What Happened to Good Customer Service?

What has happened to good customer service?  Last month Anthony Coppedge posted Service With a Smile on his blog.  It got me to thinking about how I treat people in my day job and how I treat people at my church.  I guess it also made me more aware of how others treat me as a customer.  I have in the last two months been very busy with various companies to make things happen in our church productions.  I must say that overall I’m very disappointed in the customer service of most of these companies.  A couple I will probably never deal with again.  Let me give an example…

I was recently in the market for video distribution and came to the conclusion that video over CAT-5e would be my best option.  About that time I had received the latest catalog from my preferred distributor.  In this catalog they advertised a FSR Twister system and the description said that this kit included transmitter, receiver and hub.  I thought this is perfect.  I called up the company and ordered this kit among a healthy order of consumables.  Now this order is from their latest catalog of specials that I just received and I was told that the kit mentioned above was not in stock.  How could you advertise a special and then not keep it in stock?  Strike One!

I was hoping to have this kit in place for a youth conference that was coming up in a couple of weeks.  I received the rest of my order in 3 days but the FSR kit was on back order.  After a week went by I called and was told that the order was due in the next day and then I would have my kit a few days after that.  That time elapsed and I called back again.  I was told that the order had not come in and that it would probably be another week.  Well, that put me past having the system in for the youth conference.  But did you notice that no one could give me an exact answer.  Strike Two!

The week after the youth conference I finally received my FSR Twister kit minus the hub.  I called up the company and talked to the sales rep that I had ordered from and told him that I received an incomplete order.  He told me that he was not sure what happened and would find out and call me back.  OK I can deal with that.  He didn’t call back!  I called back and he told me that The FSR web site was inconclusive.  I’m thinking, “Call your supplier FSR!”  He said, “I call FSR and see what is up.”  Good call!  Once again he said that he would call me back.  He didn’t call back.  I waited two days and then called back again.  I asked for the same sales rep and I got the impression that he had not called anyone.  He told me that he was going to call FSR right then and put me on hold.  When he came back on the line he told me that FSR said that the hub was not part of the kit.  I told him that you are advertising it as part of the kit and I had ordered it with that intention.  Plus it was not cheap.  He said he would talk to his manager and call me back.  Are you seeing a pattern here?  That’s right…he did not call me back.  I had to call back once again two days later and receive their final answer.  I was told by the same sales rep that they had make a mistake in the catalog and this was his final comment, “You got what you paid for.”
Strike Three!  YOUR OUT!!!

I also receive this company’s e-newsletter and there has not been an explanation or retraction for the catalog error yet.  I also visited FSR web site and their description is misleading on the kit in question.  They continually show pictures of the transmitter, receiver and hub together and you have to really dig to find out that the hub is not part of the kit.  They may want to think about changing that.

OK End of rant!  I’m in the market for a new distributor of professional audio, video and lighting gear.  My former preferred distributor was a one stop shop and I liked it that way.  Who do you use?

I’m not naming the company above because I forgive them.  I was amazed at the touch of the Holy Spirit to keep me calm through the whole ordeal and not ruin my testimony because I really wanted to blast them.  

I give the above example to point out that in our dealing with others we need to be completely honest.  We need to have a complete understanding of what service or goods we are offering.  We need to follow through.    This correlates to sharing the gospel.  We need to give people we share the Word with just that…the WORD.  The absolute truth of the scriptures that they are dead in their sins but have the hope of eternal life only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  We need to know the Word so we can share the gospel at any given opportunity and defend the truth of the Word when needed.  Once someone has accepted Christ our work is not done.  Jesus commanded us to make disciples, not converts.  We need to follow through with those that accept Christ as their Lord and Savior to help them to grow spiritually.

Let me leave you with this passage of what our service to others should look like.

Philippians 2:3 - 8 (RSV) 3Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.  4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  8And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.