Would you write in?

[pacmania_2001]

Just curious, how many of you would write in or talk to the manager etc if you recieved really good service when you purchased something?

If yes/no could you briefly explain your reasons below?

Cheers.

[Batfink]

Probably not, I mean it is called the Service Industry.
I would expect good service from the get go, Its not my Job to pat them on the head and tell them they did good.
Its in the employers or owners of the business's best interest to employ competent people and maintain a decent work environment and have incentives that make the people serving feel good about their job
This translates to good service that translates to people enjoying their shopping experience and coming back again and telling their friends that they got good service there.

[housepig]

I will if I feel I've recieved either extremely good or extremely bad service.

most of the time I do it at places when I have a good experience in a shop where I usually don't get good service - for example, I hate Circuit City. I've never gotten good service there, I dislike the way the store is set up, etc.

I went in recently because they had some DVD's on sale, 2 for $10, and had a few titles I wanted.

I lucked into a good employee who found me what I wanted, tried to find some other stuff I was looking for, didn't try to sell me crap I didn't want, and checked me out quickly once I was done - all stuff I had never experienced before in a CC store.

So I asked to speak to his manager, told the manager my reasons for disliking CC in general, but that his employee made me more likely to come back to that particular store.

If I'm going to bitch about bad service, I have to compliment good service. It's only fair.

[Will Hay]

The last time I felt the urge to do this was when I joined the RAC (breakdown recovery) last year.
I'd always been with the AA and never called them out.
I joined the RAC the day after I set off on holiday to Devon (from Yorkshire) and yes, you guess it, I broke down on the second day of my member ship.
Despite giving the wrong directions to the call centre the driver found me, sorted my car and drove me to my destination (I drove 400+ miles and broke down 5 miles from the site I was heading to).
The driver that day was superb, way above the level of service I both paid for or expected.
I wrote in and thanked him/them.
I'll never use another breakdown service again.
Will

[Devanshu]

Depends on how good(or bad) the service was. Actually, probably not. I've got better things to do...I hate writing letters.

[MOVIEGEEK]

I expect good customer service so I wouldn't bother to write but I would if the service was terrible.
I remember getting a couple of written compliments from customers when I worked in retail and it made me feel appreciated and I worked harder.
I always treat others the way I would like to be treated....unless they are total a**holes.

[jeex]

when a person does something that is not expected of them to provide better service to a customer, then i believe it is worthy to talk to a manager, write a letter, or make a phone call commending their service.

we all know what to do when we get bad service. heh

[Solarjetman]

Not only would I, I have already done so several times. I understand what it is like on their end, as I was a movie theater manager years ago. Since the happy people just leave, you don't hear from them. Its good to hear what you are doing correct and build off of that.

Not only that, one employee was given a raise because customers complimented them to management. So reward their excellent service and tell their boss. In many aspects, a compliment will do more for keeping the service good than a complaint will do to fix it. During my stint there, we (as in the management team) acted on every single compliment, but not every complaint.

[lordsmurf]

I'll ask for a comment card or see if they have online feedback. Only once or twice did I make a phone call.

[VCDHunter]

I'm in Britland where the service side of things aint so hot. I don't comment on good service but I'll moan like a @"%$&&* when things go wrong, I've found with a few places that after you've paid they don't want to know. I find the policy of going in store on Saturday afternoon and causing a queue quite effective

[stiltman]

Just curious, how many of you would write in or talk to the manager etc if you recieved really good service when you purchased something?

If yes/no could you briefly explain your reasons below?

Cheers.

Dug this one out of the trash

When ever I get bad service I talk to management....
When I get excelent service I talk to management...
I both cases, I usually get a free meal or drink out of it

[thayne]

I have. One this girl was so helpful I felt compelled to tell her boss and asked to see him

I cant remember what I said, but the girl was really happy I took the time to say it. and the manager seemed impressed with her... hope she got a raise

[northcat_8]

I do.

If it is bad service I am the first to bitch and bitch the loudest.
If it is good service, then I am the first to praise and say good job.

I think it's the coach inside of me, but I do it all the time. Those people have a hard enough job, 90% of what they hear are complaints...a positive comment can go along way.

Although, I admit that I am more likely to tell the manager what a good job the person did if: #1 she is female and #2 is hot...

[northcat_8]

Also to be completely honest, I flirt with every female waitress or female service person I encounter. I flirt with them shamelessly...not over the top, as I will still flirt with them even with my wife there.

