Does anyone care about customer service anymore?

I struggle to come up with direction for my woebegotten little website. So I come up with labels and other items, but often, after reading everyone else's blogs, which I always do first, I forget what I was going to write about and I just tell you all what's happening with the kids. It's a direction, but it's audience is limited.

But here is my new passion - customer service. One of my goals this year is to create a complete customer service training package (reps and managers) and website with continuation training, etc. etc. And here's what I am now noticing - customer service really sucks in this country.

So here's a new direction. I'm going to rant to all of you about poor, and hopefully some good, customer service experiences. Names and all. And if I can help one bored service worker be just a little nicer to the next person, WHO MIGHT BE ME, I will have done my job.

So here goes.

Sunday, we got MIL to come sit with the children while we went to see 300 at the IMAX. Movie criticisms aside, if you're going to see a movie at the IMAX, this is the one to see. It's visually quite beautiful if you can get past all the blood and killing.

Anyway. We got advance tickets to the IMAX in St. Michael, the new CineMagic. VERY nice theatre, and they have a bar. And you know how often I get a sitter, so we went straight to the bar on the second floor and got mixed drinks. They only had one bartender, though, for a sold-out movie that was attended by men about 10-1 over women - big mistake. But this isn't my problem. I'm just saying, bar is to theatre as lightbulb is to home inventions. Brilliance.

After my drink, we still have about 14 minutes before the movie starts, so Pants goes back to the bar and I go downstairs to get an ICEE. I wait in line about 10 minutes, which I know I am in for because the movie is sold out, they have at least 10 other screens, yada yada. Not great, but I get it. I get up to the front and make my order to the teenager behind the counter, and I mistakenly order food because I haven't eaten yet today. The boy comes back a minute later and tells me they don't have mini doughnuts (something about the machine being broken?) and ask if I just want a refund.

Now, this is mistake #1. He could easily sell me something else, but he offers to give me money back. Not a service issue, but dumb for the company. Keep my money dude as long as you can.

Mistake #2. The kid then asks the man behind me (and his friend) to wait while he tries to get a manager to do the refund. It's stupid that he can't do it himself (to all the retail managers out there, figure out another way), but to ask the guy to wait? He's obviously not as forgiving as I am about the line and he's already pissed that his movie (MY MOVIE) starts in 2 minutes. He waits about 90 seconds before he angrily asks how much a soda is so he can just pay and leave and the kid can ring it up later. But the kid rings it up like there is really no problem at all. Nice cover, kid. He is then so nervous he forgets a dollar of the guy's change and just gives him the coins. So now the guy is angry, not just annoyed, his friend gets out of line completely (lost sale), and he harrasses the kid to give him a dollar out of the next guy's money before he even gets it near the cash drawer. Something about a "black hole".

Mistake #3. The manager, another very young kid (girl, maybe 20), is running around trying to get everyone change because their registers are low. The kid asks for his change and, as an afterthought, says he needs a refund. She says, no lie, "I don't have time for that right now." I'M STILL STANDING RIGHT HERE. Boy, do I feel like a special customer. I'm still not saying anything because my food isn't out yet, so I have to wait anyway. But I watch the manager come and go two more times and not only do I not get a refund, Junior doesn't mention it again. I guess he should have made everyone else wait so he didn't forget.

Mistake #4. When my food is brought out, I still haven't received a cup for my drink. So, admittedly sounding very snotty at this point, I ask the little food girl for a cup for my drink. She looks just a bit scared, goes and gets the cup, and starts to make excuses as to why she couldn't have known that I needed a cup. Don't take it personally, babe, just take it for the company. In the end, she didn't even apologize, just got defensive and started making excuses. This was a prime opportunity to win me back over by saying something like, "I'm sorry." Or, "I'll get that for you right away. Is there anything else I can do?" But no, she was more interested in herself than me.

Mistake #5. So now I have my food. I have my drink. But I still have no refund. After about another minute or so, Junior looks at me and asks (I kid you not), "Are you STILL waiting for your refund?" When I say yes through gritted teeth, he says, "My manager keeps running off on me." Can you feel the empathy? Just close your eyes and feel the good vibes flowing from him to me. In a matter of another 90 seconds or so, he comes over and gives me the money, although I saw no manager come again. Hmmm.

I would love to complain, but I know I am already late for my movie. And even though I am told the movie started about 7 minutes late, I come in about 5 minutes into it. So the entire ordeal took more than 25 minutes.

So if anyone from St. Michael Cinemagic is reading this and would like to give me a free movie so I can have a better experience at their concession stand, please leave a comment. I paid a lot for the movie and the food and although your theatre is beautiful, I'm smuggling in treats next time. Your loss. Had any of you, at any time, tried to say something to win me back, this might have been a different story.

The truth is, people expect bad things to happen. People expect crappy service these days. It's only when everyone tries to pretend it isn't happening that you start to lose customers. If just one persons crosses that invisible canyon into human awareness instead of trying to maintain some idea of professional (read: chickenshit) demeanor, the whole situation could be saved.

Be human, people. If your friend were having a bad day, wouldn't you say, "Wow, that sucks." You can say that. It's okay.