How good is your customer service?

Stephanie — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:40:03 +0000

As a Marketing Manager, I think customer feedback is vital. Over the years, I have called, emailed or sent letters to numerous companies, including Pizza Hut, Campbells Soup, McDonald’s and many others. Sometimes the feedback is great (I once sent a letter to Red Lobster to praise a server who brought something for the girls to much after an hour wait to be seated. Need less to say – he got a huge tip too) and sometimes the feedback is not so good….

About two weeks ago, my husband had to run some errands during the lunch hour, and offered to pick up some lunch for us while he was out. There are several local deli’s that we enjoy, but this particular day we decided on Schlotzsky’s. BIG mistake. HUGE. This particular location, located on Memorial Road in Oklahoma City, has the type of drive-thru that once you are in line, you are stuck.

Below is a copy of the transcript from the messages I received via Google Talk (note the time):

12:36 PM GFB: Schlotzskys – what u want?

me: original

with chips

small size

bbq chips please

GFB: Any special stuff?

me: nope

GFB: K

me: I think it comes with mustard

12:37 PM GFB: Will ask

Since our office is approximately 10 minutes away, I am expecting him to arrive with my sandwich somewhere around 1pm. (10-15 minutes of waiting in line, plus another 10 minutes of driving seemed reasonable, right?)

At 1:04 pm, I get this:

1:04 PM GFB: Omg this drive thru is terrible…and the type that locks u in

me: it is taking forever

worse than chick-fil-a (NOTE HERE: I LOVE CHICK-FIL-A and they have SIGNIFICANTLY improved their drive through lines during lunch)

GFB: Yes it is

1:05 PM Been in drive thru for over 20 mins

1:06 PM me: ARE YOU STILL THERE?

GFB: Yep

me: HOLY CRAP

1:07 PM you should get something for free for this shit

GFB: Yea…this is a letter to corporate

GFB: Two more cars in front of me b4 I pay

me: OMG

I would be ballistic

At this point, I have logged onto their website and found the “Customer Feedback” form to fill out. Although I wasn’t actually in the line, I am the starving wife wondering where the HELL my food is. Poor Husband.

1:08 PM

GFB: But still…u are hungry…this is silly

me: I am STARVING

was thinking, man he should be here any moment

GFB: The oil change is now officially faster

me: nice

1:09 PM GFB: Stuff like this is why the gun carry law might not be a good idea

me: yup

1:10 PM

me: if there is a cusotmer service # on teh drive through window

GET IT

GFB: 30 mins in 2 mins

1:11 PM me: how many cars were in front of you when you pulled in?

1:14 PM GFB: No number its a frachise

3 visible

At 1:15 PM, my husband pulls out of the drive-thru to head back to our office. Ladies and Gentlemen, it was a 40 MINUTE drive-thru experience. I could have had a pedicure faster (and as the husband mentioned, the OIL CHANGE was faster!)

So, being the conscientious marketing manager I am, I filled out the Schlotzsky’s online customer complaint form and listed my grievances regarding the experience. When my husband returned home from our Labor Day vacation, we received a letter from their Corporate Offices apologizing for the unsatisfactory experience and sent us a $10 gift card. I am very please with the card, but what I really wanted was to hear from the franchisee (each location is a franchise, and the letter said we should be hearing from someone. As of this date – no word from the franchisee…. )

Have you ever had an experience (good or bad) with a product or service that you contacted the company about? If so – were you satisfied with the outcome?

StephanieBice.com » http://www.cooldeli.com

How good is your customer service?