My wife and I went to a Rib place, I ordered a whole rack of ribs...they were expensive but I am a big eater and really wanted a rack and a half. So anyway, when I ordered the ribs the girl asks for my 2 side dishes and she suggests the coleslaw...I looked up at her and said "Sweetheart...now do I look like a man who eats coleslaw?" she said "No" (I didn't know coleslaw eaters looked a certain way) so I say "I tell you what I would like sweetheart....I would really like to trade the coleslaw for a half rack of ribs." She smiled and said she would check. So she goes back and checks, comes out, tells me that she got in trouble for even asking. I give her a prompt and sincere apology that went "I am so sorry dear, I didn't mean to get you in trouble. Do you want me to talk to the manager and tell him I was only kidding?" (it is my standard reply). Anyway, my wife is laughing at me because it is a little out of character for me to be that nice. When suddenly our waitress walks by our table, slides me a half rack of ribs and then puts her finger to her mouth and says "Shhhhhhh". My wife couldn't believe it. And what did Miss Julie get for her devious act. I gave her half the price of the food she gave me on top of the regular tip. It was like $17.00 tip.


Another story...this one quicker. Last spring for 2 weeks straight myself and 6 friends stopped at this Bar and grill every night and drank beer. Well 4th night we stopped in there, we walked in and here stands our waitress at the end of a table, with a tray with 7 beers on it. She says "right here guys" so we all sit down, and she starts to deal out the beers. Now that was impressive to me...but then she goes "ok, John, Tony - Budweiser, Jeremy - Bud Light, Nick - Coors Light, Dave - Michelob Light, Loren - Miller Light, and last but certainly not least Mike - 20 oz. Labat Blue draft in a chilled glass" While we didn't go tell the manager how great she was, we all did pitch in $5.00 for the tip. So for the remaining 6 days we gave her a $35.00 tip each day. And she was so ******* hot...she was hot sober...so you know how good she looked after 6-8 beers

[northcat_8]

Sometimes the plan backfires...but that's OK, always have plan A(sshole) ready.

This past February, me and 3 friends stop at a Hooters to eat. Looking through the menu, we see that with an order of 10 wings you get a free order of curly fries. So when our waitress comes over, she's one of these too proud to be working at hooters girls, doing you a favor to talk to you, better than anyone else women and she is standing right beside me (I'm on the end) and I am quiet, not saying a word...I was tired I had been drinking since 7 am....anyway, my one friend says "we'll take 50 wings...we do get 5 orders of curly fries with that right?" She says "No, you have to order 10 wings each to get the fry deal." So my friends start flirting with her and at first she's playing along, no one got out of line...they are trying to talk her into the curly fries with the 50 wings. Well she eventually gets irritated and says "Look! You guys are not going to talk me into giving you 5 orders of curly fries so cut the BS, I'm not leaving with any of you." So I looked at her and said "excuse me Lori, you need to chill out on the attitude, I don't mean to bust your ego but if you were married to any one of us sitting here, you would be the ugliest wife in the group, so you need to drop your "better than you attitude" no one here is impressed with your looks, they are just trying to get some free food and I need another beer."

Can you believe she brought us the curly fries We still gave her a good tip but nothing like she would have got if she hadn't been a bitch in the first place...but I imagine the girls that work at hooters get hit on everyday by just about every male customer who walks through the doors...it would get old, but seems to me to be part of the job

[Devanshu]

It works from the other end too. Some of you might know that I just started working @ blockbuster and as a part of the job, you have to sell promotions. Blockbuster gives you incentive to sell. The highest selling employee gets something for their work (gift card to a store of their choice or something along those lines).

Last weekend I had this woman(so hot I almost said holy shit in front of her...but that's besides the point) who had been waiting in line for a few minutes and looked really pissed. She came up and I said the crap I had to say to everyone including the promotions. "I'm not intrested so just scan my card, ring me up so I can get out of here". When I scanned her card, it brought up 25 dollar late fee. I knew if I told her how much she had on her account, she's going to explode. I said "you have a balance of 25 dollars from your account but seeing that you had to wait for some time I'll take it off". She was so greatful, she bought the movie pass for herself and a games pass for her son. Thanks to her and a few more like her I think I won a kings island pass(wont know until tomorrow).

[northcat_8]

and you only had to **** blockbuster out of $25.00 to get it

Kings Island passes Where abouts you from Devanshu? I live just north of Dayton.

