Customer Service, an experienced shopper's opinion

I started my professional career as an electronics sales representative, many years ago. As I learned along the road, both technically and skill set speaking, the most important lesson I did take home was that offering the best customer service will go a long way. I saw people who had excellent technical skills and knowledge get fired or under perform due to the lack of people skills. I also saw the opposite, individuals being highly successful while having a very basic understanding of technology.

You see, one can always go get information online or in a manual. But one cannot learn how to present it. Most often cases people skills are deeply rooted within our values.

So where am I going with this? In the era of online shopping, we see retailers close their doors on a regular basis, allegedly due to their inability to offer identical products at a competitive price point. In reality, it may have more to do with the lack of competent representatives.

I shop a lot, both online and, less and less, in brick and mortar stores. Why? Because I am fed up of getting dismal service that is nowhere near the standards to which I serve my clients and I was taught to service others. Nonchalant and impolite individuals who will assume that you will buy from them just because you came into the store leave me unimpressed. I much rather not spend time on driving and money on gas. I may as well buy online from the comfort of my home.

So in a world dominated by online shopping, why do I bother to complain about customer service? Because service also extends to e-commerce and most vendors have a contact center where you can speak (sometimes to a real human being) and ask questions. And most vendors offer good quality service.

So here is my list of good and bad customer service experiences. Other than the categories, I offer no true ranking of vendors and stores.

I will list a criteria at the bottom of the post.

The Good;
- Groupon
- Microsoft
- NCIX.com
- New Egg
- Dell
- Toys R us
- Costco
- Sports Experts / Atmosphere
- Air Miles

The Bad:

- Future Shop
- Best Buy
- Canadian Tire
- Tiger Direct
- Amazon
- Wal Mart

The “Avoid like the Plague”
- Micro Bytes
- Canada Computers
- Hotwire.com
- Target

The Criteria;

- Politeness of staff
- Speed of service
- Make an effort to offer a reasonable solution
- Provide concrete and adequate information
- Ability to answer concerns in an honest manner
- Variety and Quality of products offered
- Price