Really bad or really good customer service stories?!?!?!?

Question

In my business class we need really really good or really really bad customer service stories, PLEASE HELP!

Answer 1

Please go to failingenterprise.com and you will see a lot of horror stories. The whole site is customers complaining about enterprise rent-a-car, customers and employees alike.

Answer 2

I have been working in a department store for a year now, and have an example of a really good customer. I was by myself in the menswear department a few months ago, and a customer came along with a basketful, left it at the till, and then went to fill another. In total, he filled three baskets with clothes and accessories, and then came to pay. There were a lot of items (25 in total) and some of them were quite fiddly, but he was patient, friendly, chatty and good humoured throughout, and we also had a laugh. The sale came to £422.50p (my biggest yet) and when he left, it really made my day.

Contrary to popular belief, retail workers do actually appreciate their customers, especially when they are really agreeable too.

Answer 3

This is actually a good customer service story and quite surprising given the current climate of surly employees.

I was traveling on business in Los Angeles last year, and on the return trip I missed my flight (on American Airlines). I thought it was leaving about 40 minutes later than it actually was, so when I arrived at the airport I was a little surprised (and scared) when I couldn't check in because the flight was leaving in 5 minutes!

They went ahead and checked my bags for the next flight out and put me on standby. Unfortunately, there were many people ahead of me already on the list. So, flight after flight after flight, I wasn't able to board. There was a group of other standby passengers who also were on the same quest, and started to become my cheering squad every time it seemed I might have a chance. Needless to say, I was afraid that I was never going to get back home.

Finally, there was a flight where they couldn't locate a passenger, so I finally was given a boarding pass to take their seat. This flight was actually leaving from a small terminal that required us to board a bus and go out to the middle of nowhere, away from the main LAX terminal. By the time I arrived at the gate, they located the missing passenger who was already on board. So, now what do I do?

At this point, I was in near tears as I was tired and felt like a complete idiot (which I was) for missing my initial flight. The gate attendant noticed my desperation and called a manager who came to pick me up in his personal vehicle. They called ahead to the gate where the next AA flight was leaving and gave me a guaranteed seat before other standbys. The manager drove me across the tarmac back to the main terminal and escorted me to the gate. He thanked me for my patience and put me on the plane.

Naturally, I was afraid that the bags they placed on a flight several hours prior would be lost in the bowels of DFW Airport. When I arrived, they had them locked away in a safe place waiting for me.

All this time, every American Airlines employee that I encountered was courteous and went out of their way to help me...even when they knew it was my fault to begin with. Perhaps it was because I was nice to them and not barking demands like some customers might do (the old honey vs. vinegar adage).

I know there are horror stories every day about bad customer service, but I wanted to highlight the one good one that happened that particular day. And yes, I did send a compliment letter to AA thanking each employee who helped me that day.