There's An Art to Complaining

Written on 10/5/15...

I'm sitting at a place called Upton Tire Pro.  They do different automotive services from tire replacements to oil changes.  I'm using their waiting room computer right now.  I like to write when I'm here because I can usually get up to an hour of uninterrupted writing.

I come here regularly, but I have had my run-ins with the company.  They haven't always called me when my vehicle was ready and they've completely forgotten my car being parked out front on two occasions. However, they do good work and they're convenient to my home, so I continue to go (for now).

Today there is a man who has come to the counter on three separate occasions to complain about something.  He's a mid-50's white guy with frizzy hair and what appears to be a nasty cold.

He first complained about how the company's website timed out on him while trying to book an appointment for an oil change.  In fact, I heard that story three times as he repeated it to the people in the waiting room.

He then complained about how he wasn't feeling well, but decided to come up here anyway.  He figured that he could get an oil change and tire rotation on a Monday because Mondays "aren't busy."  What exactly he's basing that on I have no idea.  Every business is busy on a Monday these days.

As this guy is complaining, I'm sitting over here typing and hoping that he doesn't look over my shoulder to see this.  His whiny and pathetic sounding voice is funny and sad at the same time.  I don't know whether to fall out of my chair laughing or give him a hug and some chicken noodle soup.  Either way, I can tell that the employees are sick of him.

30 minutes pass and Mr. Sniffles approaches the front desk once again and says, "what's the purpose of getting an appointment if you're not going to work on the car?  My car hasn't moved."

I actually agree with his point, but still, there aren't too many places that are on-time for appointments aside from movie theaters.  He asks for his keys because he's "sick and didn't want to come in the first place."

The employee doesn't say a word and hands him his keys.  The man repeats his story from Chapter 1 about the appointment system not working, the fact that he's sick, and how appointments mean nothing at Upton Tire Pro to the employee who is looking down at her computer and ignoring him.  Afterwards, he turns and leaves as the room quietly watches.

I have nothing against complaining, but there's an art to it.  Some people are really good at it while others suck.  This guy fits into the "suck" category.  You can't effectively complain if you're annoying.  And the consensus in the waiting room based on the convo that occurred after dude left was that he was annoying.

In my opinion, complaining only works if you can get the other person to respond to what you're saying.  Asking questions that force them to show their incompetence by answering usually does the trick!  You have to establish guilt in order to have something done about it.  Making them hate you isn't going to amount to anything being done to resolve your issue.  Well, that's unless the employee actually cares.  And where can you find an employee like that outside of Chick-Fil-A?

At least he helped me pass the time.  They're just getting to my 2:00 PM appointment at 2:39 PM.  Oh, well.  I kinda know that goes with the territory with most garages.  All you can do is grin and bear it or start changing your own oil.

HORRIBLE Customer Service at @DestinationXL

And I stress the word "HORRIBLE!"  However, this is par for the course in today's America.  A lot of today's companies have little interest in keeping you satisfied as a customer.  They just want your money.  If you're inconvenienced or wronged in any sort of way by them then that's just something you have to deal with on your own.

I went to Destination XL (Jackson, MS) on 3/16 to find a new pair of dress pants.  I've shopped at this particular location for at least 10-15 years.  Before they re-branded themselves as DXL they were known as Casual Male.  I don't know the employees in the store by name, but I've shopped there long enough for us to recognize each other's faces.

I found a pair of pants in my size for the waist, but the length was too long.  After all, they're called "Big & Tall" stores and not"Big & Short."  So, the lady who worked there asked me if I just wanted to order a pair online from within the store and have it shipped to my house.  Although I needed the pants sooner than later, I decided to go with that option rather than buy the lengthy pair I had in my hands and paying someone to hem them.  The lady verified my info, placed the order for me, and told me that it would be 5-7 business days.  I got my receipt and left satisfied.

Today (six business days later) I received a package in my mailbox.  Although I'd hope to get the pants in 3-4 days, I wasn't upset because it did arrive within the window they promised.  I got the package inside and popped it open.  Instead of a pair of black slacks, I pulled out a Carolina blue polo shirt in a size 7XLT.  Now, I'm a big dude, but I'm nowhere near a 7XLT.

I double-checked the receipt to see if I received the wrong package.  But the receipt showed that the package contained one pair of black slacks although that's not what I received.  Go figure.

