SALES & MARKETING: True Stories of Bad Service

As a husband, father of four and frequent traveler, I do business with a lot of companies. Through the years I have encountered many incredible instances of terrible service by all kinds of companies. Following are five great stories. I hope you’ll learn a little in the process.

1. While dining at a country club my family belongs to, I ordered a patty melt. Ten or so minutes later the waiter came out with the burger and placed it in front of me. He then said, “Is there anything else I can get you?”  “Yes,” I replied, “some ketchup.” “Oh, I’m sorry, sir, we’re out of ketchup.” So I ate a patty melt with no ketchup. There is a grocery store less than 1 mile from this place, but apparently no one was smart enough to think of that. 
2. Recently I went to a shoe store to buy my children some shoes. I bought four pairs of children’s shoes and while paying I asked the clerk where the shoelaces were as I needed some for a pair of dress shoes. They told me they didn’t carry shoelaces. How can that be?  While they might not make much money from selling shoe laces, you do some things just to make clients happy. A shoe store not selling shoe laces makes about as much sense as a grocery store not selling milk.
3. A few years ago, while dining in a hotel restaurant with some clients of mine in Orlando, Fla., one of my clients ordered fettuccine alfredo. The waitress came out with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. My client politely said, “I ordered fettuccine alfredo.” The waitress replied, “I know, but we’re out of that so you’ll just have to eat this.” By the way, this was at a large, very well known hotel. Needless to say, we did not tip her and I will never return to that hotel. 
4. My wife’s dentist kept canceling her appointments. They would call and say the hygienist was sick. This happened twice in two weeks. My wife, a very patient person, let them reschedule her again. The day of this appointment, at 6:35 a.m., I was eating my oatmeal and reading the paper when the phone rang. I was worried – rarely when the phone rings that early is it something good. I answered the phone and a young lady asked for my wife. Reluctantly, I went and woke up my wife to tell her she had a phone call. My kids were wakened by the ringing phone so I went to tend to them. I got them settled down and went to ask my wife who called. It was the dental hygienist canceling the 11:20 a.m. appointment. Needless to say, my wife found a new dentist. 
5. One winter day, the temperature was negative 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and I went to the camera store to get some film developed. I knew almost everyone in the place as I went there often. They normally opened at 10 a.m. I arrived at 9:55 a.m. and could see from my truck that all of the employees were standing close to the door. So I got out and ran to the door, assuming they would let me in – after all, I’m a good customer, right? Shivering in the cold, I found the door locked. I motioned for one of them to open the door and the manager pointed to his watch. I went back to my truck and watched as the manager stood at the door until it was 10 a.m. and then opened it. I went inside and he said, ‘Hello, Mr. Grunder, sure is cold out there, eh?” “Yes,” I replied, “How come you couldn’t let me in?”  He said, “Because it wasn’t 10 a.m.” I asked him, “What would happen if you unlocked the door five minutes early?” He said, “Nothing, we’d just be open too early.” Some people really don’t get it, do they?

Take a look at your operation. Is common sense present in your company?  Do you give your team the license to help clients? Is your operation customer friendly? Don’t let any of these things happen at your company.