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Worst employee stories.. (1 Viewer)

DeathStar1

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2001
Messages
3,267
Real Name
Neil
Anyone have any doozies :).

We where at a Comp USA in Cedar Knolls. First it took the guy 6 minutes to finish up doing something at the counter, when he clearly saw us standing there waiting. something about moving two bags, and papers around.

then he scanned the paper, I was there with the company driver who started to get fed up and walked out of the door with the paper pack in hand. When I handed the guy the $50 for it, he said, 'what is this for?'

trying to sound nice, and without blurting out, 'The paper, duh!', I said, 'I'm with him, this is for the paper' he just TOOK OUT OF THE STORE without paying for.

Lucklly for this guy, he didn't just loose a sale the hard way and we where there together buying this stuff..
 

Todd K

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 21, 2001
Messages
477
Ordered a new washer from Sears a few months back. Scheduled a Saturday delivery. A day later I realized I needed a different model so I called up to change the order. After telling them which washer I wanted instead, they asked when I wanted it delivered.

"Well, I'll still take the Saturday delivery."

The CSR's reply: "We don't have any times available on Saturday."

"But you're already scheduled to come to my house on Saturday!!"

"I'm sorry sir, I can't make that change in the computer."
 

Brian Harnish

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 15, 2000
Messages
1,216
Here's mine (which happened just a couple of weeks ago):

I was working on fixing a networking issue on a (surprise) Dell Laptop Computer. Turns out Dell isn't compatible with the network at home, so I call their support line (which is the WORST). They could not get me a solution online and said to call an 800 number, which in TURN said they could help me online (which is complete crap)! After several unsuccessful attempts (I had been working at getting an answer out of them for an hour at this point) at getting an answer online, I called the number and finally waited (to my chagrin). The "support" guy (keep in mind, I do technical support for a living- but this issue had even me stumped) doesn't even ask me which network card is installed in the Dell Laptop. Instead, he does this:

"Okay, sah, please go to staht menooh, contruhl panahl, click on systahm..." to simply get an installed wireless networking card part number when all he could have ASKED was: Which wireless networking device do you have installed on the laptop? At that point I asked in a calm, professional tone: "why could you not have simply asked me which card I'm using?" The support rep said he'd stay on the line while he transfers me to the correct networking support department (said department seems to be a fantasy fairytale at this point). I am then on hold for 20+ minutes with no answer. And all I wanted was a simple question answered: is this laptop compatible with my network (keep in mind that I explained I have a Belkin Pre-N Router) or do I have to buy a Dell router? A combination of online + phone conversations which totalled 4 hours worth of work turned up nothing - no one could answer that question - of which even a customer support (non-technical) representative should know the answer to!

It seems that anyone that can type 5 wpm w/a hard-to-understand accent can get a job at Dell. I would not recommend Dell support (nor any of their products) to anyone that cares about their weekends- it will all be a wasted effort.

BTW, I ended up successfully solving the issue (which only took a quick glance at the Dell Networking Discussion Forums). A simple changing of the channel on my router solved this issue.
 

Lynda-Marie

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
761
Here's a link to check out, it's run by Randy Cassingham of "This Is True" fame.

http://www.crankycustomer.com/

As for MY worst employee complaint, it had to be a few weeks back at Lowe's. My brother and I met our mom for dinner, and we had time to kill before a movie. So we went over to Lowe's, because mom was having some work done on her bathroom, and wanted new shower doors. We finally managed to flag someone down to help her, and the guy looked the doors up in the computer. They were not in, so he said they would have to order the doors.

Did this fellow, who knew how to use the computer, get the information from mom and take the order? No, instead, he gets a new employee, an elderly gentleman who had retired and was working part time to do it. Of course, this elderly retiree had no working knowledge of computers, and the guy we had flagged down chose that moment to decide it was time to deal with some personal calls on his cell phone, and just abandoned the poor retiree to deal with this. I felt sorry for the retiree, because he was very nice, and he did his best, but he did not know how to type, either, because he was hunting and pecking all over the keyboard for the letters and numbers. Occasionally, the younger guy would come back, and correct a mistake, but more often than not, he just left the retiree to fend for himself.

It took all of 45 minutes to get the information into the computer, and mom was fuming, big time, because the kid had just left that poor retiree there to fend for himself. In addition, the kid was addressing all of his questions to my brother, when it is mom's place, and mom's money that was being spent. My brother, who can't stand Lowe's anyway, kept telling him to ask mom, because he didn't know what all she wanted or needed for the shower doors. She was also told it would take about 6 weeks for the doors to come in from the East coast.