Now, I'm a bit ticked off that I've waited a week to get the wrong order.  I know that it's not the fault of the employees in the store, so I don't show my frustration.  The lady took my receipt and a manager showed her how to refund my item without the item actually being present.  She asked me to sign a receipt showing a credit back to my card and she handed me a copy.  I said "thank you" and she said "you're welcome" and she went on about her business.

I paused for a second and thought that surely at least I'd get an apology, but no, that wasn't the case.  Despite waiting a week for merchandise I never received and having to make a 2nd trip to the store, I never even got a "we apologize for your inconvenience."  And as petty as that sounds, because I left that store with a bad taste in my mouth I don't plan on ever shopping there or any of their locations again.  I will order my items strictly online or go to the mall.

I'm not one to look for a handout just because a mistake is made.  You don't have to give me a coupon or something free.  However, when a mistake is made I do expect an employee to apologize on the company's behalf.  I definitely expect a manager to know better.  But these two employees didn't feel the need to do that.  They're probably not even trained to do so because why should Destination XL care how I feel?  Either I'm giving them money for their product or I'm not.  Fat people have to shop somewhere, so they know that I'm not going to Old Navy without a serious weight loss plan.  Why bother to put forth the effort to satisfy me?  And I know this may have had more to do with the actual people than the store itself, but I have had other complaints about DXL that I'm omitting at this time.  This was just the icing on the cake.

An apology can go a long way in any situation, business or personal.  I stopped doing business with Edible Arrangements because of their lack of empathy in screwing up a Valentine's Day delivery.  How are you going to deliver something after everyone has pretty much left the office for the day?

But some people wait for you to start to walk away before they apologize.  I'm sure that if I would have said, "I'm never shopping here again" that I would have received an reactionary apology.  But, I've been coming there for 10-15 years.  I'm not going anywhere else, right?

Wrong.

I Bought A Conversation That Came With A Shoeshine

On Monday, I decided to do something that I've always wanted to do since I was a kid.  I remember seeing people doing it on TV when I watched movies with my father back in the day.  As an adult, I've seen it in some airports.  However, I've never taken the time to actually have it done.  I'm talking about getting a shoeshine.

There's something nostalgic about sitting down on a sunny afternoon and getting the shoes nice and shiny while you enjoy banter with the shoeshine person.  What's funny is that I actually have my own shoeshine kit at home that I normally use.  But, I wanted the one-on-one experience that I've seen so many people receive in the movies.  The experience that I used to have with my barber before he retired (and I went bald).

I walked up to the shoeshine station in my building's lobby.  The gentleman who works there directed me to the steps and I climbed up and placed my shoes on the platforms.  The gentleman rolled up my pants into a cuff and proceeded to wipe the dust off of my shoes.  He was a late 50-something year old black man.  His hair was gray and wavy as it appeared to be slightly slicked back.  Although he was older, he appeared to be in really good shape.  No signs of aches or stiffness as he moved around the shoeshine stand.  When he looked at you it was obvious in his eyes that he truly appreciated you giving him the opportunity to gain your business as well as your friendship.

He asked,"where are you from?"

"Here in the Jackson area," I replied.

That's all it took for the conversation to take off.  Although there was a newspaper sitting beside me and my smartphone was in my pocket, I had no interest in entertaining those items.  I just wanted to enjoy something that a lot of people miss out on these days: a simple, face-to-face conversation.  And he was definitely willing to oblige.

His told me his name was Samuel and that he was originally from Georgia.  He would look up and smile as he spoke every few seconds as he buffed and wiped.  Although he was working, he was also engaging me in conversation and learning more about me.  In the 20-25 minutes that it took for him to buff my kicks, we discussed politics, local crime, downtown infrastructure, his wife, and even video games.  Yeah, Samuel is an avid Xbox gamer.  The experience really took me back to a time where customers and businesses actually had a relationship with one another.  Business actually wanted to work hard for your patronage and customers were loyal to good work.

After he finished the shine and I stepped down from the station, I gave him a firm handshake and handed him his fee plus a 50% tip.  I told him that I appreciated the conversation and that I would definitely be back.  He told me that in the future that I could even drop off my shoes to pickup later if I didn't have time to wait.  I responded, "where's the fun in that?"

He just laughed.  As I started walking away, Samuel shouted out to me, "you didn't even look at your shoes to tell me how they look!"

I replied, "Mr. Samuel, I didn't come for the shoes."

Great Customer Service from @AnotherBrokenEgg

People are always quick to bad mouth someone when they receive horrible service.  However, I'm going to do the opposite this time and talk about the great service that I received from a breakfast/lunch spot called "Another Broken Egg."

