Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 17, 1991 TAG: 9103150023
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Yet the quality of service often is the consumer's chief complaint.
Several weeks ago, the Roanoke Times & World-News invited readers to share their experiences about service they received at local businesses. Twenty-five people responded, three of them with complaints about the newspaper.
Many of the letters were about good service, evidence that some companies are investing time and money in training employees in how to deal with customers. Here are some samples of what we heard.
Ah, customers! Can't please them, right?
They either want to be left alone, or they complain that they are left unattended. They want a salesperson to be attentive, but not a constant shadow.
They want service. But, unfortunately, a whole lot of companies aren't too good at giving it.
"American management must begin thinking that expenditures such as investment in training and upgrading service systems have to be looked upon as investment," said Carl Joiner, dean of the business school at Mercer University and a private consultant in Macon, Ga.
"But, when times get tough, training is the first to go because it's considered a soft expense," said Joiner, who confesses to being a lifelong "frustrated customer."
Many businesses appear to be "in constant search for the truth on how to deliver quality service, and basically the truth is all around them," said John Bradshaw of Roanoke, a former banker and now a consultant on business service.
"I think many business managers are so preoccupied with their process, technology or product they can never view that technology, process or product through the eyes of a consumer," he said.
Bradshaw said delivering quality service is a guessing game between the consumer and the company and the company has to continually ask: "Is what I'm doing, or providing, satisfying?"
"Companies that do well have spent the time on training" their workers who deal directly with customers, he said. Some companies tell employees when to smile and how to smile. As elementary as that might be, it is so critical. With growth of delivery of service, you can't assume everyone knows how to say thank you."
Finding a spot
"Good service is my personal philosophy," said Darlene Jones, a clerk at The Carpet Shop in Fairlawn.
That's probably why recently she found herself on her knees, scrubbing at a spot on carpet that Buz Englehard of Radford had purchased from her.
Englehard said Jones had been patient to help him find a carpet remnant to "fit my odd-shaped room and my budget." Then, she arranged to have it installed within two days, in time for a party for his wife. The spot appeared as the installer finished laying the carpet.
Jones was called and arrived within "minutes," wrote Englehard.
"I had to look hard to see the spot," Jones recalled. "I got down on my knees and I could see it. I kept rubbing it and nothing came off."
Jones was still down on her knees in her "nice print dress" when Englehard walked between the carpet spot and a window and the spot disappeared.
The spot had been caused by light shining around a 4-inch sticker Englehard had left on the window when he installed it.
"Coming right out of school, some employees haven't had much insight into the importance of service," said Bill Earles, The Carpet Shop's manager. "You got to drill it into them . . . abruptly sometimes . . . If you stay with them, they'll catch on. You've got to let them know." Darlene Jones is an employee who already knows the drill.
Fitting tribute
Don Flint of Mitchell Clothing Co. in Roanoke helped Michael J. Pasecznyk reorder a jacket from a mail order house after the Lexington man got the wrong size on a first try.
Other men's clothiers gave Pasecznyk the cool shoulder when he asked for help.
"It was such a pleasure to be treated as a respected long-time customer, when in fact, this was my first visit to Mitchell's," said Paseczynk. "You can bet it will not be my last."
Flint, a sales veteran, said, "I just treated him the way I'd want to be treated."
A smile counts a lot
Carolyn Wells of Roanoke shops at the Leggett department store at Valley View Mall because the clerks are "friendly and helpful. One lady in particular stands out, though. Reminds me of my mother on her best day," she said.
As for restaurants, she praises "Macados, Shuckers, Ernies. It's a tie" for good service. "The food is always excellent; the waiters and waitresses always make you feel welcome. And, if they did mess up I would forgive them because they are fun people."
There was one place about which Wells wasn't as forgiving. Of Billy's Ritz, a popular Roanoke City Market restaurant, she said: "Excellent food, but expect to be there a long time to have your order taken, than wait another long time to get what you ordered. And don't expect the waiters or waitresses to smile or even act like they are glad to see you."
Billy's owner, John Williams, said he is aware that some people aren't completely happy with the service at his place.
At whose service?
Holly Peters of Roanoke and her husband were discussing a potential purchase with a salesman at a Roanoke Valley car dealership that she did not identify. The salesman asked if they wanted coffee.
"After we both said yes, he asked me to go get the coffee. I was speechless," Peters said.
