raven20_79

I have a few more people to shope for, have almost everything wrapped, and I haven't even started with any of my holiday baking. Hell, I still need to finish making my stocking for this year, lol. I have to do some rearranging of my sons' room to make sure that their gift will fit in there. We got them a huge Thomas the Train tent with Annie and Clarabel coaches. They are huge, lol!

The companies I work for do not do bonuses. They suck, lol!

My son is a Thomas freak, so I have been looking for these, too. The best places I have found are at Wal-Mart and at Target. Have you looked on Target's website? I have bought several pairs from their website, and I have never had a problem with them, and I have been able to find both styles. My son loves them.

The DIFFERENCE is that I was talking about MY personal experiences with customers, not the experiences that others have had. If someone here has had nothing but good dealings with customers, that is GREAT. I sure wish they could send some of them my way. But in MY experience, that has not been the case. When people come in/call to complain for whatever reason, they are already upset about the "situation" and carry that attitude with the serivce rep. You'll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. I've had people litterally throw fits because they call me to get phone numbers to random business, and I don't have them. Or because I don't know what the goings on are at the local Chamber office. Neither of which have anything to do with the jobs I do. Some people are just unrealistic in what they expect to get from customer service people. (i.e. Getting something for FREE when they don't actually "deserve" it.) And those are the very customers that we get upset over. I am nice to everyone who comes to me for help. And I help everyone I can. But if you come into my place of work throwing a fit over something I have ZERO control over and demand I fix it right then and there, you are going to be told to take a flying leap (in a nice manner). I will not kiss the butts of rude people who "pay my salary". It's just not going to happen. I don't care who you are, how many years you've been with a company, how much you may have spent there, or anything else. Just because you (you as a generalization) have done business with someone doesn't make you a good customer. And not to be rude, but driving a bus and actually doing customer service work are two different things. You take someone from point A to point B. Your interactions with actual "customers" are very short. I have to handle money, do billing, answer billing questions, handle installs, disconnections, answer general questions, technical questions, etc for TWO offices at the same time. I do this from the moment I get into the office until I leave. Then, I have customers call my HOME with problems and stop me when I am out and about trying to get me take care of their problems. But we are not "allowed" to get upset over someone being rude and demanding with us? We are not "allowed" to react to someone calling us names, throwing things at us, etc.? We are not "allowed" to blow off steam with a fellow co-worker when someone is trying to be decietful with us? (Provided it is in the appropriate place, and with the appropriate language....which isn't the case here.) We are not "allowed" to be upset when someone's kid has destroyed something because the parent was too lazy to watch their own child? We are not "allowed" to do anything because we "chose" our line of work? Which last I knew, it did not say anywhere in my employee handbook that I should "allow" customers to walk all over me, treat me like dirt, and to take things from my employer. I guess I better contact the corporate office and let them know that they need to revise some things. Afterall, the customer is ALWAYS right.

HE wasn't treated badly. The girl told him that she did not know about the sale (which is possible), but that according to STORE POLICY, he wouldn't qualify for it since it was past the 10 days. He heard something she said AFTER their exchange took place. Something he wouldn't have heard had he hung up the phone. If he had said something about the customer service girl to his wife after he finished talking to the girl on the phone, would she have the right to complain about it? And I do not approach every customer as if they are stupid. As I said, they are provided the chance to "prove" which side they are on. Everyone has bad days. But when you have the same ones that literally come in every day with the same questions/complaints, it gets to be tiring. I do not come in with a bad attitude at all. Every day, I come in smiling, and I am nice to every person who comes in. If you want, I can give you the personal numbers of the 3 sets of people I do work for, and they can tell you how I act at work, and how I interact with my customers. nikkilugi, the large portion of people who come into my office, or call, are people complaining about one thing or another. Have I dealt with every customer in the world? No. Hence, I said MY customers. Not ALL customers. People usually come to customer service people because they are having a problem, not to idly chit chat about the weather. I can't help it if you don't understand the difference.

