Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Going the extra mile for customer service

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for picking cucumbers, washing and sorting them and delivering them. Sometimes, though, the customers come to us to pick up their cukes, which is nice and makes it much easier for me. Yesterday, a lady was coming to pick up her cukes. I waited. Nothing. Needed to take a shower, jumped in, all the while thinking she would show up while I am in my towel. But she still didn't come. Finally, I get a call. "Yes, hello? I tried to come to your house, but I ended up in Meridian, so I gave up and came home." Meridian? What? For those of you who don't know this area, Meridian and where we live could not be more completely in the opposite direction from each other. I say to her, didn't I give you directions? (I knew I did.) She says yes, but she looked up directions on Mapquest instead. Silence. I almost don't know how to answer her. I want to say, "the person who actually LIVES at the home you're trying to drive to gives you precise directions how to get there and you look up how to get there on Mapquest? Are you that stupid?" But I don't say this. I say, oh, well you should have called me, I would have gladly helped you find us. (I repeat in my head, be nice, customer service, customer service.) She says flatly, I don't have a cell phone. Well, okay, I'll give her that, she doesn't HAVE to have a cell phone. But for crying out loud, she has to follow the directions I give her! In the end, I jump in my van and on my way to Boise, I swing by her house to drop off her cucumbers. She is very appreciative as she greets me at the door. As I take her money and thank her, and turn to leave, she says "Next year, I'll get better directions." I must have made a face (honestly, I tried not to!) because she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, next year I'll FOLLOW your directions." Oy vey.

3 comments:

NattaScatta said...

try the time I was doing a CM get together and was demonstrating a product and the customer says, "I don't like that. I think that it's pointless."

what do you say then?!
yikes spikes.

R said...

I like this story, Laura. You are funny. Sounds like this lady was one of the ones in the same category as, "Oh, I see; this one is cheaper because it has a hole in it."

Laura said...

Well, I'll try this again -- I tried to make a comment to you wonderful people's comments on the last entry and wrote a gorgeous epistle and when I sent it through, it error-ed out. Grr!

Yes, Natalie, yikes spikes! People are so strange! I don't know what you say to that! You just smile and say, ah, okay?

Rachel, I forgot all about that psycho lady but yes, of the same ilk. Better dressed and a prettier lady, but sort of dumb as a doorknob. Or something.