Authentic Power: Excuses, blame hallmarks of bad service

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Marlene Chism, president of ICARE Presentations in Springfield, works with companies that want to build strong business relationships and with individuals who want to be better communicators.|ret||ret||tab|

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Do you get better customer service from a locally owned business or a national chain? Lately, there's a trend surpassing local and national boundaries that has nothing to do with customer service and everything to do with excuses and blame. |ret||ret||tab|

Several weeks ago I received substandard service at a local restaurant, then a few days later I had an experience at a national retail chain that slid below the restaurant incident. Both examples offer learning points about customer service. Read on.|ret||ret||tab|

Some friends and I chose a locally owned restaurant for lunch. After looking at the menu and deciding on a particular salad, I asked the waitress a question: "Are your salads made with iceberg lettuce, or do you mix in some dark lettuce such as romaine?" |ret||ret||tab|

"We use iceberg," she answered. |ret||ret||tab|

When I told her that I would like to have some dark lettuce added, she gave me her first excuse why I could not get what I wanted: "The lettuce is premixed and it does not come with any dark green lettuce in it." |ret||ret||tab|

"Do you have romaine in stock?" I asked.|ret||ret||tab|

"Yes, we do. You could order a Caesar salad," she said, trying to persuade me to change my original choice. I proceeded to teach her problem solving 101: "Would you mind tearing off a couple leaves of romaine and adding that to the salad that I want to order?" I asked.|ret||ret||tab|

I was stunned at her answer: "We are extremely busy right now, and I don't think the cook would appreciate me making more work for him."|ret||ret||tab|

"So, it's not about customer service, but it is about keeping the cook happy?" I responded out of shock. |ret||ret||tab|

"No, it's not that I don't want to give you what you want," she said, "Hey, I would tear and wash the lettuce myself if I wasn't so busy." |ret||ret||tab|

I bit my tongue to avoid asking the top three questions on my mind:|ret||ret||tab|

You do expect a tip, correct?|ret||ret||tab|

Who trained you as a waitress?|ret||ret||tab|

I wonder what your boss would think of your response?|ret||ret||tab|

The only reason I stayed at the restaurant was because I was with two friends who were on a limited lunch break. The lack of ingenuity doesn't stop at the restaurant.|ret||ret||tab|

Several days later I was shopping with a younger friend, Tracy, who was looking for bridal dresses at a national chain here in Springfield. Tracy lives out of town, so she had previously called to make sure the shop would be open late on Saturday. We arrived at 4 p.m., and when Tracy requested a fitting room, she was denied. The woman at the front desk told Tracy, "We close at 6, therefore we don't allow anyone to go into a fitting room after 4:30 p.m." |ret||ret||tab|

"But it's only 4 o'clock," Tracy persisted, "and I only want to try on one dress, which I have tried on before." The woman gave her a glazed stare with no apparent understanding.|ret||ret||tab|

Tracy continued, "I want to make sure it is the right dress because I am thinking about purchasing it."|ret||ret||tab|

The woman's response astounded me: "Do you want to try it on to buy it, or are you just trying it on to show it to your friend?" In other words, I will serve you if you are a buyer but not if you are a looker. |ret||ret||tab|

Retail should always be so easy.|ret||ret||tab|

Tracy explained that she had driven for more than an hour to come to the shop and had called ahead of time and was not told of the policy. Instead of trying to solve the problem, the salesperson resorted to blame: "Who did you talk to when you called?" |ret||ret||tab|

Finally, after some discussion, the salesperson ended with an excuse: "Well, the policy has just recently changed anyway." |ret||ret||tab|

I couldn't believe my ears. |ret||ret||tab|

At this juncture, it's irrelevant "who" gave or did not give the appropriate information. It isn't the customer's job to be aware of new policies, and finally, if it is 4 p.m. and you quit letting people have service at 4:30, then you still have 30 minutes of available time. At this point, it is time to repair the damage and find a way to solve the problem instead of resorting to blame and excuses. |ret||ret||tab|

For business owners, there are many learning points. Here are three:|ret||ret||tab|

You need to know how your employees might be costing you business.|ret||ret||tab|

Employees need to be adequately trained to be problem solvers instead of ticket takers.|ret||ret||tab|

Two red flags of poor customer service are blame and excuses. |ret||ret||tab|

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