When I'm in Toronto, I often get a chance to visit the Harbord House pub.
Good food, a good selection of beer, good service.
What more can one ask for in a restaurant?
Showing posts with label service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label service. Show all posts
5.14.2013
10.03.2012
vote early, vote often
Shopping has become a necessary evil.
Some stores take the evil part too seriously.
All you need are a few small items. That's it. Nothing rare or exotic. No special orders.
You get to the shop, and are presented with any or all of the following:
note 1: The staff didn't know the difference between aircraft shears and tin snips, nor did they know why the handles on the shears come in different colours.
note 2: After hunting through the shop fruitlessly looking for "stain pens" to touch up damaged furniture, the staff said "we don't sell those kinds of things". On the way out via a different aisle, a wide array of these items were found hidden in an area that had nothing whatsoever to do with stain, furniture, or even pens/markers.
note 3: On two seperate occasions, I needed elevator bolts and Chicago bolts. The fastener aisle was, as usual, a mess in terms of any logical presentation. Not a single person had any clue what these items might look like, and only a couple had the vague idea that I might want to "look in the section where the bolts are".
note 4: I needed to mount some pictures in frames with glass and backing boards so I went looking for glazier's points. Blank stares from the shop staff. I did get sent to a big aisle full of pre-hung windows. That salesperson also had no idea what these strange mystery items might be or where they could be found.
Some stores take the evil part too seriously.
All you need are a few small items. That's it. Nothing rare or exotic. No special orders.
You get to the shop, and are presented with any or all of the following:
- no items left in the bin, despite assurances from the online inventory check
- a single item left in bin, but damaged in some way
- item in the wrong bin
- item with no bar codes
- staff that don't know what they sell (notes 1 and 2)
- staff that don't know what you're talking about (notes 3 and 4)
- you are forced to use "self checkout"
- the self checkout is filthy and badly labelled with poor instructions
- the self checkout scanner is scratched up so badly it can't actually read the barcodes
- the on-hand staffers are computer illiterate and can't actually help you
You can help!
Vote with your money!
Stop spending your cash at places like this!
With luck, it will make them go away!
note 1: The staff didn't know the difference between aircraft shears and tin snips, nor did they know why the handles on the shears come in different colours.
note 2: After hunting through the shop fruitlessly looking for "stain pens" to touch up damaged furniture, the staff said "we don't sell those kinds of things". On the way out via a different aisle, a wide array of these items were found hidden in an area that had nothing whatsoever to do with stain, furniture, or even pens/markers.
note 3: On two seperate occasions, I needed elevator bolts and Chicago bolts. The fastener aisle was, as usual, a mess in terms of any logical presentation. Not a single person had any clue what these items might look like, and only a couple had the vague idea that I might want to "look in the section where the bolts are".
note 4: I needed to mount some pictures in frames with glass and backing boards so I went looking for glazier's points. Blank stares from the shop staff. I did get sent to a big aisle full of pre-hung windows. That salesperson also had no idea what these strange mystery items might be or where they could be found.
11.26.2010
service survives
Again, I've had two excellent customer service experiences...
1) Broadcast Systems & Equipment - John Waling of BSE took the time to understand the type of hardware I needed to add extra functionality to an audio mixer. He deals with much bigger customers all the time, but he still made the effort to locate, hook-up, test, and allow me to hear for myself the hardware in question. Brilliant.
2) Long & McQuade - the staff at the shop helped me to quickly locate the cables I needed to hook up the new piece of hardware (BSE makes cables to order on a per-project basis) and had me on my way in minutes. No wasted time, no blank stares in response to my questions.
1) Broadcast Systems & Equipment - John Waling of BSE took the time to understand the type of hardware I needed to add extra functionality to an audio mixer. He deals with much bigger customers all the time, but he still made the effort to locate, hook-up, test, and allow me to hear for myself the hardware in question. Brilliant.
2) Long & McQuade - the staff at the shop helped me to quickly locate the cables I needed to hook up the new piece of hardware (BSE makes cables to order on a per-project basis) and had me on my way in minutes. No wasted time, no blank stares in response to my questions.
