The Absent Uncle: Customer service

The other day my wife went shopping for some items that she needed. She went to a national brands store for which she holds a long-standing credit card.

She did her shopping, had her items in the cart and then headed to the checkout stand.

She stood in a fairly long line to find out that her card was declined. What? We have no balance with them. The card expiration date is out at least two years. All was agreed at the checkout counter. Should not be an issue – but it was.

So, she headed to the back of the store – to customer service. With her cart and potential purchases and another long line. Customer Service looked at the problem and immediately came up with a solution – do you have another card?

This is where you have to know how much I love this gal. 

To the store person: “What is the problem with my store card?” I don’t know, I can’t figure it out – just use a different card – “But what about the 5 percent discount I lose?”  - well, you can call our customer service office at corporate to straighten this out – “I thought you were customer service; OK, then you can put this stuff back – I am leaving”. And she did. She left the basket and walked out.

I wasn’t there, but believe me, the above paragraph was pretty close to the play by play. She is never rude, never loud or over the top, but does not suffer fools.  

Over the past few years I noted most companies have a larger sales force and budget than customer service people. I would ask – is it not easier and less expensive to keep customers than to attract new ones? Just asking. 

Post Script: Since I wrote this column I have contacted “Corporate,” mostly to ensure no negative credit information exists. We are good. They flagged the account because it had not been used lately and a quick two-minute call by the local store would have lifted the hold. When told of the local store’s behavior, “Corporate”, added a $50 credit to her account. Well, maybe customer service does exist.