Customer service etiquette

[ginlyn32]

Customers:

*Do not yell at me, the CSR, because the Men's Dept. is located in a different part of the mall. I did not make this decision. In fact, it's been set up this way for at least 2 years.

*Do not ask the CSR what to do because the item you wanted is either out of stock or needs to be ordered. If you knew you wanted this item by Christmas, you should have planned better!

*When you buy an item with a $10 off coupon, you forfeit the coupon upon purchase. You do not get the coupon back should you decide to return the item. You get back what you paid for the item!

*Telling me that the item you are purchasing is a gift does not make boxes magically appear. We usually only carry boxes during Christmas (Nov, Dec). Please plan ahead.

*Do not demand a coupon because the lady in front of you had/has a coupon. Those are for Star Rewards Card holders. You also must use your Store CC when using these coupons. Sometimes we have coupons at the registers but it's not a guarrantee.

*Do not expect employees of one dept. store to know about sales or inventory OF OTHER STORES! Or their policies, hours or if they are in the Mall. Well, I can tell you if they are in the mall or not, but other than that...I haven't a clue.


Store Management:

For the love of all that is holy, please stop moving stuff around the store! It confuses the employees and the customers! THen the customers get mad (and rightly so!) when they are told the item they are searching for is in 3 different locations!

ginlyn

[heathert]

For legality reasons, we can not, and I emphasize NOT, give out your policy information or make changes on your insurance policy for anyone who did not sign your insurance contract unless they have power of attorney for you AND we have a copy of that.  Otherwise, YOU have to give us permission each and every time someone else calls for that information or to make that change. I do sympathize when you have an 80 year old mother, father, cousin, friend, etc, and they need assistance, or may even be incapacitated,  but legally we can't help you if you did not sign up for the insurance. And yes, that means all refunds will also only go out in your name as well.

If you disagree with this, please contact the department of insurance in your state.

Heather

[Íkorna]

Customers:

* Sometimes the employees are new and still learning how to do things. If they explain that to you that they're going to need to call another employee over, there's no need to roll your eyes and get sarcastic. It would be much more of a problem if they tried to do something they still needed help with and messed it up completely, wouldn't it?
* Speaking of new employees, if you're served by an employee that's clearly learning the ropes (Being assisted by another worker, for example) and they do a good job, let them know! On my first day as a cashier so many people stopped to tell me that I'd done a good job and that I was learning quickly that it really brightened my day and helped with my nerves.
* If you need assistance, just let the employee know. Standing there expecting him or her to somehow read your mind isn't going to do much good, and most employees are happy to help you find what you need.
* Most cashiers/clerks are not in charge of keeping items stocked, that's a completely different job. There's no need to be rude and sarcastic with them when something is out of stock, they have nothing to do with what is ordered and when it is done.


Employees:

* I've found from my experiences working in customer service that a smile really does make a difference. It's not a fun job, and dealing with rude customers can be a hassle, but making the customer feel welcome and appreciated can not only brighten their day but keep you in a good mood as well.
* If you don't know what you're doing, don't pretend that you do! I found this out the hard way by trying to use the Lotto machine when I wasn't fully comfortable with it yet. I messed up a customer's order and almost had to pay for it out of pocket. Most customers will understand if you call over a coworker and explain that you're new and still learning.

[marcel]

Customers:

* Sometimes the employees are new and still learning how to do things. If they explain that to you that they're going to need to call another employee over, there's no need to roll your eyes and get sarcastic. It would be much more of a problem if they tried to do something they still needed help with and messed it up completely, wouldn't it?

the year the store I worked for got the highest rating in our province from the secret shopper test was the year when the relatively new employee was not sure about the question and brought in an experienced coworker to help out (The latter off course gave the perfect answer.)
This showed the tester that there were professionals working there, who were aware of their limits in knowledge.

[camlan]

* Speaking of new employees, if you're served by an employee that's clearly learning the ropes (Being assisted by another worker, for example) and they do a good job, let them know! On my first day as a cashier so many people stopped to tell me that I'd done a good job and that I was learning quickly that it really brightened my day and helped with my nerves.

Thanks for posting this. I never know what to do when the cashier at the supermarket is clearly brand new and being trained. I'm always patient and polite and give them a big smile and "Thank you!" at the end of the transaction, but I was afraid I'd embarrass them if I said anything about them being new. But now I'll add in a word or two of encouragement.

[Maujer]

I just escaped retail after almost 13 years on and off. Phew.

I worked in large chain stores and I managed a small luxury boutique. In the boutique, it was fairly easy to put things back in their correct place after a customer left the store as long as it wasn't busy. But in the very large discount clothing/home goods store I worked at in high school, the store was too big and the customers out numbered the employees. It was impossible to follow every single customer around the store to make sure they didn't put a shirt on the wrong rack. We made several passes through the departments each day to make sure everything was in the correct place, but it takes a while.

Our state's law says everything item mut be labeled with it's price. So when you come along a rack with 10 neon green dresses with price tags and a sign on top that says "$9.99" and mixed in is ONE man's navy blue designer shirt with a price tag $39.99", please do not berate the cashier and tell her she is doing a bad job because the shirt was in the wrong place. I KNOW it's irritating, it's happened to me as a customer too . . . but the men's department is on the other side of the store. Did you really think that shirt was supposed to be there? We were the top rated store in our section of the USA, we were exceptionally organized for the most part so it was usually pretty obvious when a customer misplaced an item.

