw he was the ONLY person int he store to help you with your transaction and tryign to provide customer service to everyone was his goal which is difficult when spread thin.

I always say that everyone should have the experience of working in retail and as waitsatff and given the experience of the worst day on those jobs.. People would be a lot more understanding, once you've been in those posiitions.

 

[ajk912]

I'd be annoyed, too. And I have my own customer service type of story that this reminds me of. You know how some customers know what they want, so they go in, grab it, and then wait at the registers for the CSR to finish helping a customer on the floor to come ring you up? I don't mind waiting a few minutes for this, but then I DO get annoyed when the CSR DOES come over, they have that customer with them and they are like, "Oh, do you mind if I ring them up first? I was helping them first." I am like.... I of course say that I don't mind, but to ME I would think that when you are done being helped on the floor, you don't necessary get bumped to the head of the checkout line just because you were using the CSR's services first. More often than not, it seems the floor customer says, "Oh no, you go right ahead, you were waiting." Again, I am not sure if I am in the wrong for feeling annoyed to (potentially) wait longer or what.

 

[ajk912]

Working in retail, I can understand why the manager helped the other customers... he would have lost three customers if they had to stand around and wait for your transaction to be completed. However, there are other ways he could have handled yours to keep everyone happy... one, he could have kept up a light conversation with you as he worked, which would have softened your opinion of him, and you would have been more forgiving if he excused himself to help another customer. Two, he could have told you the process would take a while, and offered you the opportunity to leave and browse other stores while he processed your transaction- then you would return to a completed transaction none the wiser of him helping others. Or three, he could have told you up front that he is alone and would help others who came in while he helped you.

Should the store have scheduled more staff? Would be nice, right? But labor is the most controllable cost in retail, more employees equals more payroll, equals rising prices to cover the costs.

I think we are becoming too much of a society where everyone wants immediate attention, and everyone expects compensation for inconvenience. Compensation costs...prices rise, it's all a vicious cycle.

I'd feel annoyed like the OP was, and it's not because I was expecting compensation. Time to me is valuable because I don't have enough of it. I would expect to spend about 20 minutes in a store getting a phone switched over (maybe 45 minutes on a weekend because there were likely people in front of me). Yeah, I'd leave too, and not necessarily because I was throwing a hissy fit but because it wasn't a good use of my time. I'd be thinking of all the things I SHOULD be doing and realizing this wasn't going anywhere fast, I need to go.

I think sometimes retail owners forget to realize that the reason we buy items in a store is because we want them NOW. If we were willing to wait, we'd buy the item online where it is often cheaper. The edge that B&M stores have is because of the immediate gratification. If the gratification is not immediate, whatever, I'll go home, push a few buttons in under 10 minutes to order online, and get it next week (because I'd likely not have time to go back before then anyway.)

 

[MichelleVW]

I think you overreacted, He trying to please everyone How would you feel if you came in and need something that would take 5 seconds and had to wait for a customer that needed something that took longer. If I'm in the postion I say go ahead mine wil take a little longer.

Hardly overreacting, how many people did she need to let go in front of her? It wouldn't bother me at all to have to wait if the salesperson was helping the person that got there before me, it's how the world works.