Customer Service

This past week has consisted of me trying  to get things done and failing spectacularly. It has also opened my eyes to the appealing lack of customer service skills of many stores in my local area. I usually find everyone to be pleasant and helpful. I am always mindful of the fact the people behind the counters at any of the businesses I go into are there to do a job and have to deal with the public ( who can at times be incredibly stupid and very rude) and I always try to make sure I smile and am polite and friendly, unless I am tired or have the shits, then I'll still smile and be polite but I wont be one for a chat.

I have however had two shocking moments of utterly terrible customer service the first left me shocked and certain to never shop there again and the other left me furious and kinda wishing I was a man who happened to be built like an ox and didn't have a problem causing a 'ruckus' in a seaside towns' shopping centre car park. I wont go into detail except to say this...

Don't assume that just because a store is a well known fabric and other related items retailer, it will have nice, crafty, homey type people, who are more than happy to help. Or even have the items advertised on sale in their catalogues in stock. You should in fact expect them to actually have the shits with you for asking if they do have these advertised things in stock especially if they have to go looking out the back and you don't want to 'come back Monday'. If you should happen to have a three year old son who is feeling very hot to the touch and out of the blue decides to vomit all over you as you (stupidly, it turns out) run out of the store with him so he does not vomit all over the store (whilst you are running out the three year old manages to spew all over you, and I do mean ALL OVER YOU) do not expect to return to find the fabric you were going to purchase actually has been cut or that the sleeping 11 month old you left in the pram by the counter to be there. Expect to find both the 'sales assistant' and the baby gone, just not together. 

Also do not expect to go shopping in a local seaside towns' IGA and manage to put the groceries in the car and drive off to your destination, apparently it is not as simple as that. In fact, expect the man, who you would be forgiven in thinking was a drunkard sitting in the gutter outside the bottle shop, ( that is situated next to the said IGA) to walk over to your car as you are reversing and COMPLETELY IGNORE YOUR THREE ATTEMPTS at asking him what he wants. Expect him also to stick his head INSIDE your car and take a good look around with a cocked eyebrow and an arrogant look on his face. Then expect him to walk off back into the bottle shop. If you are anything like me, expect to fight off the very strong urge to pull back into the parking spot and go into the bottle shop and find out exactly what he thinks he was doing and let him know just what you think of him. If you are like me, the only thing stopping you would be the fact you have small children in the car. Turns out (if you asked the teenage boys in the back of the car what the hell just happened) you can not expect to buy a carton of coke cans without complete strangers thinking you are stealing the little red shopping baskets!

But one thing I have found is I can expect to go into my bank branch and come out with both money AND a kids video! But that is another story!

I hope your week was better than mine!