[Capmaster]

I would, and I do. WHen someone goes above and beyond the normal call for their job to help me, I make sure the manager gets positive feedback. No doubt he gets complaints all the time and probably welcomes positive words for a change.

One time I absolutely embarassed this girl because she was the most helpful, nicest person I had ever met in retail. I made it clear to the manager that he was lucky to have her. He had this big grin on his face when I left, and she did too. I felt like a million bucks the rest of the day

[Doramius]

I agree with CAp and I do the same thing. When I go into a store there is a certain level of service and expect, most places don't even meet that. When I feel a person has really gone above standard performance, I comment on it to the manager.

I worked in retail a bunch of times in the past and always appreciated it when someone did that for me. I also understand a little of how certain jobs work and can tell when someone is actually going above what their normal duties are and is trying to do it for everyone they come in contact with. It makes you want to come back to the store or just buy more because you feel better about the whole thing.

I'll tell you, If I got certain types of service at adult stores, I'd be shopping there more regularly.

[Devanshu]

and you only had to **** blockbuster out of $25.00 to get it

Hell yeah...by giving up 25 bucks, she'll pay 40 dollars per month.

A word of advice, if you get late fees and dont feel like paying, argue w/ them. They'll take it of...trust me.

Kings Island passes Where abouts you from Devanshu? I live just north of Dayton.

Indiana

[Cobra]

When someone goes above and beyond the normal call for their job to help me, I make sure the manager gets positive feedback. No doubt he gets complaints all the time and probably welcomes positive words for a change.

Damn right! I don't care about the manager, but when I am told that someone gave some good feedback about me it helps. Sainsbury's used to run a system that ensured a member of staff got a bottle of something for a good comment, but that's now stopped. They're just trying to save money to compete with Tesco and launch new dead-end products in a bid to boost sales.

I hate Sainsbury's, especially since they still owe me £170 from Easter... But then, it's work and I need money!

Cobra

[Roundabout]

The best example I can give of this happened to me about 25 yrs ago. My mom had come out to CA to visit me and we'd traveled to Northern CA for a vacation. On our way back, we stopped at a Denny's restaurant for a quick meal (I don't remember the city, but it was about 150 miles n. of L.A.). Usually I don't eat at Denny's, their food isn't the best and prices are so-so. But we were hungry, and there wasn't a lot of choice in the area where we stopped to eat.

We got a waitress that was unfailingly polite, quick, and brought us some extra food because we had to wait for quite a while for a table. She impressed both of us so much that we told her we were going to write a letter of praise to the president of the company telling them how nice the service was. She thanked us, but probably in her heart she figured that it most likely wouldn't happen.

It just so happened that someone I knew worked as an accountant in the corporate offices of Denny's that was located in La Mirada, CA at the time (they've since moved). We told this friend about the experience we had and she mentioned that we could write a letter, but even better, if we wanted, she told us the name of the President of the company and when he was usually in the office.

I thought, what the hell, I live near the offices and had some free time, let's actually walk into the offices and see if we could talk to him personally. Well, we walked in and his secretary stopped us cold (with the usual excuse we've all heard a million times: "He's in a meeting") until we told her we were there to give a compliment, not make a complaint. It wasn't even one minute before he came out of his office (funny how fast that "meeting" ended) to talk to us.

Needless to say, he was shocked that someone would go that much out of their way to praise an employee - in fact, he stated it had never happened in the years he'd been there. He invited us in for something to drink and we talked for a while, then he gave us some coupons for free meals (something like $50.00 worth) and asked if we wanted to be "secret shoppers" from time to time. Some of you probably know what that is, for those who don't - many companies have someone "Joe Average" that goes and checks on the service at their stores or restaurants and reports back on it, good or bad. For this, they're usually compensated with coupons for free food or merchandise, sometimes can be very lucrative.

We said "sure, why not?" and he put our names on their list for this purpose. I was getting free food at Denny's for years after that, before they moved and changed their policy, and stopped sending free coupons.

Moral of the story, we didn't go in expecting any "freebies", we just thought it'd be nice for someone who is rarely recognized to get some kudos and perhaps even a raise, but we came out quite well too.

I always wished all those years I worked at Sony that someone would do something like that for me. Many people said they would but either they didn't mean it or they forgot after going home. Just a short letter would have been appreciated. I know, we can't expect it, but it's always nice when it happens.

