Is No Service the New Customer Service?
It never ceases to amaze me when companies won’t lift a finger to help their customers and prospective customers. It boggles my mind that in this economic climate that businesses aren’t falling all over themselves to get and keep customers. I never did find out whether or not Tetley Tea has or has not stopped making the powdered iced tea mix.
Since Christmas I’ve contacted Angel Wreaths to ask if the hot pink feather wreath I wrote about is temporarily sold out or if there will be no more made. I’ve also contacted two local fitness centers for rates. I called Healthtrax on Monday to find out the rates and never got a human being so I went to their website to request information and figured I might as well just request Virtua’s rates online as well. So far none of the above have gotten back to me. I don’t understand it. What good is having a website with a form to request info if you’re not going to bother replying? Why list your e-mail address on your site if you’re not going to write back? And if you can’t be bothered to answer questions about your business for prospective customers why be in business?
A few years ago I e-mailed the folks at Cacia’s Bakery to find out what their hours are. I wanted to find out if they are open late enough for me and the hubs to stop by and pick up a pizza for dinner after work. They never replied and I never got any pizza. They lost a sale because they couldn’t be bothered to reply. I sincerely don’t understand it. Now Healthtrax and Virtua aren’t the only fitness centers in the area but where else am I going to buy a hot pink wreath made of feathers? So now I have to decide how much I want the wreath. Is it worth the time to call and find out the info I assumed would be in my inbox the next day? Do I want to spend $40 with a company that couldn’t be bothered to answer my question? Do I want to chase down the rate info at the two fitness centers I’d prefer to go to?
What would you do? Does customer service matter to you? How much effort would you put into finding out info about products you’d like to buy and businesses you’d like to patronize?