Can't Say Customer Service Without the Cus

When I purchased my brand new used car, I knew it was lacking one essential, a kick ass stereo cassette/CD player. The kind of stereo that you could crank up and take off on I94, drown your sorrows and do some serious damage. (Or at least pretend, and annoy your neighbor's quiet suburban existence nonetheless.)

So when I finally had some free time and the new used car began to feel as if actually belonged to me and wasn't merely a great rental unit, I drove to my neighborhood Audio King and had them install a missing but necessary piece to my wacky life. When I left their premises I was a proud owner of a rocking unit, and it made me yearn, made me itch for a serious road trip.

But before I hit the road and acted out the metaphor of the mobile roamer with wanderlust in his soul, I first had to fill out the customer service card they gave me with my purchase. I'm the type of dweeb who fills out all these cards believing in this day and age when we face so many examples of poor customer service it almost becomes expected, that my opinion/experience might be read by someone who will take note. I tend to make a special effort to take the time after I receive outstanding service believing that too many people complain, and when someone actually makes the all too rare effort to do their job right, that the praise should be given. I'm a shopper who appreciates good help more than good prices. I'm more than willing to pay extra for good customer service. But I also feel compelled to report unpleasant experiences too because you never know when you'll run into a company who takes the feedback to heart rather than using surveys as a meaningless customer service tool.

An example of the latter was last winter, when I had a major photocopying project I needed done so I stopped by Kinko's. I had a very bad experience with the sales person there so when the manager of the store sent me a follow up letter/customer survey, I wrote a long letter of complaint. She never got back to me, never responded. Before her letter, I was contemplating whether or not to continue to do business with Kinko's. Her lack of response to my complaints made the decision for me.

Well, my report card back to Audio King was mixed. I was happy with my purchase, the quality of the car stereo. I was also pleased with the job they did installing the system. They were quick and left no trace of the work. It looked as if the player had come with the car, that it belonged. I was not so pleased with my salesperson. The location I visited was pretty small and I went early enough where there were few other customers in the store. I waited what I felt was an unreasonable amount of time before anyone came over to help me. (I took to the old trick of playing with all the knobs I could, so someone might become alarmed.)

When someone did finally help me, the sale went quickly. I knew what I wanted, I knew how much I wanted to spend and I had enough experience with the various manufacturers to know who at this point I trusted and liked. So the guy had an easy sell and he brought me to the register to do the paper work and ring me up. During the middle of things he got a phone call which I could tell was a personal call. He talked awhile but since the installation was going to take some time anyway, I geared myself to be patient. I knew that the way I would have dealt with the situation would be to tell the caller I would get back to them, but who was I to say anything? Just the customer.

He finally got off the phone and returned back to finishing up with me. But the phone rang again. And again I heard enough to tell me it was another personal call. This time I was a bit miffed. I had picked Audio King from previous experience and also because someone close to me recommended them as a good place to get a car stereo. I'm sorry if I don't like to be treated as if I'm interfering with someone's personal life. But I wasn't about to complain. I vented my anger in another way. That day I was also interested in buying a VCR. After this salesperson's lack of courtesy, I wasn't going to spend any more money at that store. I ended up at a Circuit City.

The comments I made on my customer service card weren't all that harsh. I made sure I pointed out both the good and bad parts of my visit. I dropped it in the mail without a second thought. Thus I was pleasantly surprised when a sales consultant called me and wanted to know what happened. He went so far as to ask me what they could do to rectify the situation and make sure I remain an Audio King shopper. I didn't know what to say. The competition in the retail business continues to get tougher and tougher and quite frankly once I have a bad experience, I don't particularly care enough to go back. But this man was persistent. He eventually decided to wave the installation fee (over $50). Yeah, maybe I was bought off, my principles sold down the river, but I don't think so. He was willing to do what he could to get my patronage back and I appreciated his efforts. I didn't expect compensation, and really respected his desire to get me back. Now I know I'll return, I'll make the effort to shop Audio King whenever I need something they offer.

P.S. He said he was an Applause shopper and he is always impressed by the service we give.