Today's Free Item

First of all there's something I need to tell you, so you can quickly get over it. I serve Mookie's food on a paper plate.

There is absolutely nothing more disgusting than washing a cat-food caked plate. It is so easy to fold and toss this way. No fuss, no mess.

Sorry, you gay-making trees. Payback is a bitch.

Dixie paper dessert plates at Loblaws went up in price to $3.89 (Steep, and a stupid price point. I would have made it $3.79. Doesn't look as expensive, and 09s and 89s are a waste of time). I'm sure at some point they were going to replace the $3.59 shelf tag.

As you know by now, I'm not a big fan of the whole Supermarket Employee Apathyfest. I was nearly beside myself with this one. I'm not going to get into the details 'cause I've still not calmed down. I get a little irrational with things like this. People, do not be surprised if my death certificate lists "Loblaws Customer Service Counter" as the place of my demise.

I am slowly coming to realise I wouldn't be nearly as irritated with these folks if they provided even the basics of customer service. I used to figure that CS was a simple matter of common sense. It is in fact not. Many naturally possess the skill. Others study the science to develop some tact.

Loblaws seems to neither hire the naturals, nor train the science. I'm picking on them today because of my interaction there. Dominion is however slightly better. In case you missed it from me, all are sub-par. If your treading shit so as not to drown, it really doesn't matter whether the shithole is 100 or 110 meters deep.

So all this frustration I've focused at two employees should really be aimed at Management. Who either appear never to be the floor, or dress in canned-goods camouflaged. In any event, it is absolutely obvious the fundamentals of customer service are not recognized and enforced.

Fundamentals of customer service, you ask?

Do not tell the customer you will take care of something that you aren't going to take care of it.
Make eye contact with the customer.
Serve one customer at a time.
Advise the customer of what you are doing, particularly if:

• You leave the counter;
• You have someone else take over the customer's issue;
• You are waiting on another employee to provide a price confirmation or
• You need to answer the phone

Acknowledge the customer
Answer all of the customer's questions
"It's policy" is not an answer
Aplogise to the customer for almost scamming them of money.

I saw all of this absolutely not being done, in the space of 10 minutes.

And all I got was a free pack of paper plates to compensate.

Categories: Retail, Rant