Rockfordmom and nikkilugi...re-read my post. I said 90-95% of the customers *I* have DEALT with were rude and ill-informed. NOT ALL customers. There is a huge difference. HUGE. That was my point EXACTLY. People (just like customers) read/see/hear what they WANT to hear. Not always what is said/done. I'm sorry of you don't like what I said. It is the truth in MY experience. jeffNangie, I do not have a chip on my shoulder. And no, I am still in the customer service department because I am darn good at what I do. I do what needs to be done, and I don't take crap from customers who feel they deserve a free ride. I work in two customer service departments at the same time. It is MY job to make sure the customer is taken care of. I have bent over backwards for my customers. I have gone to their houses on MY time to take care of whatever computer problems they are having (without asking to be paid, and without getting compensation). I have made guides for people who don't know how to use their own computers on MY time because I wanted to make sure that they are TAKEN CARE OF, but I will be darned if I will bend over for the people who come in DEMANDING I do it for them because they will not take the time to learn for themselves and they feel I should do everything for them. Just because one of my jobs is an ISP, does that mean I should type out every email you want to send? No. Does that mean I should personally come to your house and download and install whatever programs you want? No. Is it my fault when you don't listen to the directions I give you (vocally and in written form), and you can't do what you want to do? No. Does that mean I am going to magically know what you want when I don't even know what YOUR needs are? No. And because the other job has to deal with internet/cable/phone in one service, does that mean I should come and hook up your new surround system because you "can't" do it? No. Does that mean I should give you whatever services you want for FREE because some friend of yours got a deal like that MONTHS ago? No. Does that mean is it MY fault when your bill comes in wrong? No. This is MY experience on a daily basis. MINE. So, yes, 90-95% of the customers *I* have DEALT with are infact rude and ill-informed. They don't take the time to educate themselves on what they are wanting/needing. But the other 5-10%, I will bend over backwards to help....even on MY time, and without asking/accepting compensation. I love those customers, and treat them like that are my family. I give each new customer a chance to prove which "side" they are on. And some of the "bad" customers have actually gone to the "good" side because I realized that they were having a BAD DAY just like anyone else can. So, don't assume you know me or my practices, either. And Scanner420, please re-read what you wrote. It says in your post THREE times where you bought the WII a month ago, not OVER a month ago. Again, a big difference. If you meant to say OVER a month ago, then you should have. (And if you bought it MONTHS ago, why would you even bother with trying to get something you HAVE to know you had NO right to get?) Things like that are the EXACT reason why customer service people have a hard time doing their job. What the customer "means", and what they say are 2 different things. We aren't mind readers.

The customer service girl (according to the way the orignal post is stated) did NOT admit to knowing what the sale was. She answered his question as to whether or not he would qualify for the sale (as per store policy). THIS is the EXACT reason customer service people get so fed up with customers. Very rarely will a customer actually LISTEN to what they are asking, and what is being answered. ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ASKING ABOUT BEFORE DOING SO. The customer was wrong in the first place for even calling to ask about a CURRENT sale MONTHS after he bought his WII. If he had been an honest person in the first place, it wouldn't have even happened. I hate working in customer service for this very reason, but I don't take it out on the customers even if they are being idiots. I simply will not give them what they want. I've had people scream at me, call me names, lie to my face, and even hang up on me. And every time, I smile at them, and simply refuse to do whatever it is they feel they "deserve". But like I said, we don't even KNOW how the real conversation went down in the first place. Since he lied about when he got the WII, he could be lying about what was said on both their parts. They were both WRONG for what they did...him lying, and her for cussing after she thought he hung up.

Correction to my post, I thought the poster was a she, not a he, so I apologize for that. As a side note, the customer bought the WII in September, not a month ago...see here. Or was it in October: here, and here? Either way, he didn't even buy it a MONTH ago. It was well OVER that. He was trying to get something he didn't even "deserve". Something for nothing. Something the customer DID, but conveniently left out of the story he told to everyone else. So, in essence (minus the language), the customer service girl was RIGHT.