Finally, it came time to pay for this, and we were instructed to go to the front, and just give mom's phone number to the clerk, and the order would come up. We waited in line for about ten minutes, and when we finally got to the front of the line, mom told the clerk her phone number, which she had to repeat three times to finally get through to this gal, and the order would not come up.

Unfortunately, the retiree who had gotten stuck hunting and pecking the order into the computer, which he did not know how to work, also did not know how to save the order. So they paged the department, and the kid came up, and told my brother we needed to re-enter the information. By this point, mom got fed up and said forget it. My brother was offered a ten percent discount, and we just said no.

On the way out, I said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Gee, mom, will you believe us now and go to McLendon's?"

A week later, mom took our advice and went to McLendon's. She not only got her order put in in under ten minutes, but she also got her shower doors about five days later.
 

Paul D G

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,914
I have plenty of gripes from both sides of the counter but one that always pops into my head is when I went into Radio Shack at the mall to buy some small part. There's a guy crouched behind the counter doing something on a lower shelf. Another employee is near the back of the store doing something similar. After standing there for over a minute (and not being in any hurry) I thought I'd just wait to see how long it took them to actually notice me.

I was standing there for maybe another three minutes gradually becoming more and more flabbergasted that neither of these guys bothered to turn around or scan the store. Then a fairly attractive woman comes in and stands next to me at the counter and BOTH of them take notice of her and practically scamble to help her. the guy behind the counter lost and when he just stood there I finally said "But you can help me since I've been staring at your back for the last five minutes."

-paul
 

DeathStar1

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2001
Messages
3,267
Real Name
Neil
heh, it's amazing. I heard a commercial for a company that pays people to shop. Apparently it's to judge customer service at these stores, and the information is sent to the stores executives. After hearing all these stories, I'd gladly go to this job. Especially if they pay for the things I want to buy :).

Although, I will say this to the store I went to. The comp USA technician new his stuff, and said that even though they didn't have it, Radio Shack would. When I went over to Radio Shack, the guy behind the counter really KNEW his products. He told my the one plug that might work on the wall was one amp under the one I brought in. It might work, or it might blow the unit up. We both agreed to not take the risk, I thanked him, and walked out. I'm definetley going back to that store again :).

Maybe we should make this a sticky thread for consumers. Best and Worst stores to go to. Although i don't know if it would be a good idea to list the store addresses so people can be wary of them..
 

Bill Williams

Screenwriter
Joined
May 28, 2003
Messages
1,697
This happened at the Wal-Mart in my town a couple of weeks ago. I went to get the oil changed in my car, and these two mechanics, neither of whom looked like they had any sense to begin with, stood around and did their own thing for 12 minutes before they noticed I was even there. One of them then said, "You wanna oil change?" He didn't even take down my information, which is standard procedure for registering customers, drove my car in, then said in a very flippant manner, "We don't have that oil filter. Go to another store." And this guy was dipping Skoal and spitting on duty - really professional look... NOT! Not to mention the fact that he was using an old auto parts book, when he knew that there was a newer version out and on display and didn't use it.

I went inside and spoke to the manager, whom I happen to know very well, since she knows my wife and mother-in-law, and explained to her how the two mechanics acted. She said, "I've gotten onto that boy for dipping on duty, if it were up to me, I'd take him to the back and beat him senseless!" She and another manager immediately took charge and made sure everything went well for my oil change. I did have to wind up going to an auto parts place and getting an oil filter for my car, but the manager refunded my money for the oil filter.
 

MarkHastings

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2003
Messages
12,013
But I never fully believe all customer complaints. While I agree that there are bad employees out there, I tend to think that a lot of people don't give the benefit of the doubt.

My mom is VERY impatient and if it were up to her, she'd have EVERY waitress/waiter fired due to them not catering to her every demand. If she has to wait for one second, she gets pissed "What the hell are they doing???" she asks, as if she's their ONLY customer ;)

It reminds me of some of the MP3 player reviews I was reading (years ago). This one player got horrid reviews, but then I actually read some of the reviews. One kid said "This thing SUCKS! I threw it at my friend and now it doesn't work" :rolleyes

The same thing with a place like CompUSA. My friend used to get SO angry about the lack of help there. I always would say "What are you expecting?"
 

