As the title says where has it gone.. Needed a new computer the other day so i went to a local store (only have 2 to chose from). When i went in their was 0 staff on the floor, after about 10 min i finally seen one staff member come out and another 10 min another one come out, 20 min after that i finally seen the manager come out and went for a smoke. I stood in the computer section for 45min as i watched people come in after me and get help, even other people came in and stood in the computer dept and got help before me. Well after 45 min someone finally acknowledged i was their and finally came over to ask if i needed help. I pointed out the computer i wanted and as he was looking it up he informed me that the shelf tag was wrong, so that means every sale tag on that shelf was wrong as i watched one of the other workers fix most of them when they were helping another customer. Well by this time im beyond pissed so i informed him that i had been standing their for 45 min and now they are telling me their price is wrong and that they should really learn how to do their job and customer service, told him i would take my money elseware and walked out. Went to the other store and they were more than helpful, asked if i needed help and then let me look around with out being pestered. Ended up spending way more than what i was originally budgeting but at least i had been acknowledged.. Both stores are part of large chains but the bigger store is getting worse all the time, they will not even sell a display model but they will also not keep anything in stock. They have lost about 10g in sales from me in the last year between work and personal..
Where has customer service gone
- Thread starter zrock
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Because I wanted a new desktop computer. Had to go to the other store and settle for a laptop not that it matters, in the long run I'll probably get more use out of the laptop.
It seems desktop computers are slowly becoming a thing of the past
It seems desktop computers are slowly becoming a thing of the past
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Most folks support local until they see the markup the local store may be adding. Keeping good educated staff costs money and a store can not do that on a tight margin competing against on line.
BTW, I have bought all my computers from Dell. I have laptop with docking station so if I want to sit down at a desk I just plug in the docking port and I I have a regular keyboard and two screens.
BTW, I have bought all my computers from Dell. I have laptop with docking station so if I want to sit down at a desk I just plug in the docking port and I I have a regular keyboard and two screens.
Yes I use a dell setup at work with dual monitors as well soon to be changed out for a large curved screen..
Yes their is a higher markup local but I believe in supporting local and trying to keep people employed. Also anything warranty I deal local instead of spending weeks mailing things out..
I have been in the customer service industry for a long time, no matter how busy I am I always acknowledge customers that are waiting. Long gone are the days that workers take pride in their job. I dare u to walk through any retail store and count how many employies are on their cell phones, walking through Walmart the other day over 1/2 the staff was on their phone... I guess I'm old school and believe the customer comes first no matter what.
Yes their is a higher markup local but I believe in supporting local and trying to keep people employed. Also anything warranty I deal local instead of spending weeks mailing things out..
I have been in the customer service industry for a long time, no matter how busy I am I always acknowledge customers that are waiting. Long gone are the days that workers take pride in their job. I dare u to walk through any retail store and count how many employies are on their cell phones, walking through Walmart the other day over 1/2 the staff was on their phone... I guess I'm old school and believe the customer comes first no matter what.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
... and look what you got for that effort, a thread about how the "local" didn't care about you!
I believe in supporting local, when they can deliver a similar product or service. But in this particular case, it's really no contest. I'd feel foolish even shopping at a local computer store, today.
I buy enough high-end computers that Dell calls me about once every two weeks just to check in. A little aggressive, I'm not buying computers that frequently, but they have excellent support when a system fails or needs quick repair/replacement. With a business entirely dependent on computing, they offer a compelling solution and cost point.
It's all about money. When staffing budgets get cut that means lower pay for the workers which means fewer $hits given about helping customers. Also the better/ more motivated employees can get a better paying job in another industry so they leave.
yep i agree and that is why i try to support local to keep those jobs for people, far to many have jumped to online purchases to save a few $$ but then loose the local support. Yes i shop online when it makes sense and the product is not available locally. I live in the north so anything i purchase online add a week or more for shipping and several weeks for warranty. The thing that pisses me off in my area is people complaining that they do not make enough money working at places like walmart and other retail stores. They think they should be making what someone in the trades is making that took the time and money to go get trained. They want to have the bare minimum job and make enough so they can buy that million $$ home and do whatever they want, and boy do they give you a ear full when you say get more than 1 job or go get a trade, their attitude is they should not have to, I worked 3 jobs for the longest time to give my family the things they wanted.. This is the attitude that is leading to poor customer service
Glad that was your takeaway from this.
I really doubt dell calls you that much as our company spends huge money with dell and do not get a phone call every 2 weeks, heck just my location alone has about 30 new computers purchased in the last year and we are the smallest branch, we change out all computers every 2-3 years depending on when warranty runs out
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I would bet they're calling more than you realize, unless you're the one answering the phone every time. They're a little too attentive, IMO. I would venture to say we spent nearly the same last year, albeit mine was a substantially lower count of some very expensive specialty machines (single workstations $10k~$20k/each).
That's an aside. Point is, why even consider buying local, when you can have Dell or their competitors deliver exactly what you need, for similar cost and with better support and selection than you will ever get from any retail vector?
I've burned through three Precision workstations in the 18 months alone, Dell had someone on-site to execute repair the very next day, all three times. In two cases, the machine needed total replacement, and despite being relatively specialized machines, they had the replacements on my doorstep within a few days. In the one case that a motherboard and NVMe replacement actually got the machine up and running, the parts and repair person were both here within something like 14 hours of me calling to report the failure. I would never expect that sort of service from a retail chain or local store, they just aren't set up for it.