[heathert]

This may have been mentioned but I think it bears another reminder. Please do not aimlessly chat with telephone CSRs. We ARE being timed on our calls and once your issue is resolved, we need to move onto to the next customer. If you were at checkout, I *hope* you wouldn't just stand there after your transaction is done, preventing the casher from doing her job,  right?

Heather

[Daffodil]

For customers :

-If the associate that is serving you is a trainee, be patient. Don't stand there and berate the senior associate for allowing them on the register, thats part of the training.

-If you're wrong, you're wrong. Even the manager will tell you that. Arguing with me makes you look stupid and it will not get you your way. I once had a lady misread a sign and then become snarky and say "I hate to tell you, but you HAVE to give it to me for this price. It's the law." Um, no, it's not. I told her "The only way I would have to honor that price is if the sign said *this* instead of *this*. The sign specifies exactly what is on sale, which is capri pants, and this is a shirt". The manager told her the same.

Also, if you have an issue, don't start off by screaming at me. Talk, like a normal person. So much more can be resolved if you treat me like a human being.

For Sale's Associates / Csr's

-Please have respect for your coworkers. If you're allotted break time is 30 minutes and someone has to go to break right after you, please only be gone for 30 minutes. We can't leave until you're back.  And don't ditch me when it's the two of us in one department and there are 20 customers wanting assistance.

-When I'm busy with a customer and others are there wanting help, don't hide in the stock room texting on your phone. I'm drowning out here, you could at *least* help.

[Íkorna]

* Please treat the person assisting you with the same kindness and respect you would treat any other person. When they greet you, don't ignore or glare at them; after all, when you say hello to someone do you enjoy being treated like you're invisible?

[needsadvice]

CSRs, please do not chastise a customer when he/she asks for a refund due to being overcharged. Yesterday, I was overcharged by $1.50 and the CSR actually said, "It's not that much money." I informed her that to some people, it is. How rude and insensitive, especially when so many are unemployed!

[MrTango]

For legality reasons, we can not, and I emphasize NOT, give out your policy information or make changes on your insurance policy for anyone who did not sign your insurance contract unless they have power of attorney for you AND we have a copy of that.  Otherwise, YOU have to give us permission each and every time someone else calls for that information or to make that change. I do sympathize when you have an 80 year old mother, father, cousin, friend, etc, and they need assistance, or may even be incapacitated,  but legally we can't help you if you did not sign up for the insurance. And yes, that means all refunds will also only go out in your name as well.

If you disagree with this, please contact the department of insurance in your state.

Heather

As a CSR who works in the insurance industry, POD to this!

Also, I'd like to add:

I'll take a fair amount of abuse, but the moment you start swearing at me, you get one warning and then the call is disconnected.  If I see your phone number on the caller ID within a few minutes after I hang up on you for repeatedly swearing, you will get my voicemail.

[Bijou]

Don't give poor customer service to me because you are mad at your husband/wife ( previous customer, boss, child, sister, mom, dad, dog, cat, etc.) 

[Daffodil]

Don't give poor customer service to me because you are mad at your husband/wife ( previous customer, boss, child, sister, mom, dad, dog, cat, etc.)

POD, yes. And same for customers - don't treat us like dirt because you're having a bad day. It's unacceptable.

Also, (and this happened to me) as my coworker - if you had a crappy customer who really upset you - you can wait to tell me about it in the stock room when no one is around, or on break. But please, do not follow me around and go on about how previous customer was a female dog, etc. while I'm serving another customer. It puts me in an incredibly awkward spot as well as the customer. Oh, and don't go on about it to the customer either. That's so unprofessional. 

[Bijou]

Don't give poor customer service to me because you are mad at your husband/wife ( previous customer, boss, child, sister, mom, dad, dog, cat, etc.)

POD, yes. And same for customers - don't treat us like dirt because you're having a bad day. It's unacceptable.

Also, (and this happened to me) as my coworker - if you had a crappy customer who really upset you - you can wait to tell me about it in the stock room when no one is around, or on break. But please, do not follow me around and go on about how previous customer was a female dog, etc. while I'm serving another customer. It puts me in an incredibly awkward spot as well as the customer. Oh, and don't go on about it to the customer either. That's so unprofessional.

And don't discuss it with the next customer in line.  i don't want to have you tell me how you put that woman in her place or have to listen to you tell the customer in front of me about it.

[Daffodil]

Don't give poor customer service to me because you are mad at your husband/wife ( previous customer, boss, child, sister, mom, dad, dog, cat, etc.)

POD, yes. And same for customers - don't treat us like dirt because you're having a bad day. It's unacceptable.

Also, (and this happened to me) as my coworker - if you had a crappy customer who really upset you - you can wait to tell me about it in the stock room when no one is around, or on break. But please, do not follow me around and go on about how previous customer was a female dog, etc. while I'm serving another customer. It puts me in an incredibly awkward spot as well as the customer. Oh, and don't go on about it to the customer either. That's so unprofessional.

And don't discuss it with the next customer in line.  i don't want to have you tell me how you put that woman in her place or have to listen to you tell the customer in front of me about it.

I had a coworker [same one] that did that. I felt bad for the customer  They clearly didn't want to hear about it, plus coworker was wrong anyway. The customer she was complaining about was actually quite nice, but had a thick accent that made her sound angry. I was a newer employee at the time, so I wouldn't say anything to her (she was incredibly bossy to me, even though she had no authority in any way). She was awful for complaining to customers about other customers.