PhillJones

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Messages
472
I agree that it's not always the employees fault, it's often the companies fault for having stupid procedures or rules, or having no organisation in place to deal with certain issues.

The worst customer service I've had always comes from large companies that use call centers. NTL in Britain is legendary for their appauling inability to do anything you ask them. You phone them to tell them of an issue with service or billing or ask them to do something like move your phone line to a different residence when you move house and the person says that they've entered it into the computer and that it'll be done. Nothing happens, you phone them back and there's no record on the computer. This didn't just happen once to me, it happens a lot to lots of people.

Here in the states, I've had similar issues with American Express. When I first got my card from them, they'd put a hold on it everytime I used it because they had the wrong address somehow. Everytime, I'd phone and tell them and they said it was sorted and it'd happen again. I had to spend a good half an hour to three-quarters of an hour on the phone everytime I tried to buy something on it. As soon as anybody else would give me a card (recent immigrant with no credit history), I stopped using Amex and will never have another one of their cards.

The biggest isue I have now, which I don't suppose is anybody's fault is that Americans who speak english as a second language often can't understand a word I'm saying. I find this bizarre as, being english I pronounce all of my syllables and all of the consonants that go between them. My wife says it's because I don't know the key words to use and the magic order. There may be some truth to this as even native english speakers in dunkin donuts et al seem to struggle with me. For example, in a sandwich shop, she says, you have to say what bread and then wait for them to be ready to listen to what meat and then wait etc. I, on the other hand expect to be able to just converse with the person behind the counter. If I make eye contact with somebody and speak to them, they should listen to me, I always do so, it's polite. Either way, whether it's just my accent or culture shock, I hate going into shops.

signed,
Scrooge
 

Ruz-El

Fake Shemp
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Joined
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12,539
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Deadmonton
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Russell
Nothing happens, you phone them back and there's no record on the computer. This didn't just happen once to me, it happens a lot to lots of people.
This happened to me twice with health care (Government Run). I called to inform them I'm moving, they thank me. I don't get any invoices for 4 months or so, I call them up, they didn't change the address, they said they would right away. A week later I get a bill from a collections agency for the amount plus interest and a fine. I call up Alberta Health to ask them what the hell is going on. I'm told that they couldn't contact me, and that the "computer" flagged my account and had me go to collections. I told them to revert it back, after all, it showed that I called them to get a statement so I could pay. I was than told that once it was in collections that's it, sorry. the kicker? It happened to me twice in 3 years.

I always wondered who the guy was that sold banks and government offices computer systems that can't be reveresed. They must be a genius, as I know I would have a hard time having something similar in my home.
 

Lynda-Marie

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
761
Hey Phil, here's one I have from an online source regarding NTL. I have to agree with my source's comments, that Brits write WONDERFUL letters of complaint. I have considered altering this one slightly to use for written complaints to American corporate abominations.

****************************************

Dear Cretins,

I have been an NTL customer since 9th July 2001, when I signed up for your 3-in-one deal for cable TV, cable modem, and telephone. During this three-month period I have encountered inadequacy of service which I had not previously considered possible, as well as ignorance and stupidity of monolithic proportions.

Please allow me to provide specific details, so that you can either pursue your professional prerogative, and seek to rectify these difficulties - or more likely (I suspect) so that you can have some entertaining reading material as you while away the working day smoking B&H and drinking vendor-coffee on the bog in your office:

My initial installation was cancelled without warning, resulting in my spending an entire Saturday sitting on my fat arse waiting for your technician to arrive. When he did not arrive, I spent a further 57 minutes listening to your infuriating hold music, and the even more annoying Scottish robot woman telling me to look at your helpful website... HOW? I alleviated the boredom by playing with my testicles for a few minutes - an activity at which you are no-doubt both familiar and highly adept.

The rescheduled installation then took place some two weeks later, although the technician did forget to bring a number of vital tools - such as a drill-bit, and his cerebrum. Two weeks later, my cable modem had still not arrived. After 15 telephone calls over 4 weeks my modem arrived... six weeks after I had requested it, and begun to pay for it. I estimate your internet servers downtime is roughly 35%... hours between about 6pm -midnight, Mon-Fri, and most of the weekend.

I am still waiting for my telephone connection. I have made 9 calls on my mobile to your no-help line, and have been unhelpfully transferred to a variety of disinterested individuals, who are, it seems, also highly skilled bollock jugglers. I have been informed that a telephone line is available (and someone will call me back); that I will be transferred to someone who knows whether or not a telephone line is available (and then been cut off); that I will be transferred to someone (and then been redirected to an answer machine informing me that your office is closed); that I will be transferred to someone and then been redirected to the irritating Scottish robot woman...and several other variations on this theme.

