As mentioned in a follow-up item to the guy who criticized me for not helping the old man at CVS (which I actually did do), I mentioned that Ms. Uneven called CVS to share her thoughts on the matter.
CVS responded very positively in writing and promised to send someone to the store to make sure that the store was following all CVS customer service guidelines. Someone from their corporate office is going to take this up with all 3 pharmacy techs and the manager.
Even though the individual employees did not display the level of customer service one would hope for, the corporate response is excellent and CVS gets mad kudos from US.
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Friday, April 06, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Hey Asshole - More info on CVS poor service
If you're going to leave a comment, be a (wo)man about it and leave an actual email address for me to respond to your comments and criticisms - and I will respond via email to comments. (Aside from this post) I'm not going to waste my blog space on replying to idiot/self-righteous morons. Unfortunately, some people are too cowardly to leave comments w/o doing it anonymously.
To the asshole who wrote saying I should have helped the old guy at CVS and criticized me for not being a decent human:
The fact is that I am the one who asked her to call the pharmacy tech from the day before, and Ms. Uneven suggested the pharmacy tech call her doctor. Yes, I used some literary license - it is afterall called a "portrait" as opposed to an actual retelling of the event. If you don't understand the difference, look at the differences between James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man vs. his actual biography. There are significant differences. Too bad you're too much of a coward to leave an actual email address to respond to so that we could have a real conversation about this.
For the record, the portrait was of an old man being beaten down by the beauracracy. It wasn't supposed to be a completely true story, just the outlines of a sad one.
To the asshole who wrote saying I should have helped the old guy at CVS and criticized me for not being a decent human:
The fact is that I am the one who asked her to call the pharmacy tech from the day before, and Ms. Uneven suggested the pharmacy tech call her doctor. Yes, I used some literary license - it is afterall called a "portrait" as opposed to an actual retelling of the event. If you don't understand the difference, look at the differences between James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man vs. his actual biography. There are significant differences. Too bad you're too much of a coward to leave an actual email address to respond to so that we could have a real conversation about this.
For the record, the portrait was of an old man being beaten down by the beauracracy. It wasn't supposed to be a completely true story, just the outlines of a sad one.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
A Mo(u)rning Portrait
At the Waterfrong CVS earlier today (store #1348) , I overheard a distraught elderly gentlman patiently trying to pick up medicine for his wife/daughter (I wasn't paying that much attention). Apparently CVS had misplaced the prescritions he dropped off yesterday so that he could have them today. The CVS technician offered neither to call the doctor (most of which have answering services for emergencies) nor to call the CVS pharmacy tech working yesterday (whom he described well - I've been to that pharmacy before) to find out if she knew if she had misplaced them.
Instead of helping him resolve the issue, she blew him off and shooed him out. When he asked if she would call the doctor about the prescriptions, she said it was unlikely the doc would answer and his best bet would be to come back tomorrow. She also refused to call the accurately-describted pharmacy tech. As he patiently pointed out (if it were ME, I'd be boiling over at this point), he had dropped off the prescriptions Yesterday so he could have them TODAY for his sick loved one. No one should have to wait a day for basic medical treatment because a retail employee is lazy.
Watching him shuffle out of the door has darkened my mood. I hope that missing one day of medication won't harm his loved one's medical treatment. I wish customer service were a bigger priority for CVS pharmacies.
I think I'll transfer my prescriptions to a different branch or find a entirely new pharmacy in my neighborhood - hopefully I can find a locally-owned one.
Instead of helping him resolve the issue, she blew him off and shooed him out. When he asked if she would call the doctor about the prescriptions, she said it was unlikely the doc would answer and his best bet would be to come back tomorrow. She also refused to call the accurately-describted pharmacy tech. As he patiently pointed out (if it were ME, I'd be boiling over at this point), he had dropped off the prescriptions Yesterday so he could have them TODAY for his sick loved one. No one should have to wait a day for basic medical treatment because a retail employee is lazy.
Watching him shuffle out of the door has darkened my mood. I hope that missing one day of medication won't harm his loved one's medical treatment. I wish customer service were a bigger priority for CVS pharmacies.
I think I'll transfer my prescriptions to a different branch or find a entirely new pharmacy in my neighborhood - hopefully I can find a locally-owned one.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Shamrock Festival Rocked! RFK Management Blows! DC Police Are Professional
I say the festival rocked because I am no longer there. The management company decided to stop honoring VIP wrist bands for the VIP area (which was not the organizers fault). Like I always do with bad customer service, I asked to speak to the supervisor but was told no. He was only 10 feet away so I walked towards him to straighten everything out. Before I even got to him I was physically assualted by the staff - attempting to break my arm by pushing it up behind my back - and physically threatened further by the staff. The staff also refused to give me their names etc. so that I could file a formal complaint with the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission (who run RFK) and the police. That is unacceptable, but typical cover your ass behavior by the type of uneducated people who work these jobs and realize their in the wrong. (To quote the asshole professor from Real Genius "[they're] laborers ... that's what you get for not having an education").
I was visibly upset by their unwarranted assault and called the police on 911. Someone came very promptly, and I was escorted out of the event. I don't blame the police - they were doing their job and in their situation I would take the management company's word over mine since the management company is also part of DC government. I was very tense and the officers kept commenting on it and asked me to relax as we walked out. They were very professional the whole time and I appreciate their difficult jobs. I also believe that law enforcement at any level is second only to military servicen in terms of noble callings and professions deserving respect. Kudos to the DC police for handling this well.
