Customer Service: is it Extinct?

Has the idea of customer service gone the same route as the eight-track tape and the rotary dial telephone? Gone but fondly remembered by those of us who are over 40? I've worked in retail over the years in many different positions. My first job out of high school was as a cashier at Value Land (remember, it was next to KMart and you had to buy brown paper bags at 2 cents each and bag your own groceries?)  A few months later, I moved across the street to Two Guys, then when Bradlees came in, they hired me. After four years in that building, the corporate office of Stuarts Department Stores was moving to South Street in Hopkinton, so a whole bunch of us from Bradlees moved too. Here's what I've learned in a nutshell about customer service: . Sometimes all the customer needs is to feel that they've been heard and that someone tried their best to help them.

Here are some recent examples:

At the drive-thru at Honey Dew Donuts, my unflavored iced coffee turned out to be some disgusting coconut flavor. An email to Honey Dew corporate resulted in a response from the district person and the store manager. The store manager told me to come in to the store on a weekday and they'd give me a replacement. I emailed back and said it wasn't convenient for me to come in on a weekday, and that one of the basic principles of customer service is that you don't put the onus on the customer when something needs to be put right, and could he please send me a gift card so I could claim my replacement iced coffee at my convenience? He did so, but honestly, sending me a gift card for $2.43 (the exact price of the coffee) had an air of "up yours" about it. You couldn't send me a $5 gift card — have another coffee on us for your inconvenience? Then it got interesting — when I did use the gift card, I asked for a styrofoam cup to put the iced coffee in, only to discover I was going to be charged for it! No thanks.

McDonald's shorted me an order of french fries at the drive-thru. Anyone who has seen the Lethal Weapon movie with Joe Pesci knows what happens at the drive-thru, yet I persist in using them. Again, I emailed corporate and got a reply: "We're sorry and we've let the store know." No offer to make it right. I'm off McDonald's for a while. Maybe I'll lose a pound or two by not eating that high fat, sodium, calorie stuff that I shouldn't be eating anyway.

CVS had Coke 12-packs on sale — buy three, get one free. I bought three 12-packs of Fresca and one of Diet Ginger Ale. I got home, discovered the ginger ale rang up at regular price. I went back with the receipt, the cashier apologized and gave me a refund: kudos to CVS.

Kohl's: I was at the service desk being helped and a member of management (Mr. Purple Shirt) was hovering in the background. I commented that the air conditioning didn't seem to be working too well, as my hair was plastered to my head and I was sweating profusely (frankly, it was so hot in there even the devil would have turned up the A/C). Mr. Purple Shirt gave me a dirty look and asked in what I can only assume was his snottiest tone of voice "was there some particular area of the store you found uncomfortable?" For the record, Mr. Snotty Purple shirt, all you had to do was say "it is hot in here, let me go see what I can do about that." I would have had no way of knowing if you did anything or not, but making me feel heard would have gone a long way. Instead I left the store angry, overheated, and thinking whoever made you a manager must have been an even bigger jerk than you.

Target has the right idea — you pick up a phone for customer service, and almost immediately there is someone there to help you. The person who comes to help you doesn't always know the answer, but at least they are there. I've wandered around many another local store up and down the aisles, desperately seeking someone who worked there to no avail. Kudos to Target.

We all work hard for our money and most of us try to make the most of a dollar. I don't think it's too much to expect that when there's a question or a problem, there's someone with the ability and knowledge to fix it. I also do take the time to let a company know when an employee has provided exceptional service. I emailed Applebees after having a server who was an absolute doll — friendly and personable, knowledgeable about the menu and the drinks, but not overly familiar.  I got an immediate response, acknowledging that most people only bother to contact them when they have a complaint. I will also tell an associate (we were "clerks" when I was one, now they are "associates.") how much I appreciate his or her help right then and there. It doesn't cost anything and it may be the brightest spot in their whole work day.

Anyone else have good or bad customer service experiences in local stores that they would care to share with the class?