"At Officeworks, we take our customer service seriously"

[morsla]

I highly recommend Officeworks stores for anyone suffering from a crushing phobia of customer service. You can browse the aisles, find strange comments on their product information cards^*, or fiddle with the "WARNING - ELECTRONIC SECURITY TAG" power cords in an attempt to get some attention, without ever having to speak to the staff. I waited for forty minutes today, determined to spend $600+ on a printer, without any direct contact from the staff beyond the occasional "someone will be with you in just a minute" reminders called out from behind the register, just in case we had forgotten that they'd promised to help.

When the mythical blueshirt finally appeared, I asked about getting a printer from the storeroom... there were none on the shelf, and the manager had sent me over to wait in the techworks section. He shrugged, pointed at a lone box that was sitting next to the manager at the checkout, and wandered off again. Forty minutes, and the manager had practically been sitting on it all along. Ever quick to spot a frustrated customer, he tried to close his register as we walked over to buy the damn thing... announcing to the other staff that he was heading out for a break. I didn't let him out from behind the counter until he'd finally managed to scan the printer at its sale price (aeliel noticed the two hundred dollar price jump and called him on it...), and I paid for it while Louise filled out a customer service feedback form in front of him.

So, after much wasted time, I finally have a laser printer/scanner/fax. I try to avoid editing in hardcopy due to the paper wastage, but it's occasionally invaluable for long manuscripts where the ability to take work outside is a lifesaver. I also finally have access to a scanner again, which I've missed since quitting at Synergy. No longer having to spend $12-15 per fax to the US is also a plus... although I think that next time I go shopping, I'll just walk out to the staff tearoom and chat to them over a cup of coffee. It seems that all the floor staff are just rostered on for timewasting duty, while the real staff make sure never to set foot inside the main store.



^* Does anyone else find it a bit odd that in-store nformation sheets have "the remaining contents of this box are unknown; if you can help, please email xxxxxxxxxx@officeworks.com.au with more info" printed on them? I'd like to believe that it was meant to be deleted by someone in the store, but there's a worrying possibility that the staff might be completely fucking incompetent all the way up the chain...

Comments

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

I make an effort to ignore the officeworks staff at all times(*). It helps if you imagine it is run by robots.

(*)the folks in the printing bits have /mostly/ been good, its just the ambulatory landfill in the shelf bits.

[morsla.livejournal.com]

Officeworks RoboRally? That does help. Now I want to strap lasers onto them, and set them loose in the store.

The printbots are generally okay, as long as you can stand there watching them. Any job that needs to be left with them (and passed down through several staffers playing chinese whispers) is doomed to failure though, regardless of how explicit the instructions are.

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

I've found it helps to leave a "I want it to look like /this/ at the end" exemplar with them.

[matcha-pocky.livejournal.com]

Ahhh... you depress me. I know it's inevitable but... if you get bad service and still buy the printer, there's no reason for them to improve. They might as well chuck those feedback forms in the bin the second you leave.

Speaking as someone who's worked in environments where customer service has been a priority and in others where it hasn't existed, there's nothing more frustrating than trying to change a bad corporate behaviour when it has no effect on the bottom line.

Ultimately, at a place like officeworks, you can suck up the mistreatment and enjoy the cheap products, or you can go elsewhere and pay for someone who's not on minimum wage. Corporations have finally realised that 'the customer is always right' was always a polite fiction, and that you need them more than they need you. If you want good treatment, buy stock. That they care about.

[morsla.livejournal.com]

Generally speaking, I agree - I usually choose to vote with my feet (and wallet), walking out to shop somewhere else.

Unfortunately, I also tend to work uncomfortably close to the minimum wage, so I don't always have the luxury. After looking around at prices last week, I couldn't really afford to pay ~$350 more for an identical package elsewhere... I may have lost an hour's productivity, but that's much more than an hour's wages.

For the price, I wasn't expecting much from the staff. I'm still a little surprised at just how bad it was, though.

[vass]

"At Officeworks, we take our customer service seriously"

I'm sure they do. It takes *work* to be that bad.

[rendragon.livejournal.com]

Got to love Officeworks - the only company I know that *cannot* get something in to a store for me to collect that they offer online. And pass me around to 4 differet people in the process.

Grrrr!

Enjoy your new toy, it was hard earned :)