iePolitics: Customer service — NOT!

I’ve been working on some customer service projects of late and I’ve come to the conclusion that the wrong companies worry about customer service.  The ones that need too–don’t.  I’m talking about WalMart, McDonald’s and a few others.  It would seem in this economy with so many people unemployed companies would have the choice of some of the best employees.  I guess the best have given up and stay home because customer service is getting worse, not better.

I ordered something that had to be shipped to me via FedEx.  I get home and there is a notice on my fence that they tried to deliver it.  They would not drop it over the fence for what reason I do not know.  The next day they left a second notice.  I have no way of knowing when they are going to arrive and they were making the third and final attempt the following day.  I tried to schedule it so I could pick it up.  The system would not allow me to do so.  I finally got a hold a real person who gave me the news that if I wanted to pick it up, I had to do so in Palmdale.  Are there no FedEx facilities in Victorville?  It wasn’t like I had exhausted all the attempts yet.

Well, I have one of those nasty bugs that are going around and did not feel like driving to Palmdale but was left with no other real choice.  I had to be in Wrightwood on the day they would make their third and final attempt so I had to go to Palmdale to pick it up.

My first stop though was McDonalds for an unsweetened iced  tea.  I know better than to drive away from a McDonald’s drive thru without first checking my drink but feeling the way I did, I forgot.  Of course, as I discovered some miles away, it was sweet iced tea, which I should have expected since the order taker was much more interested in discussing his love life with his co-workers than in taking my order.

My next stop was WalMart.  I really should know better but I don’t seem to learn.  Enough said.

Then I stopped at the only Subway I know that has a drive thru.  I don’t know if it was 11 inches or 12 but it was a good vegetarian sandwich.  No complaints.

Finally, loaded down with cough medicine and cough drops, I head to Palmdale.

From you transportation experts, what the heck is the point of a roundabout?  I will say for the first time ever, I ended up in Palmdale on my first try rather some alfalfa field half way to Boron or some lake that has no water.  I am not the least bit directionally challenged but that roundabout gets me every time.  Now I can say I have it mastered!!

I finally arrived at the FedEx place.  By this time I sounded like I was going to cough up a lung.  Several people let me go ahead of them.

I got my package which did not fit in the trunk I cleaned out just for the package.  Since I had to go all the way to Palmdale, I decided to make the best of it and go a couple of places we don’t have here like Trader Joes.

I love Trader Joes.  Nice people who give great customer service.  Then Costco.  Nice people who give great customer service.  Then Dress Barn.  Nice people who give great customer service.  Then I see a Soup Plantation.  Three bowls of wonderful soup later, I’m feeling a lot better.  The day ended better than it started.

Yes some companies go out of the way.  Others were put on this earth to annoy us.

BTW, the photo at the top was taken a few weeks earlier at the McDonald’s that gave me sweetened tea (Yuck, yuck, yuck).  Like I said, his mind was more on his love life than my order.