No, I am not. How do WE know what Scanner420 said to the CS girl? We don't. She could have easily cussed at her to begin with. We will never know the true exchange that went on between the 2. Angry customers tend to leave that part out. And I said the employee was WRONG for using that language.

First off, we have NO idea how the original poster addressed the person she spoke with (tone of voice, etc.). She may say she spoke one way, and in fact, spoke another way to her. Secondly, she bought the WII a MONTH ago. Why on earth would you try to get something for free when you bought the darn thing a MONTH ago. If you were truly that concerned about getting it, why not return the one you had, and buy a new one to get the rockers. I work in customer service for 2 companies. I get paid minimum wage, and deal with crap day in and day out. Customers ALWAYS expected something for nothing. ALWAYS. And when you give them their "deserved" free crap, they still have a fit because it is not good enough. They will continue to b*tch and moan over it LONG after they have gotten whatever it is that they wanted. Yes, customer service is there to help you, but NOT to make every decision for you, and not to hold your hand because you are too lazy to actually look for what YOU want. I have literally had customers tell me, "Well, you tell me what I want." How in the world am I supposed to know what you are looking for if YOU don't even know? We are NOT mind readers, and we can only do so much. Until YOU have actually had to work in customer service, you will NEVER know the crap they deal with day in and day out with demanding customers. My husband used to complain about the customers he had to deal with every day. And I always told him there was no way people actually acted that way. There was no way people could be so demanding for no reason ans actually expect to get the crap they wanted. Boy, was I wrong. I have dealt with very few "good" customers. I'd say about 90-95% of the customers I have dealt with have been very rude and ill-informed. QUOTE Scanner420: "I really didn't get a chance to read over all of it, (I was running late) but I was curious, since I bought a Wii there a month ago and called the store on my way into work." She didn't even read it all over BEFORE calling. There is always fine print to any sale. QUOTE: Scanner420: "I took a breath and told her slowly, that I saw the display for the free chairs and wondered if the product I had bought a month ago, at that store, qualified for the freebies and quick as anything, she said no, it has to be no later than 10 days from the sale and that it was store policy. (kinda ironic that five minutes ago, she knew nothing about the sale.)" Just because she didn't know about the sale does not mean she doesn't know about STORE POLICY. They are 2 different things. As a customer, ALWAYS make sure YOU are informed BEFORE you call about something. That is YOUR job as a customer. Yes, the employee was wrong in cussing to her fellow employee. But at the same time, how do WE know what the original poster said to her? We don't. Maybe the employee was justified in venting to ther fellow co-worker. (Not the languaged used, though.)

Every year I buy presents for my husband's brother and his kids (7 people total). They never buy a gift for anyone. I had a really hard time buying stuff this year after he and his friend (both are my bosses) screwed me over at work and sold me to another company to do the work for 3 businesses for minimum wage, and they get free phone/cable/internet for doing NOTHING. I'd quit, but with my hubby being out of work, and us having 2 little ones, we'd be completely screwed. But yes, I unfortunately buy gifts for people I don't like and for those I feel don't deserve anything (out of guilt). My husband doesn't want to do it next year. And I am kinda leaning that way, too.

I've been having this problem too. I have tired different credit cards, phone numbers, and addresses. Nothing is seeming to work for me.

Now, *THAT* is completely awesome, lol. I can't wait until my kids get older. Mine are 3 & 1/2 years and 9 months old. You can only "tease" the older one so much before he gets upset. But when he gets older, it's game on!

So, basically, this means we will have to wait until Thanksgiving to decide we will not find anything of worth on BF instead of finding out 2 weeks before. Of course, by Wal-Mart sucking the last few years, this was pretty much decided. Go Wal-Mart!