I married tech support. It’s freaking expensive! It has me painting rooms, fixing plaster, lawn work, dishes…. But it’s hard to find a more local setup, lol.
big differences between cooperate Del and the homeowner dell not to mention i live way up north like i sad. While del makes a nice system im not a huge fan of them, they are over priced and the extra you are spending is for the tech support, it makes sense for business as down time is money, but where i live even when my work computer went down it was a week before i received a new one due to where i live/work. Like i said my personal preference is to support local, if i would not had good service at the second place then i would have went online and ordered something
haha now that's a good one.. Im my own tech support ran my own computer business for years until i got tired of people calling me at midnight because their computer was broke
My wife does security now, but she still gets my printer working when I can’t print.
Customer service just keeps getting better at this store. I emailed their HO explaining what had happened. Their first response was a $20 gift card that i could only use if i spent $120 or more online, told them this was a huge insult. THen they came back and said they would forward my complaint to their upper management team and would investigate my complaint. Not 5 min later i get a email from the store manager who was also part of the issue. Not sure how they were going to investigate themself. I replayed back to the email for their head office asking them why the email went to the store manager that was part of the issue instead of going to their upper management.. of course no response. When i worked retail any and all complaints against me or my store went to my district manager and he would investigate it. Then he would contact the customer or instruct me to contact customer and this always took more than 5 min..LOL
funny how they want more money. the simple thing like McDonalds went up. the minimum wage went to 15.00 a hour because what they got paid was not enough for rent. they can't even give you the right order. so they almost double the minimum wage now everything is more expensive and the people making minimum wage are right back in the same boat they were in before. mass is one of the most expensive states to live in. their paid double but ours can't. absolutely everything went up so if you are not making at least 60,000 a year you can't buy a house in the cheap part of town. rent for a 2 bedroom flat are more than what i pay for my mortgage by 200 to 400 dollars a month and that is in the part of town that you take the chance of getting hit with a stray Bullitt
end of rant
i agree with customer service is nil. i have to call customer service all the time and the only thing i get is someone the reads a script off of their computer. it's shameful that i can talk around these people and i call them for help
end of rant
i agree with customer service is nil. i have to call customer service all the time and the only thing i get is someone the reads a script off of their computer. it's shameful that i can talk around these people and i call them for help
You obviously haven't seen what it's like in Boston area people are living with 3-4 roommates and still can't scrape the rent together. 1 bedroom going for 3000 a month
I can’t say that I have seen what rent has been like in Boston area. But somebody is obviously renting at that price, so the market is bearing it. If it was too much, all the apartments would be empty.
Everybody has a budget. When you’re first starting out, everything is tight. You have to stretch everything. It’s part of growing up. The idea is for it to encourage you to learn skills and increase your income.
I drove by a Burger King today that was advertising $17/hr.
Let’s see, when I was in college, before I moved to internships, I was a server at Olive Garden. We made half minimum wage… $3.50 so the minimum wage was $7/hr. I remember bringing home $14/hr. This was in the late 90s. I was living large, lol. I did a ton of traveling during those years! I think that internship was unpaid, lol.
Since then, min wage has doubled and food prices have too. Servers are probably close to $30/hr.
Let’s check this. I just looked up Olive Garden prices for the Boston area. They have their Tour of Italy, it used to be a really popular plate. It probably still is. It looks like it’d cost about $25/person with a drink. You’d make more if you could get alcohol, appatizers, desert, etc. A 2 top would have around a $50 bill. I made about 20% tips. So they’d make $10 off a 2 person table. They’d give us servers 4 tables, sometimes 5 if you could handle them. Most tables were 4 tops so they’d give you about $20/hr. It’d take an hour to turn over a table. A good server, really even a bad one, can bring in good money, especially on a weekend! If you were a mediocre server and could only handle or luck gave you (4) 2 tops you’d be making $40/hr. Odds are you’d get some larger tables.
I’d work 30 hours a week. Friday night, double Saturday, and a double Sunday. Not all hours were busy or serving tables, some were cleaning up after the restaurant closed, but that’d be what, 3 of those 30 hours? I’d keep my bus boy well tipped to make sure he cleared my tables first. I can’t remember what I gave him.
They’re living beyond their means. Time to budget and see where that money is going.
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if 4 people cannot scrape the rent together for that then they are not out trying, guess that means they go out and get another job.
Gezzz felling old.. when I started working min wage was around 5-6hr... I worked 7 days a week no less than 10 hours a day for years and learned everything I could in the factory I was working in.. one day the owner noticed me and how hard I was working and gave me a nice promotion and raise.. I still worked the same hours for the next few years untill I was forced to work shoter days and take vacation. Years later I had to relocate and take a huge pay cut and retrain.. worked 3 jobs for almost 10 years. During this time I created a name for myself and eventually got the job where I could cut down my work hours and spend time with my family...every one of my jobs I gave 110% to both my employer and my customers
You guys still don't understand. These are not young kids, they are adults working at least full time many have 2+ jobs. The real estate scene is crazy. And yes there are plenty of people renting because there's a housing shortage, plenty of wealthy people who can afford to pay astronomical rents so the rent keeps going up. We have a lot of foreign investors swooping in to buy properties to rent out. That means you often can't get in to buy a place even if you have the income and down payment saved because you're up against a bunch of cash buyers. Ridiculous. I've been watching this situation for a long time so please don't be dismissive when I say it's not the people's fault they can't make rent. It's not like the good ol days anymore when you could just walk down the street and get yourself a job at the 5&10 to pay for your apartment. And you need to make 100k+ to even think about buying a house. Real wages have not tracked with the inflation of housing costs. We can argue about how to fix the housing costs or how to fix the wages but please don't blame the workers for asking to be paid a little more.
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