So, yes, I complain when the service is lousy, just like anyone else, I expect good service. But, I will go out of my way to praise someone if they do more than is normal or expected of them to help me. Like Housepig says, it's only fair, and we'd like the same if we went out of our way to help someone.

[northcat_8]

and you only had to **** blockbuster out of $25.00 to get it

Hell yeah...by giving up 25 bucks, she'll pay 40 dollars per month.

A word of advice, if you get late fees and dont feel like paying, argue w/ them. They'll take it of...trust me.

You know I wondered that...but I didn't know it for certain.

2 years ago my son rented a PS2 game and a few days later my wife dropped it in their night deposit. It was not late. 3 months later they send me a bill for $90 or so. So I called them and they said that we had not returned the game. I told them I did, we debated...blah blah bah...they said I would have to pay for it. So I asked to speak to the manager, she wasn't there. Next day I call back, manager gets mean and rude with me over it becaue they had just finished inventory it was missing and we were the last ones to rent the game. So I put her incontact with Captain ******* and said "You do what you have to do, but I'm not paying for it so I guess I will see you in court."

They stopped sending me a bill, and we have rented movies there since the incident with no mention of the issue. We really did return the game, I wasn't lying.

[Doramius]

There was a similar incident at a blockbuster near us. We returned a movie to the night slot. Same night someone intentionally smacked into the dropbox with the back of a truck and stole a good load of returned movies. The person was later caught because his license plate fell off and the truck with the damage was found. But the movies were not found and are speculated to have been sold or paawned off somewhere. We and several other people who had dropped off movies were still charged for late fees when we had brought the movies back on time. It wasn't our fault. There were combined late fees from all of the missing movies of around $1400, and blockbuster had sent all of the peoples names to collection agencies. One of the families got an attorney and the rest of us teamed together with the attorney. Blockbuster finally removed all of the collections and late fees after 10 months and almost a court appearance. and apparently the store owner was also under investigation for a possible link to the arrested person. The thought that came out is that the store owner hired someone to wreck the nightbox, collect the insurance money and also collect the charges for late fees. Haven't heard any follow up, but we've been able to go back to blockbuster and rent movies once the incident was cleared up.

[northcat_8]

caught because his license plate fell off

[Devanshu]

You know I wondered that...but I didn't know it for certain.

It's a policy. One of the first things they "taught" us at oreintation was to never aruge. Tell them what your records say and if it isnt clear what the charges are for, credit the fee off. Last thing they want is a customer picking a fight leaving the store for 2 bucks and going to their competition.

About the inventory thing...sometimes the items are misplaced by the employees. It couldve been that. One good thing now is, if you dont return a movie(I'm not 100% sure that its for games too) for 12 days, the system automatically sells the movie to your account and takes off the late fees. So now, your bill would never go to 90 bucks. Again, this is a test program blockbuster is running and indy, along w/ a few other states are the test dummies...so dont go to your blockbuster arguing because they may not be on the same system yet.

Along the same topic...I just got a call to replace someone for doing inventory tomorrow, but since I have summer school..I dont have to go.

[indolikaa]

When I am treated with better-than-expected service, I let a manager know. Once in awhile, when the service is THAT good, I'll write a letter to the corporate office in question.

[DVD_Ripper]

One time at a local tire center I was treated above and beyond. Got district managers name and sent a fax to him regarding his employee.

Same goes opposite.. if someone's an ******* their manager will hear about. (would like to do that with 10-15 toll takers on the PA Turnpike.) Ya know... I don't get it.. here's someone making change.. .albeit, in a smog infested environment and will make $50,000 a year... and they are so miserable

[Doramius]

You can get the number for supervisors of toll takers. You have to call the Turnpike Road Authority and let them know why you are calling and they should send you right over. All you need to remember is the time and day you passed through the booth and which booth it was. They have to keep a strict record of the people in the booths per some Federal highway regulation being that it is a major highway. Same thing back in NY with the I-90 Thruway. I love that highway. Just grab a ticket when you get on, go as far as you need on a nice and smooth road and pay the total, which is listed for each exit on the ticket, at the booth you exit at. I hated Chicago where I had to throw in change like every 5 miles.

[pyscrow]

No, I never write, but I do go out of my way to personally thank people, or their supervisors for good service. Here in Australia people dont expect to be paid twice for a service (IE tips on top of normal costs), and I like to give credit where it is due.