Well, it wasn't so much of the service as it was the courtesy.  I'm there with my girlfriend's kids and the youngest one is 11.  She orders a mug of hot chocolate and it comes out with the whipped cream on top looking pretty tasty!  Well, she's 11 and she doesn't realize that it's probably not a good idea to keep a mug of hot chocolate on the very edge of the table.  She accidentally bumps it and it goes crashing down to the floor.  Luckily, nothing broke and it didn't spill on anyone.  It just made a huge mess.

Because she's 11, she's terrified that she's going to be chastised by the employees of Another Broken Egg, but the complete opposite happened.  A server ran to our table, kneeled down beside her and asked, "Are you okay?"

I'm 41 years old and I've been in plenty of restaurants where something is spilled and most of the time, people don't say anything.  They just roll their eyes and grab a mop.  This guy's main concern was her well-being and everyone seemed to really appreciate that.  He asked her not to move and said that he would get someone to clean it immediately.  The second guy shows up with a mop and the first thing he does is ask her, "are you okay?"

By this time, I'm stunned.  Two people who know what customer service really means?  He cleans up the mess and by the time he finishes and walks off, the first guy returns with a brand new hot chocolate that looks just as good as the first one.

The 11 year old was relieved that she was not in trouble and also appreciative of the fact that everyone was so nice to her and realized that it was simply an accident.  I also felt appreciation for how well they treated her.  I wish I could remember the gentlemen's names, but it was over a week ago and I've forgotten.  But the ABE was located in Ridgeland, MS in The Renaissance.

I think this goes to show that Another Broken Egg is serious about their hiring process.  They hire people who actually care about their customers.  That is so rare these days and I applaud them for it.  Very few places do that now.  Chick-Fil-A has legendary customer service and if ABE continues doing what they're doing, then they will be synonymous with great service as well!

When is the last time you've gotten great customer service?

@ATT Redemption -- NOT!

Post originally written on 6/26

A few weeks ago, I voiced my displeasure with AT&T and their services here. Since this post, I have to admit that they've made me do a 180 degree spin on them...

First, a friend from Twitter, who is employed with AT&T, saw my blog post. He passed the message on to a protege of his in Baton Rouge. She reached out to me via Twitter and gave me a call. I spoke to her and explained what was wrong. She sent someone out (I think it was the same day) to investigate my problem. That guy ran tests and determined that part of my problem was the fact that I was slightly out of range of the premium service that I requested. He called a fourth guy (who happened to be married to a high school classmate of mine) and he shows up and runs tests (that same day).

After everything was done, it was concluded that I wasn't going to be able to get the internet speeds I requested. However, instead of me being disappointed over that being the case, I was actually impressed with the promptness and level of service AT&T put forth in an attempt to fix the problem. A few days later, a manager called and said that although it was unlikely that I would get the 12 mbps speeds that I wanted, that he would exhaust every option before calling it quits. So, he's still working on the problem.

Although I'm still at 6.0 mbps, I'm actually satisfied. Great service goes a long way and when you receive it, you no longer look at yourself as a victim. Things always seem like a scam when you're paying your hard-earned money for something only to be met with "meh" and shoulder shrugs when you have a problem.

So, I want to take my hat off to the people who put forth an effort to fix my problem (Corey, Natasha, Chris, Roy and Scott). I try to be as fair as I possibly can and if I can take the time to bash a company for doing something wrong, then I will definitely take the time to applaud them when they provide a great level of service.

Thank you, AT&T. You now have your redemption.

*** UPDATE: 6/29 *** I guess that I spoke too soon. I spent 40+ minutes on the phone, over the course of two days, to resolve a problem for my father. We were trying to remove call forwarding from a landline voicemail to a cell phone. I went in and made changes in the voicemail menu to turn off forwarding, but that didn't work. I called AT&T and held 7 minutes for an agent on the Wireless side.

He told me that I needed to speak with the landline people to resolve. I said, "fine, but while I have you, I do have a question on this account: can you let me know how many minutes phone # XXX-XXX-XXXX used last month?"

"Sir, I'm unable to see that, but I can send you an additional bill for $5 or you can view it online," he replied. 

That's what he said, but here's what I heard: "I have better things to do than research this account."

Now, I'm not sure exactly what type of applications AT&T's customer service agents use, but I can't say that I believe that someone couldn't tell me how many minutes a phone used the previous month.