Doubtless you are no-longer reading this letter, as you have at least a thousand other dissatisfied customers to ignore, and also another one of those crucially important testicle-moments to attend to. Frankly I don’t care, it’s far more satisfying as a customer to voice my frustrations in print than to shout them at your unending hold music. Forgive me, therefore, if I continue.

I thought British Telecom were s**t, that they had attained the holy piss-pot of god-awful customer relations, that no one, anywhere, ever, could be more disinterested, less helpful or more obstructive to delivering service to their customers. That’s why I chose NTL, and because, well, there isn’t anyone else is there? How surprised I therefore was, when I discovered to my considerable dissatisfaction and disappointment what a useless shower of bastards you truly are. You are sputum-filled pieces of distended rectum - incompetents of the highest order.

British Telecom - wankers though they are - shine like brilliant beacons of success, in the filthy pus-filled mire of your seemingly limitless inadequacy. Suffice to say that I have now given up on my futile and foolhardy quest to receive any kind of service from you. I suggest that you cease any potential future attempts to extort payment from me for the services which you have so pointedly and catastrophically failed to deliver - any such activity will be greeted initially with hilarity and disbelief - quickly be replaced by derision, and even perhaps bemused rage.

I enclose two small deposits, selected with great care from my cat’s litter tray, as an expression of my utter and complete contempt for both you and your pointless company. I sincerely hope that they have not become desiccated during transit - they were satisfyingly moist at the time of posting, and I would feel considerable disappointment if you did not experience both their rich aroma and delicate texture.

Consider them the very embodiment of my feelings towards NTL, and its worthless employees.

Have a nice day - may it be the last in your miserable short life, you irritatingly incompetent and infuriatingly unhelpful bunch of twats.
 

Paul D G

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,914
My old roommate had a miserable hotel stay once. When he checked out he handed the clerk a letter he wrote to the manager. He included a condom and, in the letter, suggested the manager use it next time they ***k over one of their guests.

-paul
 

andrew markworthy

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 30, 1999
Messages
4,762
This didn't happen to me, but to a friend of mine, who does biology research and had the world's most incompetent research assistant. Things like breaking pieces of glassware were of course routine, but he then excelled himself with two events.

The first was when against his better judgement, my friend allowed the RA to come to the pub with himself and other researchers when they were entertaining the boss of a big pharmaceutical firm who was seriously considering giving the lab a large amount of money. The RA who in addition to being a moron couldn't handle alcohol (though he was of course convinced he could), had two pints of beer and threw up. Not of course in the toilets, but - you've guessed it - all over the boss of the big pharmaceutical company.

However, this wasn't the end of the one man wrecking ball's activities. My friend had been doing a careful genetic study that required the careful breeding of mice. After two years of work, he was within a single breeding of the final outcome, and things were looking hopeful. He then discovered that a group of female mice that should have been non-pregnant were in fact pregnant. My friend realised that the only way this could have happened was because the RA hadn't taken the male members of the female mice's litters away from them after weaning and that they'd bred. For lengthy reasons, this wrecked two years' research.

The following is a reasonably verbatim transcript of the key passage from teh inquiry that followed:

Friend: Can you explain how the mice became pregnant again?

RA: It must have been a virgin birth [it perhaps helps to know that the RA was an ardent Roman Catholic]

Friend: No it wasn't. You left the litter in with the mother too long, didn't you.

RA: Perhaps ... [In a horrified tone] But surely they wouldn't do that - not with their own mother.
 

James T

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 8, 1999
Messages
1,643

Mystery shoppers. I was one last year. I got the fastfood part of shopping....lucky me. I had to do 15 fast food places in a month and a half. I came close finishing it by getting up to 12, but gave up with 3 days left. It was just too much. And they never called me back :)
 

todd s

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 8, 1999
Messages
7,132
Lynda-Marie, Thanks for the post. I needed a good laugh. Just curious did anyone ever get back to you?
 

Paul D G

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,914

I meant to add...

My parents did this for a while. They had to go to a grocery store and buy select items from a list then purchase them. I'm not sure how it worked but they did not get to keep the items, they returned them and got their money back. Not sure if this was to the manager or they went somewhere else, etc.

-paul
 

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