However, if I were the guys who sponsored the event and the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission stopped honoring the tickets I had sold (as well as vendor passes - many of whom also were barred from the VIP area despite the fact they were supposed to have access), I would stop having Shamrock Fest and Blocktober Fest at RFK. They did not provide acceptable customer service to the festival promoters.
Instead, I would do like the HFStival and do the events at Ravens stadium in Baltimore. In addition to better management, there is more to do around the stadium than at RFK, and it's just a better environment for having a good time than the RFK area. Of course, there will be a new Nationals stadium, so maybe they can do it there in the future.
RFK deserves to close due to poor management and inability to resolve customer service issues. Maybe the DC United (our excellent soccer team that not enough people see) could play at the new stadium too. For a WaPo article that mentions previous management problems at the stadium, click here.I worked in customer service for over five years service is a big thing for me.
Despite all the drama the festival was fun. The Connells aren't quite as good as they were 15 years ago, but still put on a solid show, as did all the Dewey Bands and Kelly Bell. I'm bummed I'm missing DJ AM and Carbon Leaf, but that's what happens for sticking up for yourself with the government (you can't fight city hall). I'm sure they'll both put on excellent performances.
I was visibly upset by their unwarranted assault and called the police on 911. Someone came very promptly, and I was escorted out of the event. I don't blame the police - they were doing their job and in their situation I would take the management company's word over mine since the management company is also part of DC government. I was very tense and the officers kept commenting on it and asked me to relax as we walked out. They were very professional the whole time and I appreciate their difficult jobs. I also believe that law enforcement at any level is second only to military servicen in terms of noble callings and professions deserving respect. Kudos to the DC police for handling this well.
However, if I were the guys who sponsored the event and the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission stopped honoring the tickets I had sold (as well as vendor passes - many of whom also were barred from the VIP area despite the fact they were supposed to have access), I would stop having Shamrock Fest and Blocktober Fest at RFK. They did not provide acceptable customer service to the festival promoters.
Instead, I would do like the HFStival and do the events at Ravens stadium in Baltimore. In addition to better management, there is more to do around the stadium than at RFK, and it's just a better environment for having a good time than the RFK area. Of course, there will be a new Nationals stadium, so maybe they can do it there in the future.
RFK deserves to close due to poor management and inability to resolve customer service issues. Maybe the DC United (our excellent soccer team that not enough people see) could play at the new stadium too. For a WaPo article that mentions previous management problems at the stadium, click here.I worked in customer service for over five years service is a big thing for me.
Despite all the drama the festival was fun. The Connells aren't quite as good as they were 15 years ago, but still put on a solid show, as did all the Dewey Bands and Kelly Bell. I'm bummed I'm missing DJ AM and Carbon Leaf, but that's what happens for sticking up for yourself with the government (you can't fight city hall). I'm sure they'll both put on excellent performances.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Bad Service at Best Buy (Another One for the Best Buy/Ketchum Viewers)
Best Buy's customer service leaves much to be desired - Pay Attention you Best Buy and Ketchum folks still checking out my entries about boycotting Geek Squad for corrupt practices.
Ms. Uneven and I went to two different Best Buy locations last night since both our laptops have crapped out in the past week (My real boycott effort/annoyance is aimed specifically at Geek Squad, and not Best Buy per se). The first location we went to (Best Buy in Potomac Yards off Route One - Store 493) we had to stand in line for 45 minutes just to get some service. And then we had to go to the other Arlington location to get what we needed.
Per the norm, the Pentagon City store (Store 276) was so understaffed we couldn't find anyone to help us. We knew specifically what we wanted (due to the help we received at the Potomac Yards branch), but we couldn't find a sales associate and no one bothered to help us for 20 minutes. Due to this poor service, we walked out only with the new laptop and nothing else despite our intention to purchase a significant dollar amount of periperals.
The fact that customer service is so bad at those locations is a real problem. Best Buy's poor service at that location lost them several hundred dollars in sales from me.
PS - I have over 5 years experience working in retail and customer service. Best Buy needs to take lessons from some of the other retail giants on how to provide good service.
Ms. Uneven and I went to two different Best Buy locations last night since both our laptops have crapped out in the past week (My real boycott effort/annoyance is aimed specifically at Geek Squad, and not Best Buy per se). The first location we went to (Best Buy in Potomac Yards off Route One - Store 493) we had to stand in line for 45 minutes just to get some service. And then we had to go to the other Arlington location to get what we needed.
Per the norm, the Pentagon City store (Store 276) was so understaffed we couldn't find anyone to help us. We knew specifically what we wanted (due to the help we received at the Potomac Yards branch), but we couldn't find a sales associate and no one bothered to help us for 20 minutes. Due to this poor service, we walked out only with the new laptop and nothing else despite our intention to purchase a significant dollar amount of periperals.
The fact that customer service is so bad at those locations is a real problem. Best Buy's poor service at that location lost them several hundred dollars in sales from me.
PS - I have over 5 years experience working in retail and customer service. Best Buy needs to take lessons from some of the other retail giants on how to provide good service.
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