The good, the bad...
Okay, well just good and bad... nothing particularly ugly.
It isn't often that one has such a spectacularly positive experience with a customer service rep -- so when one does, it's worth blogging about. I have to tout a recent experience I had with Verizon. I used to subscribe to another cell phone service provider, but their consumer service was so awful that I jumped ship the first chance I got. And I jumped to Verizon, for several reasons. First, they have a large boat. Everyone in the area with whom I spoke just loves them -- the coverage, the service, etc. Second (and more importantly for me), Verizon has the lock on service in the metro system. It isn't perfect (calls do get dropped when switching underground), but it also isn't a roaming charge. Being able to make a call in the metro is handy -- if annoying to those around you -- when you're late for a meeting.
But my recent encounter with my local Verizon store is the reason why they get the "Good" award here. Here's the story: I have really -- and I mean REALLY -- bad luck with cell phones. I haven't lost one yet (knock on wood), but I have dropped, broken and otherwise mutilated all my previous phones. One might say poor quality of construction. I say "klutz". And since I buy the cheapest, least fancy ones with the fewest bells and whistles to break (in other words, the ones that are sturdiest and hardest to break), my track record with cell phones is something of an accomplishment.
But I digress...
So, anyway, I had destroyed my last phone and decided to get a new one. Now, I'm WAY too cheap to buy one new so I got one slightly used elsewhere at a discount. Not a tremendous bargain, but good enough. The phone was scuffed but entirely functional. That is, until I dropped it. The first time I dropped it, I messed up the screen. Not a big deal, still functional. The second time I dropped it, well, that was it. I completely lost function on the volume. You know the "Can you hear me now?" commercials? They could, but I couldn't, even with the volume at full blast. Grrrr...
I had only had the phone about two months, so I was really pissed off at myself (and I broke it right after taking a particularly egregiously obnoxious final exam, but that's another rant). I didn't want to spend the money to buy yet another phone so soon, so I thought I'd wade into the waters of Verizon customer service. My previous experience with them wasn't all that helpful (when my other phone broke, they told me it was my fault and tough luck on that), so I approached the whole thing with some trepidation.
Lo and behold, to my extreme surprise, the folks at the Verizon store were extremely friendly and helpful -- AND (drum roll please) despite the fact that I got the phone used, they figured out it was still covered under warranty, so they just replaced the whole thing with a brand, spanking new phone.
Wahoo! That kind of news is enough to make a girl's day. I now LOVE Verizon.
That's the good. Here's the bad...
Many know that I decided a few months ago that it is time for me to donate this mass of hair hanging down my back. I have the requisite 10 inches and then some and it's getting to be a pain to deal with, so I decided to do the deed and lop it off. I made a few calls to one salon that has something of a reputation for good service and support of charities (I remember seeing a poster in the metro for a charitable event in which they were participating) -- as well as talent with the shears. Most salons are very amenable to this kind of thing, so I was hoping for some good luck with them too. However, nothing ever came of it, and finals rolled around, so I just let it go for want of time.
Well, after finals, I called one of the owners again and even dropped by the salon to speak with the owner about the possibility of the salon supporting my charitable donation. Messages, messages, messages. Response? Nothing. Zip, zero, zilch, nada, rien, nani mo nai. So, deciding to give them one last chance to respond to my message (#4 or 5 at this point), I called them again this Monday.
They have yet to give me the courtesy of a response. Not even a "thanks, but we don't do that" call. They blew me off completely, which means they are blowing the charity off completely too. To be honest, I truly only grew my hair this long to do the donation. Otherwise, I would have long ago gotten some kind of cute, sassy cut. I'm appalled by the complete lack of interest this salon owner has in supporting a very worthwhile cause. I'm appalled that this full service spa has such a lousy attitude and poor public relations. Even more than that, I'm appalled at the lack of common courtesy that the owner would not respond to any one of the 4 or 5 messages I left. That's just plain bad manners (and bad business). Needless to say, they won't be getting any of my money ever.
So, based on this experience and for the record, I think the Andre Chreky spa stinks.