"We bought our new car from another dealer where we worked with a saleswoman who was extremely courteous and helpful. The other dealership lost the sale for several reasons, including the improper conduct," said Peters.
Signs don't sell
Bryan Flemming of Troutville applauded good service at Sam's Wholesale Club, "because customers are thanked by name," and at Crestar Bank on U.S. 460 East, "because they react quickly and favorably to problems." But Flemming said checkers at the Kroger store on U.S. 460 East are "most unfriendly."
"Rarely do they look at their customers, let alone talk to them, or heaven forbid, thank them for their business," he said. "Management has tried to solve the problem by posting a sign that offers a free loaf of bread if the customer is not thanked for his or her shopping at Kroger. But who wants to ask an unfriendly checker to make good on the offer or take the time to find the manager. It takes more than a sign to create a friendly atmosphere."
Jack Evans, the supermarket's manager, wouldn't say how many loaves of bread he has given away, but he said he has given out some.
Little things add up
"In the scheme of things, a lid for your drink cup just isn't a biggie," wrote Susan Tate of the time she couldn't get a top for the beverage she bought at Salem Valley 8 theaters.
The snack bar was out of lids for the small drink she bought and a clerk refused to put the drink in another size cup for which there were lids. Then the manager refused to give her a cup with a lid, but he did offer her a refund on her drink, she said.
"I had just paid $5.50 for a movie ticket, and this man would not oblige with a 2-cent lid for my drink," said Tate.
The manager, Ralph Hoskins, said he couldn't give her another cup because the larger cups cost more. He said there are no lids for the small drinks because the theater is discontinuing that size as soon as the $1 cups are gone.
The lidless cups have prompted a number of complaints, said Kay Jones in the Raleigh, N.C., district office for Carmike Cinema, which owns the Salem theater. "And I don't blame people," she said. Jones also said she still has some lids, and she would send them to Salem.
Self-service?
Patricia Gay of Roanoke, with child in tow, "was left high and dry by Brendles" when she went in search of a humidifier. "Customer service desk especially unfriendly when asked for help," Gay wrote. "The woman was indignant that I wasn't searching on my own for the humidifier. She finally agreed to page housewares, but got no response.
"Finally, one clerk told me where to look and was friendly," said Gay.
Judy B. Loony of New Castle has a similar experience at a Best Products Co. store. She tried on three occasions to buy a watch at the store's jewelry counter and waited between 20 and 30 minutes each time, "and no one offered to help.
"The clerks were either engaged in personal conversations or just going register to register doing nothing that was apparent," Loony said. "Finally, I bought myself a watch at Kmart."
Costly solution
Kennith Grimes of Roanoke was dissatisfied with the Roanoke Times & World-News. For several weeks before last Christmas, the Sunday papers he bought from a vending machine did not have any advertising inserts. He complained and learned the newspaper didn't put sections containing grocery coupons in such papers because advertisers wanted their circulars to go to home delivery subscribers.
The newspaper even brought him a free paper on two Sundays, "one of which had the inserts in it."
Grimes now buys his weekend newspaper at a supermarket where he can check through the stack of papers and find one with inserts. But he pays five cents more for his paper this way.
Some brand names
Charles R. Luther of Roanoke wrote on Jan. 3 that he had been waiting since Aug. 6 for his home entertainment center that was being repaired at Holdren's. The appliance dealer sent the equipment to the manufacturer, Fisher, for the repairs.
Luther promises he'll never buy that brand again "because it doesn't even have a toll-free number for customers to call to complain."
Holdren's operations director, Terry Williams, said he didn't know why Luther's problem "wasn't handled in a better fashion." Williams also said that some vendors, including Fisher, don't help much because they don't give very good service to the stores that buy from them.
Sam's way
When experts talk about service companies with know-how, they always talk about Sam Walton's Wal-Mart and Sam's Wholesale Club stores. That's because he's become legendary about leading employees in the "Sam Pledge." A new unauthorized biography of Walton by Vance H. Trimble offers this vignette about the opening of a new store:
"Walton hops up on the stage, raises his right hand and leads his associates [salespeople] in this chant:
"From this day forward, every customer that comes within 10 feet of me, regardless of what I'm doing, in this house, I'm going to look him in the eye, I'm going to smile, I'm going to greet him with a `Good Morning,' or a `Good Afternoon,' or a `What can I do for you?'- so help me Sam."
by CNB