So, I get transferred to the landline side and I hold for 14 more minutes (21 total). I finally get someone and of course, they have no information on me despite the transfer. I have to verify who I am again and why I am calling. After explaining it, she tells me that she's going to reset something and the calls will no longer forward to the cell phone some time before midnight.

"Midnight? Is the phone a vampire or something? Why isn't it immediate?" I asked.

"It just isn't, sir."

"So, I'm going to have to wait until midnight to find out that what you did probably didn't work and go through all of this tomorrow?"

"It will work, sir."

After close to 30 minutes of phone time, I realize that I'm powerless in the situation and I say my good-byes. Of course, the next day, the landline is still forwarding calls.  I call in again and this time, I only had to hold for 8 minutes.  This agent tells me that the previous person that I'd spoken to the day before forgot to do something when she reset the phone.  He says that he will take care of it and that i should see the results after midnight.

Well, this time it works after two days and speaking to three people to get it resolved. Luckily for them, I have patience because my father told me to just disconnect everything after the first day. I probably would have if I thought that he wouldn't need his lines of communication.

Foiled by AT&T again. For every great employee there are five bad ones. Just five warm bodies doing just enough to get a paycheck each week and not get fired. Too bad that no one with the ability to do something about it cares.

Why I Hate @ATT

As a consumer, I love the platform that a blog gives me.  Although I'll never be viewed as much as a Consumer Reports website or maybe a CNET, I still get my share of readers.  I absolutely hate the "service" given at AT&T.  That, to me, is the most incompetent company I've ever dealt with in my life.  Let me share with you an experience so new readers can understand why I hate AT&T...

I had crappy DSL speeds.  Being a former Bellsouth customer, the maximum speeds for DSL was 3.0 mbps.  That's not very fast.  Even some of the shortest YouTube videos would buffer.  After U-Verse arrived in my area, I figured I'd upgrade to a faster speed.  After all, it's only $5 more per month to upgrade to 12.0 mbps.  That's four times the speed that I currently have.  My Hulu+ videos should pop off of my TV with that kind of speed!

So, I order the equipment.  AT&T offers to install everything for you for $150, but I'm a nerd, so I don't need no stinkin' professional installation.  I get an e-mail after placing my order (Wednesday) that states that my equipment will arrive on Monday.  Alright, cool.  Monday arrives and at 10 AM, The Mrs. calls me at work.  "Hey."

"Hi, how are you?"

"I'm fine, but the internet is down."

"Down?"

"Yes."

The idiots at AT&T disconnected my internet service before I even received my new equipment.  How dumb is that?  Why not wait until the equipment arrives and the person calls in to activate it?  Now my Furious Level is at an 8 (it pretty much stays on a 6 year around for AT&T).  The Mrs. calls AT&T to see what's going on and she gets a recording.  "If you're equipment has not arrived, please press 2," says the recording.

She presses 2 and the recording gives her the number to UPS.  LOL!  Really?  You cut off our internet servive and then throw UPS under the bus?  Anyhoo, the equipment arrives around 530 PM and The Mrs. takes everything out of the box.  Keep in mind that AT&T "offered" professional installation for $150.  We plugged in the DSL filter to the phone jack, plugged in the power to the modem, registered online and were up and running in 10-15 minutes.  And they were going to charge $150 for that?  A rip off!  I know there are some non-confident or eldery people not capable of understanding how these things work, but to charge them $10 per minute for something that easy is criminal!  That's easily a $40 job on the high end.  I personally wouldn't charge a customer even that since AT&T had already charged me a $100 "activation fee" just for signing up for their upgrade.

I hate AT&T.  I flat out hate the level of "service" they provide.  Just like the government, they have so many divisions and branches that one doesn't know what the other is doing.  I was told less than two months ago that I didn't have U-Verse in my area by a BellSouth agent.  I went online and chatted with an AT&T rep last week and found out that it's been in my area for almost two years.  This is what happens when you become so large of a company that you don't even know what the left hand is doing because it's too far gone from the right.

I use AT&T not because I want to, but because I have to.  The only other provider in my area is Comcast and from what my co-workers tell me, their service goes down more than a Kardashian at a sporting event.  So, I'm stuck with AT&T. (Sigh)  And to top it all off, my internet download speeds that are supposed to be "up to 12 mbps" have yet to even cross 7.0 mbps.  I'm not even getting 75% of the speeds that they promised!  When I had 3.0 mbps, I consistently got between 2.5 and 2.8.  Now I can't even get 8.0 mbps?

If I didn't still have friends working there who need their jobs, I'd go straight to my local news station with this.