My mother-in-law and I are planning a birthday party for my husband at the end of August. She has used your company for multiple events and wanted to continue with you for my husband's party. She was aware that an appointment was needed, so she called and spoke with your intern. She could not remember her name, but based on the conversation that she relayed to Blair, that is who she figured she talked to. She was told that we could come on Friday at 2 PM to look around to get ideas for colors.
When we arrived on Friday at 2 PM, we were greeted by Blair. For her only having been there for six weeks, she provided phenomenal service. I mean, absolutely amazing service. I was surprised to hear she had only been there for six weeks. I wish I could say the same for your manager, Crystal. Blair explained that Friday wasn't a day they normally made appointments, but she understood the mix up. My mother-in-law asked if we could just look around and Blair said she would ask the manager. She explained that since this was their pick-up/delivery day, they were short-staffed and that was why Friday wasn't ideal.
Blair returned after talking to the manager and asked if wanted to make an appointment. Considering I had taken a half-day off work, I wasn't too keen on rearranging my schedule again to come back. My mother-in-law asked to speak to the manager. Blair had no problem going to get her.
When Crystal walked up, my mother-in-law immediately commented that she looked like she had an attitude. And she did. Her body language was not inviting and definitely not welcoming to new customers. I understand that it's a warehouse and it is hot, but her demeanor coupled with her attire was immediately off putting. She walked up with her cell phone in hand and said the same thing that Blair had said about it not being a good day and the back not being set up for an appointment.
Since my mother-in-law had been there numerous times, she said that the visual look of the warehouse wasn't a big deal and expressed that she really just wanted to get ideas for colors for tables for the event. Crystal went on to say that most of the staff was out doing set-up and as she talked about it, she went to look at her cell phone while she finished talking. I hope I don't have to explain how dismissive that was for the manager of your establishment to start scrolling on her cell phone while she's talking to two potential customers.
My mother-in-law asked me if I wanted to reschedule and at that point, I told her that I did not want to spend my money at Lyndsey's Linen. I work entirely too hard for my cash and I am extremely particular about where I choose to spend it. I considered that a teachable moment and told Crystal that it wasn't so much about what she said, but about how she said it. I shared that looking at her cell phone while finishing her sentence was dismissive. She went on to say that she had an event with 300 people that was in the process of being set up and that was why she looked at her phone.
While I understand her desire to take care of that, the 300 person event was not my event. And I hope that she is that attentive to my event if it came around, an additional thirty seconds to be present in our conversation would have gone a long way and would not have affected the 300 person event. This is what I said to her. Crystal's response was to say that either we were going to look around or not and she turned to leave. I should clarify and say that she didn't even finish the sentence before she turned to leave, but said it as she was walking away so most of the sentence was stated with her back to us.
I can understand being busy and being frustrated by other events or logistics or staffing, ultimately, that isn't the problem of the potential customer. As someone who has never encountered your business, my first impression is one that isn't great.
I believe in teachable moments. That is why I said something to Crystal about the delivery. Had she packaged her statement better, I would have considered making an appointment. I didn't even get to find out what times appointments were available to see if there was a day and time that worked with my schedule. I didn't even want to know after how Crystal responded with, "you can either look or not; it's up to you."
I do want to also say that Blair did an excellent job at trying to smooth things over. She could tell that Crystal was not providing service. I can't even say good service, because we didn't get any type of service from her. Crystal's tenure with your company is a moot point. Whether it's been months or years, she should know better. Blair has been there six weeks and she interacted with the utmost professionalism.
I hope that you can take my experience and use it as a teachable moment so that it doesn't happen to another customer. read more
