Just some thoughts...

Just some thoughts on customer service by area and product. Anaheim, California 1. Good Service: In May 2009 our bugaboo stroller was stolen at Disneyland. We had the Disney mafia taking care of us immediately. They looked for the stroller, they gave us a rental one, they made sure we had pull ups for Wylie and ultimately took us to the on site police station. 2. Great Service: The detective who handled our case was very good. He understood and handled how upset I was with the situation. We were asked multiple questions by the responding detective and he made sure we were very descriptive in our report. He also helped us put dollar amounts to things I couldn't even begin to consider the price on. As a result of our report and details, the police/disney mafia made an arrest later in the year and even recovered our stroller! Another result of our report was that the stolen items made it grand theft which meant that our report in combination with several others made prosecuting the thief easier. 3. Poor to crappy followed by great: I had a business trip one week post the theft. I had no identification of who I was and really thought I wasn't going to be able to make the trip. I called the Anaheim police department and records multiple times that week to get a copy of my police report. Multiple people told me that it wouldn't be available for several weeks and then I had to wait for it to be mailed to me. there was no sympathy that I couldn't do anything about my identify until I had a police report detailing the crime. I called our detective and asked him what to do. He gave me the name of a woman to call who expedited the report AND made sure it was available at the desk in anaheim. In other words, she went out of her way to help me. She understood completely the issue of not having proof of identification. Los Angeles-Ralph's 1. Poor Customer Service: We have several Ralph's grocery stores near us. We select which one to shop at based on our grocery needs. The quality is not consistent across the stores. Our experience at the one on Lincoln means we will never buy meat there again. EVER. We bought three boston butt pork shoulders for bbq in July. We had to return two as they were definitely not fresh or safe when we opened them up. The manager at the store gave me so much grief in returning them I was shocked. He wouldn't refund my money in cash or onto our check card. He acted as if in some way shape or form I had managed to make the meat go bad. (it was less than 12 hours from time of purchase and they went from store to fridge). He finally relented and gave me a Ralph's gift card to cover the amount. 2. CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE: Another Ralph's we shop at is in the Marina. It is nicer in the upscale grocery store way. It does not have all the items we normally purchase so we tend to go there only when it's convenient. Last night we did the weekly grocery shopping at that store. Mostly because it was on the way home and we needed to pick up meat which meant the Lincoln store was out of the question. One of the items we purchased was soda pop. We only buy it when it's on sale. Only when it's 4 for $10. (Interestingly the Lincoln Ralph's did not have the soda listed as 4 for$10) So we bought 4 12paks of soda. Coke Zero, A&W, Sunkist, and Squirt. All had the tag identifying the sale price. The ad in the paper indicated that we had to buy four in one transaction. We did that. What the ad, the tags in the store on the shelf AND the big sign on the big display DID NOT SAY was that they had to be of the same manufacturer. Needless to say when I went to the store to return the soda or get the 4 for $10 price I was treated like an idiot. I pointed out to the manager the price difference on my receipt, the ad in the newspaper, AND then I had to walk him to the aisle to show him that the tags just said $4 for 10 in one transaction. I also pointed out that the A&W and Sunkist were in the same display as the coke with the 4 for $10 sign. SO what did he tell me? That I should be more aware of the fact they are different brands and that no one else felt it was misleading! Well, I bet no one else noticed it until they were home and didn't feel like dealing with it OR just don't read their receipts as carefully as I do. I didn't make a mistake the store had misleading ads. He finally relented after I pointed out to him that Vons had the sale as well and would be more than happy to follow their ads. I also told him I would be returning the soda and going to Vons. He then gave me the $8 refund onto our check card. Los Angeles-Walgreens 1. Great Customer Service: We have many options for drug stores in our area. CVS, Rite Aid, Target, Walgreens and Pavillions. We choose to go to Walgreens even though it is further from our place. Why? They are incredibly helpful when it comes to prescriptions and products. I have a daily medication that I can only get refilled once a month. I also have a tendency to lose the paper prescription. The pharmacy willingly held onto the paper prescription for me and made it so much easier for me to pick up every month. They also helped identify where I could get a product that was no longer available at their store! They didn't have to but they took the time to do so. CRAPPY-Blue Cross Blue Shield 1. CRAPPY CRAPPY CRAPPY-We have BCBS PPO. It is a national account. We have access to a great pediatrician, a great GI, and two great hospitals. We don't have in-network access to mediocre or better GPs, mental health providers, or OB/GYNs. Why? Because BCBS has such a low usual and customary rate in CA for those things that most don't take BCBS. If you actually find a physician in network that takes it, you can be sure they aren't taking on new patients, that they aren't answering their phone, and in some cases that they are actually in the midst of being reprimanded by the state medical board. I'm not kidding. I have had to change OB/GYN's 3 times since Wylie was born. We have been through 3 GPs because they keep dropping the BCBS coverage or feel it necessary to bill the difference from what is the allowed amount. As for mental health, the allowable amount is less than half the going rate. There are also very very few who take BCBS or insurance at all. If they do take insurance they bill for the difference. How does this make for crappy customer service? Let me tell you! 1. 30 days to process claims. Average time right now is 90 days. 2. Ability to reach the person who is handling your claim on the phone with less than a one hour wait time? Slim to none. 3. Ability to escalate the problem? Takes five to six phone calls demanding a manager or supervisor. Then if you are lucky the problem is taken care of. Otherwise you send a letter to the complaints department. The place is a black hole and they also have you between a rock and a hard place because you can't easily change insurance providers because your physician most likely doesn't participate in more than one. So in general, if people were willing to take an extra minute or two to realize that sometimes you need to show compassion, sometimes you need to make sure you keep a customer happy (when did the philosophy the customer is always right go out of vogue?) by recognizing a mistake was made then the world would have better customer service. It doesn't take much just a simple attitude change. Oh and in case you think I'm the woman who comes in raging about things I'm not. I ask politely, explain the situation and then ask how to best remedy it.