Hello
Guest

Sponsored Links


Topic: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?  (Read 6452 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2008, 10:50:55 AM »
I was a bit embarrassed about my behavior, just because I'm not the type of person that likes to draw attention to myself and being American I really try not to give someone a reason to even put me into the 'stereotypical American' category and it seems that I did anyway. I didn't even realize it at the time and it was only after that it dawned on me. It takes alot for me to just snap like that and my husband and family know that. So when I told my husband about it he knew exactly how deeply I had internalized the situation and only when I felt that I had no other recourse would I do something about it. He was actually quite proud of me.


  • Jewlz
  • is in the house because....
  • *
  • Posts: 8647

  • International Woman of Mystery
  • Liked: 3
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2008, 10:57:50 AM »
He was actually quite proud of me.

You should be proud of yourself for standing up for someone less fortunate.   :D


Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2008, 11:25:52 AM »
I'm sure that you had the best of intentions, WebyJ, and i dont think anyone on this thread said or implied in any way that you should just 'keep your head down' and ignore it.   :)


  • *
  • Posts: 6665

    • York Interweb
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Sep 2004
  • Location: York
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #18 on: November 07, 2008, 12:24:21 PM »
There's a difference between what you said and how you said it.

You could have walked up to the cashier, then quietly and politely said "Excuse me, there's a blind woman over there waiting for help. Would you be able to get someone to help her?"

Tellling her that she ought to be ashamed of herself when, as Mindy said, you have no idea what she, or the other members of staff, can or cannot do, was out of order.



  • *
  • Posts: 5237

  • Liked: 12
  • Joined: Aug 2008
  • Location: Leeds
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #19 on: November 07, 2008, 01:02:35 PM »
"For some reason, the people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious. Perhaps they're frightened and defensive, or maybe they're not properly trained and make mistakes out of ignorance." -- The Ugly American by Lederer and Burdick.
The OP's situation no where near approaches the characters described in this book.  But this is the background for Americans feeling somewhat nervous of projecting the wrong image.  It was a very real problem back in the 1950's and the book made Americans aware that their behavior was under scrutiny when they were abroad.
>^.^<
Married and moved to UK 1974
Returned to US 1995
Irish citizenship June 2009
    Irish passport September 2009 
Retirement July 2012
Leeds in 2013!
ILR (Long Residence) 22 March 2016


  • *
  • Posts: 6665

    • York Interweb
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Sep 2004
  • Location: York
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #20 on: November 07, 2008, 01:16:51 PM »
Honey vinegar.


Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #21 on: November 07, 2008, 01:26:22 PM »
There's a difference between what you said and how you said it.

You could have walked up to the cashier, then quietly and politely said "Excuse me, there's a blind woman over there waiting for help. Would you be able to get someone to help her?"

Tellling her that she ought to be ashamed of herself when, as Mindy said, you have no idea what she, or the other members of staff, can or cannot do, was out of order.



 :-[  -------->[smiley=lipsrsealed2.gif]


  • *
  • Posts: 393

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Oct 2006
  • Location: Berkshire
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #22 on: November 07, 2008, 08:16:18 PM »
WebyJ, I completely understand your frustration and think you absolutely should have said something to the cashier.  Maybe, in hindsight, you could have phrased it differently, but to be honest it's not worth feeling guilty or embarrassed about because you did nothing wrong.  What you said needed to be said and hopefully that cashier learned something from it.  It would have been so easy for her to just say something like, "I'll be with you as soon as I can.' 


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 13328

  • Officially a Brit.
  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Mar 2004
  • Location: Maryland
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #23 on: November 07, 2008, 08:21:49 PM »

Tellling her that she ought to be ashamed of herself when, as Mindy said, you have no idea what she, or the other members of staff, can or cannot do, was out of order.

Sorry, but that's out of order. I think Lissa phrased it a bit better.
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ~ John Lennon


  • *
  • Posts: 6665

    • York Interweb
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Sep 2004
  • Location: York
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #24 on: November 08, 2008, 10:17:54 AM »
Sorry, but that's out of order. I think Lissa phrased it a bit better.

I agree that Lissa phrased it better. I still stand by what I said, though.


  • Jewlz
  • is in the house because....
  • *
  • Posts: 8647

  • International Woman of Mystery
  • Liked: 3
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #25 on: November 08, 2008, 11:22:54 AM »
Don't feel bad, WebyJ, as I said, only you were actually there, so only you are the best judge of what the situation called for.  There's no reason to feel bad for standing up for someone else.  You are a quiet person, you get upset enough to say something to someone (a bit out of character for you), and then you get jumped on for reacting the wrong way.  Don't worry about what others think, you said even your DH was shocked at the clerk's behaviour....
I am sure you did what you thought was right and there is no reason to second-guess yourself now.


  • *
  • Posts: 2135

  • Liked: 1
  • Joined: Jul 2008
  • Location: London
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #26 on: November 08, 2008, 03:45:27 PM »
Don't feel bad, WebyJ, as I said, only you were actually there, so only you are the best judge of what the situation called for.  There's no reason to feel bad for standing up for someone else.  You are a quiet person, you get upset enough to say something to someone (a bit out of character for you), and then you get jumped on for reacting the wrong way.  Don't worry about what others think, you said even your DH was shocked at the clerk's behaviour....
I am sure you did what you thought was right and there is no reason to second-guess yourself now.


I agree completely.
"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it." -Eat Pray Love

beth@medivisas.com
medivisas.com


  • *
  • Posts: 6665

    • York Interweb
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Sep 2004
  • Location: York
Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #27 on: November 08, 2008, 08:45:39 PM »
I'm sorry that WebyJ feels that she was jumped on. I think that if she didn't suspect that there might have been a problem with the way she reacted, she wouldn't have posted.

I agree that it was a one off, and she should not get upset about it.

I also agree that if we weren't there, we can't really judge the situation.

However, I'm glad I no longer live in a country where insulting someone else is equated with standing up for people's rights.


Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #28 on: November 08, 2008, 10:34:23 PM »
However, I'm glad I no longer live in a country where insulting someone else is equated with standing up for people's rights.

Wow..I live in the US and funny I don't find that that's acceptable here at all. But hey, if you're glad not to be here, then yay for you! ;)


Re: Customer Service or Actually a Lack Thereof?
« Reply #29 on: November 08, 2008, 10:57:09 PM »
I'm sorry that WebyJ feels that she was jumped on. I think that if she didn't suspect that there might have been a problem with the way she reacted, she wouldn't have posted.

However, I'm glad I no longer live in a country where insulting someone else is equated with standing up for people's rights.


Jeez, now I really feel like the dead horse. [smiley=behead.gif]
« Last Edit: November 08, 2008, 10:59:00 PM by WebyJ »


Sponsored Links





 

coloured_drab