It's almost as if some shops/salons/companies don't actually want any custom at all....
I recently phoned up a local ironing company as I've been working a lot of hours recently and wanted to get our (huge backlog) of ironing done. A gruff woman answered the phone and when I said 'hello, I'd be interested in getting some ironing done' I got an abrupt 'No we're not looking for anymore customers' and she virtually put the phone down! They may well be stacked out with customers now but this may not always be the case, and they will never ever get any custom from me now. Surely it would make better business sense to be polite.
Yesterday I went to get my hair cut. The hairdresser who cut it is lovely, but then at the end I had to go to the counter to pay, which was manned by the woman who owns the salon, with four other hairdressers standing by her chatting. They were all really hostile and made it clear that I was interrupting their conversation by daring to stand there and pay! I made my next appointment, and asked for it to be written on a card, and got much huffing and puffing and the owner just slapped the card down on the counter and didn't say a word.
There is also a local soft play place, where the service is absolutely atrocious. Things like staff standing around talking and being fully aware that there is a queue of customers to be let in, but ignoring customers for 10 or more minutes until they can be bothered to let them in. Or 6 members of staff standing behind the snacks counter chatting, with one staff member serving a queue of about 10 customers. They really don't seem to give a toss. I'd stop going there if my kids didn't love it there.
Surely happy customers are an essential for any business? Why do places just not seem to care or offer any customer service at all?
AIBU?
To think it's no wonder that so many businesses go out of business when they treat customers like shit?
oolajoola · 16/02/2014 20:27
I do know what you mean to a certain extent. There's an expensive card shop in the nearest town to me, and whenever I go in, the (always different?) member of staff seems to think up novel ways to be rude to me. Similarly, in a gift-y type shop in the next village, the owners / staff always seem slightly off.
Oh God, It's me, isn't it 
?
I have had a similar experience in my hairdressers after a £60 haircut, standing there waiting to pay getting ignored.
I also treat myself monthly to an eyebrow thread and tint, been going to the same place for a few months.
I got left sitting in reception for 25 minutes last time with no explanation then when I paid and asked for a card reminder that was slapped down in front of me!
She was the owner as well, nice attitude to your customer
I've just thought of a good one Joules. When I was looking for a duffle coat for dd1 I found a red one in Boden but they were sold out. I rang customer services and asked if they were likely to be able to find one. The lovely young chap on the phone did some sort of mass stock take and rang me back to say he'd located one and he'd send it to me. I was delighted and made sure I thanked him profusely. Made my day. 
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In ASDA once I went through a friend's till.
Apparently this is Not Allowed and you're not supposed to go through a till if you no the person working on it. Although there were no signs/notices saying as such.
Friend zapped my shopping through, I was about to pay, we were chatting (which I believe supermarket staff are told to do) when a 'superior' stormed over and had a go at both of us.
I told her if she was going to be rude to me I'd shop elsewhere and left my stuff unpaid for.
Said goodbye nicely to my friend though.
I was also once going to rent a house through a really rude/snooty letting agents who'd been talking to us like we were shit off their shoes.
Only put up with it because we were desperate.
Paid all of the fees and arranged to pick up the keys and pay rent/deposit on XX date.
Found a private let in the meantime, no fees, cheaper, lovely landlady and took that instead.
When bitchy letting agents rang us on XX date to ask when we were collecting the keys we told them we weren't because we'd decided they were too awkward to deal with.
Lost our fees but was fecking worth it to teach them a lesson!!
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