Big raspberries for them!!!
It isn't often that one has such a spectacularly positive experience with a customer service rep -- so when one does, it's worth blogging about. I have to tout a recent experience I had with Verizon. I used to subscribe to another cell phone service provider, but their consumer service was so awful that I jumped ship the first chance I got. And I jumped to Verizon, for several reasons. First, they have a large boat. Everyone in the area with whom I spoke just loves them -- the coverage, the service, etc. Second (and more importantly for me), Verizon has the lock on service in the metro system. It isn't perfect (calls do get dropped when switching underground), but it also isn't a roaming charge. Being able to make a call in the metro is handy -- if annoying to those around you -- when you're late for a meeting.
But my recent encounter with my local Verizon store is the reason why they get the "Good" award here. Here's the story: I have really -- and I mean REALLY -- bad luck with cell phones. I haven't lost one yet (knock on wood), but I have dropped, broken and otherwise mutilated all my previous phones. One might say poor quality of construction. I say "klutz". And since I buy the cheapest, least fancy ones with the fewest bells and whistles to break (in other words, the ones that are sturdiest and hardest to break), my track record with cell phones is something of an accomplishment.
But I digress...
So, anyway, I had destroyed my last phone and decided to get a new one. Now, I'm WAY too cheap to buy one new so I got one slightly used elsewhere at a discount. Not a tremendous bargain, but good enough. The phone was scuffed but entirely functional. That is, until I dropped it. The first time I dropped it, I messed up the screen. Not a big deal, still functional. The second time I dropped it, well, that was it. I completely lost function on the volume. You know the "Can you hear me now?" commercials? They could, but I couldn't, even with the volume at full blast. Grrrr...
I had only had the phone about two months, so I was really pissed off at myself (and I broke it right after taking a particularly egregiously obnoxious final exam, but that's another rant). I didn't want to spend the money to buy yet another phone so soon, so I thought I'd wade into the waters of Verizon customer service. My previous experience with them wasn't all that helpful (when my other phone broke, they told me it was my fault and tough luck on that), so I approached the whole thing with some trepidation.
Lo and behold, to my extreme surprise, the folks at the Verizon store were extremely friendly and helpful -- AND (drum roll please) despite the fact that I got the phone used, they figured out it was still covered under warranty, so they just replaced the whole thing with a brand, spanking new phone.
Wahoo! That kind of news is enough to make a girl's day. I now LOVE Verizon.
That's the good. Here's the bad...
Many know that I decided a few months ago that it is time for me to donate this mass of hair hanging down my back. I have the requisite 10 inches and then some and it's getting to be a pain to deal with, so I decided to do the deed and lop it off. I made a few calls to one salon that has something of a reputation for good service and support of charities (I remember seeing a poster in the metro for a charitable event in which they were participating) -- as well as talent with the shears. Most salons are very amenable to this kind of thing, so I was hoping for some good luck with them too. However, nothing ever came of it, and finals rolled around, so I just let it go for want of time.
Well, after finals, I called one of the owners again and even dropped by the salon to speak with the owner about the possibility of the salon supporting my charitable donation. Messages, messages, messages. Response? Nothing. Zip, zero, zilch, nada, rien, nani mo nai. So, deciding to give them one last chance to respond to my message (#4 or 5 at this point), I called them again this Monday.
They have yet to give me the courtesy of a response. Not even a "thanks, but we don't do that" call. They blew me off completely, which means they are blowing the charity off completely too. To be honest, I truly only grew my hair this long to do the donation. Otherwise, I would have long ago gotten some kind of cute, sassy cut. I'm appalled by the complete lack of interest this salon owner has in supporting a very worthwhile cause. I'm appalled that this full service spa has such a lousy attitude and poor public relations. Even more than that, I'm appalled at the lack of common courtesy that the owner would not respond to any one of the 4 or 5 messages I left. That's just plain bad manners (and bad business). Needless to say, they won't be getting any of my money ever.
So, based on this experience and for the record, I think the Andre Chreky spa stinks.
Big raspberries for them!!!
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