Sometimes leaving the house and interacting with people really sucks. We had one of those situations today. You know you suck at customer service when despite solving their problem you made them cry.
Buying electronics is a high level decision and requires so many different decisions, even more so when you understand next to nothing about what you're after. This is where essential customer service comes in. The first time I stepped into Ted's the guy at the front (tom) wasn't very helpful, he just pointed me in the direction of what he wanted to sell (he didn't ask me what I intended to use it for or anything), so I went to another shop, most did the same thing actually.
Eventually I figured out what I needed and called around for prices, Ted had the best offer and I was pretty much sold over the phone. Matt was great, warm and friendly and didn't rush.
Another week I was back to buy a screen and camera grip, the guy (sorry I didn't get your name) was great and helped me select the right product and didn't try to up-sell and suggest all the things the internet told me I might need but didn't.
Fast forward three months later, there's some featured I can't seem to figure out, even with tutorials and all. So, I go in stores to ask, Tom gives it a shot though doesn't know, and asks another guy for help, no issues. Except that I felt that Tom dissed me (possibly because I'm a girl) and that he wasn't that interested in assisting me anyway (you don't get commission on helping). I think he's the front of house manager, and as I mentioned he was the first person I spoke to in the store and wasn't great (hence I went else ware to research camera) perhaps because he didn't think I'd buy a camera - but I did.
He passed me onto another guy, around the same age (both are around my father's age) who knew the Sony, it took a moment to figure it out, but we got there in the end. Tom went to help someone else, though the second guy wasn't happy about that as he wanted to show us both how to do the thing. The manner from both was a bit on the unfriendly side, cold and condescending, I was made to feel like an idiot for not knowing the answer to the question - but only in the store.
I felt very uncomfortable and experienced the highest level of stress you could experience - exam stress. It's one the worst experiences I have ever revived in retail. We may have curled up in a little ball and cried back at the office. I can say that I am certain I will never buy another camera in my life, as the whole ordeal was traumatic and nothing like buying a dress or things I understand, and I will never return to Ted's on Elizabeth, instead I will travel the hour and a bit to another location to seek assistance since there is no Sony store. read more