Trader Joe's just messed up.
Trader Joe's just messed up. Enough that I am annoyed and sharing. It's partly what they did, but it's mostly the customer service fail. See, sometimes the customer service thing to do is just apologize. Telling me you have bad news, or that you have supplier problems is not the way to do this. Just go with the I'm very sorry, but we weren't able to fill your order. And then maybe go with the is there anything else we could do to be of help to you? I mean, if it fits into the flow of the conversation at that point, feel free to go with I'm so sorry, we had unexpected supplier problems and we've been unable to find a solution. I apologize again that this is messing up your holiday. Most importantly, though, _listen_ to the response you get from the customer. The not listening is what really, really, really irritates me. Lastly, don't offer a service you obviously can't provide.
So I left and spent money elsewhere, even for the things they did have, because you don't get prizes for guaranteeing food availability for Thanksgiving if you order ahead and then not only not having it available, but not having the part of the order that you do have ready to be picked up at the agreed upon time. And then saying I have bad news, yep, I have bad news, we had supplier problems. Well, that is your problem. My business is going elsewhere.
So I left and spent money elsewhere, even for the things they did have, because you don't get prizes for guaranteeing food availability for Thanksgiving if you order ahead and then not only not having it available, but not having the part of the order that you do have ready to be picked up at the agreed upon time. And then saying I have bad news, yep, I have bad news, we had supplier problems. Well, that is your problem. My business is going elsewhere.
It's possibly the result of an attempt to keep from saying the exact same thing over and over enough times that it starts to sound rote and rehearsed rather than genuine, which can lead to some awkward rephrasing. But yes, leaving out the "I'm sorry" opener is a serious no-no in the customer service world.
ReplyDeleteIt's also stupid because the reason I found out about the supposed pre-order thing was I asked last week if they would have some things in this week or should I buy them last week and hope they last, and they said hey, pre-order and it's guaranteed! Mm-hm. Get a grip on your supply chain, people.
ReplyDeleteI've never run into the weird supply problems at a TJs anywhere else I've lived. What I don't know is if this has become systemic in the last 2 years, or if it's just this location. Either way, we're done here. I don't have literal time or emotional energy for this.