11.30.2007
customer service
No, this isn't going to be a faerie tale. I want to make sure that two very worthy vendors get some public credit for doing a damned fine job.
1) Books for Business - This all sounds a bit unreal, BUT... Recently I wanted some books on machining techniques. I found a company in Toronto, Ontario called Britnell Books that had two of the three volumes I was after in stock at a terrific price. I called the phone number on their website and Books for Business answered. Turns out that they are co-located in the same building, and B4B answers the phone for Britnell after hours. Once I explained what I was looking for, the B4B staffer said she would pop into Britnell in the morning to see if the two books I wanted were still there. The next day I called to check if they were present. The lady said, "Yes, and there was a third volume by the same author on the shelf so I picked it out too, in case you wanted it." Brilliant! I had looked to see where they were located - right in the middle of the financial/legal district downtown. When I asked about parking in the area I was told, "We could just curbside it for you." ??? "Just pre-pay now and, as you are approaching the store in your car, give us a call and we'll step out onto the sidewalk and hand them to you." Absolutely amazing! B4B handled the transaction, was thoughtful enough to think ahead for my 3rd volume needs, and smart enough to come up with a lateral pass at the curb! All this for books that were not even in their own inventory and for a new and unknown customer. Frankly, I'm still stunned by it.
2) S Helper Service - I was looking for some components for a locomotive conversion project. I needed quite a bit of an SW9's running gear and realised I should go right to the source. Their product comes with a thin, but useful, illustrated instruction book/catalogue with all parts clearly laid out. I was able to contact their very responsive staff via email for answers to my questions, phone at a reasonable time to place the order, and received the parts with great speed via the US and Canadian postal services. At the time of the order, they were unsure of the shipping cost. When I received the parcel, I noted that the actual postage was $5 US. The receipt in the box indicated $15 Shipping & Handling. I had no problem with that whatsoever - I've been charged a much higher premium for attrocious service. HOWEVER, the very next day I received a letter from SHS with a refund of $10 US for the excess postage. Unbelievable!
Could it be that there are more companies like these two paragons of purveyance? I certainly hope so. This level of service demands some recognition and commendation. I heartily endorse them and wish them continued prosperity.
1) Books for Business - This all sounds a bit unreal, BUT... Recently I wanted some books on machining techniques. I found a company in Toronto, Ontario called Britnell Books that had two of the three volumes I was after in stock at a terrific price. I called the phone number on their website and Books for Business answered. Turns out that they are co-located in the same building, and B4B answers the phone for Britnell after hours. Once I explained what I was looking for, the B4B staffer said she would pop into Britnell in the morning to see if the two books I wanted were still there. The next day I called to check if they were present. The lady said, "Yes, and there was a third volume by the same author on the shelf so I picked it out too, in case you wanted it." Brilliant! I had looked to see where they were located - right in the middle of the financial/legal district downtown. When I asked about parking in the area I was told, "We could just curbside it for you." ??? "Just pre-pay now and, as you are approaching the store in your car, give us a call and we'll step out onto the sidewalk and hand them to you." Absolutely amazing! B4B handled the transaction, was thoughtful enough to think ahead for my 3rd volume needs, and smart enough to come up with a lateral pass at the curb! All this for books that were not even in their own inventory and for a new and unknown customer. Frankly, I'm still stunned by it.
2) S Helper Service - I was looking for some components for a locomotive conversion project. I needed quite a bit of an SW9's running gear and realised I should go right to the source. Their product comes with a thin, but useful, illustrated instruction book/catalogue with all parts clearly laid out. I was able to contact their very responsive staff via email for answers to my questions, phone at a reasonable time to place the order, and received the parts with great speed via the US and Canadian postal services. At the time of the order, they were unsure of the shipping cost. When I received the parcel, I noted that the actual postage was $5 US. The receipt in the box indicated $15 Shipping & Handling. I had no problem with that whatsoever - I've been charged a much higher premium for attrocious service. HOWEVER, the very next day I received a letter from SHS with a refund of $10 US for the excess postage. Unbelievable!
Could it be that there are more companies like these two paragons of purveyance? I certainly hope so. This level of service demands some recognition and commendation. I heartily endorse them and wish them continued prosperity.
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