Another company I'll never patronize again

The electronics outlet Circuit City has joined that ever-growing list of companies who can kiss my backside. They will never directly get another dollar out of me. My list of personally boycotted companies can run pretty long at times, changes frequently depending on how the business behaves and they are on the list for various reasons. Company business practices and questionable ethics are some of the criteria for adding or removing a company from boycott.

Circuit City is now on the list because of poor customer service. Now, I don't add a company because some clerk is having a bad day, is clueless or falters a bit. That happens, things happen that can vary quality from day to day. Having been on the other side of the counter on occasion I understand how customers can often be jerks, unreasonable and treat store employees like their personal servants. I understand both parts of the equation and can do the math. For me to add a company to my boycott list means there is something going on that I feel is reflective of the business model either at the store or company level.

The retail business lives or dies based on customer service. This is especially true as brick and mortar stores crumble from the onslaught of the ability of customers to purchase their goods online. The often unknown truth about all retail stores, be they grocery, retail or whatever is that ALL STORES ARE THE SAME. It is the customer experience that gets repeat business. A clever salesperson could rip a buyer off so hard in a deal that their great, great grandfather would retroactively go bankrupt, but if the buyer felt special and enjoyed the experience they would come back for more (Consider how much cash people repeatedly drop on extended warranties, Ponzi schemes and psychics even though common sense tells even the dimmest consumer to run the opposite direction). Receiving poor customer service motivates me to go elsewhere for my goods.

Yesterday I went in to the local Circuit City to purchase a Universal Remote Control to replace the current unit that was failing (probably due to slobber from a dog chewing it). When I located one I liked I had to ask the price, since it was not labeled. All the high-end ones where dutifully labeled but not what I presumed was the cheapest though perfectly functional model. So I hunted down and asked the Home Entertainment rep for a price check, who said he was too busy to find out and I'd have to go to a register. Since there where 6 people in line for the two open registers up front and neither line had moved since I entered the store I thought that was not the best solution. I went to several other departments and none of the reps working there would or could check on the POS system what the price of the remote was.

Resigned, I waited in line for 5 more minutes before someone from out back came forth to open another register (In all this time, the lines did not move as the cashiers talked about extended service plans to their customers). When I mentioned I didn't think it was the best service to force a customer to wander the store looking for someone who wasn't too busy working or chatting to check a price, the cashier said I should have come to her department for help and she would have done it right away.

No offense, but that's stupid. The Home Entertainment rep assigned and working that area should have helped, but he was far too occupied with the highly skilled and demanding task of putting up price signs on televisions and referred me elsewhere. Besides, the relatively helpful cashier I was talking to wasn't in her department at the time but was viewable sitting in the back along with about 5 other people. To be fair those people were probably off the clock, on break or at lunch, but it still looks bad when there are long lines and customers wandering around looking for help. The general rule at my company is that if you don't remove your name tag or cover your uniform with a jacket or shirt, then you are prepared to help a customer with resolving any questions or problems even off the clock.

I don't expect anyone to slavishly genuflect and polish my shoes with their tongue when I walk into a store but if a business wants my money then they shouldn't treat me like crap.

When a customer complains what that really means is the customer is giving the business an opportunity to keep them as a customer. Circuit City failed.

Tags: Bad customer service