Where Has Good Service Gone?

I decided yesterday that my printer wasn't as efficient as I needed it to be, so I went on the hunt for something new. My first stop was at one of the well known business supply stores. I perused for a bit, found two that met my needs and then had to search for someone to answer my questions. My first gripe.....I had to search for help.

When I asked the young man if I could see one of my choices in action, he politely informed me that the model I was interested in was new and that the store did not have one on display. When I asked if we could open one since the store would have to put one up for display anyway he told me in no uncertain terms, "No."

OK.....well let's look at model #2. I asked for a demo. I really wanted to check out the quality of the print. As it turned out, the ink in my second choice was low, so the printer spit out a basically blank piece of paper.

"It's out of ink," responded the young man. NO KIDDING! The two of us just stood there looking at each other. After I suggested he replace the cartridge, he begrudgingly agreed. This took about another 10 minutes.

Then I asked to see it do the two sided print that he box boasted. He couldn't get it to work. He literally scratched his head, pulled up a chair and repeated the same steps over and over to no avail. When I offered the idea of reading the directions, that was a bit of a problem because it meant we needed to open another box to get them and he informed me that he doesn't usually read directions! After about 20 minutes, my husband and I left.

On to super store number two. No luck here! Plenty of workers on the floor, but no one who really seemed too interested in selling any printers. My help came in the form of a young man, whose pants were so low on his hips that he had to periodically stop to pull them up. When I asked if he had the model I was looking for, his mumbled response was "Did you see it?" He then made a cursory effort to find what I wanted, walked up and down the aisle literally slamming the lids of various printers, then told me "Looks like you're out a luck." The end!

Store number three......here I was actually lucky enough to find a man in his early 50's who was an actual HP representative, visiting the store. He was knowledgeable and genuinely interested in selling a printer. Finally......success.....so I thought. After a demo that put my mind at ease, there were none in stock!

I started to think that maybe the universe was trying to send me the message that I wasn't supposed to buy a printer, but I really needed to get one. So....back to store one. I didn't see the young man who worked with me the first time. I think he was so disturbed my his first encounter with the printer earlier, he must of had to take an early lunch or maybe a nap!

My husband put the cumbersome box in our cart, I made my purchase and we were off. Needless to say, I was one frustrated baby boomer woman!

• Why is good, friendly customer service so hard to find?
• What has happened to people really trying to help their customers?
• Why don't people who work at stores know their products?
• Does anyone really care about customer service anymore?

If I ran my business this way, I wouldn't sell a single pair of pajamas!