7 Things Companies Do That Are Not Customer Service

Company websites that don’t include a phone number for you to call

A business that does this is signaling quite loudly that it has no interest in ever speaking to you. Sure, you can hunt and hunt and open window after window looking for a customer service phone number. You can even read the FAQ to see if somebody slipped up and put a phone number in there. But remember: No phone number means no time-consuming, pesky calls. It’s intentional, not an oversight.

Charge online customers a “restocking fee” to return items

I do the bulk of my nonfood shopping online and now will only order from sites that offer free shipping and easy returns. I learned my lesson when I was slapped with a $10 “restocking fee” deducted from the return of a dress that cost $39. I returned the dress the same day it arrived, in the original packaging, with all the tags still attached. To my way of thinking, restocking fees are just another way to squeeze a few more nickels out of me and discourage me from returning goods that don’t fit.

For the online shopping experience to be viable, customers must be able to try on the clothing and shoes. The “fitting room” has moved to our homes. Customers want to be able to order multiple sizes in an item and return the ones that don’t fit – without a penalty. I can’t do that with merchants who charge a restocking fee.

Stores that don’t staff their fitting rooms

I remember a time when store fitting rooms were kept neat and clean and not filled with discarded clothes that no one bothered to pick up and put back on hangers. I also remember that there were employees there to help you; they’d fetch you a different size or color, help you style the outfit with accessories and offer to make alterations. Now, I just hope they don’t leave the security fob on after I pay, which would require a second trip to the store to have it removed, even though the mistake was made on their end.

Companies that can’t give you a scheduling window of less than six hours

Who hasn’t been held hostage waiting for a plumber or the cable guy to show up? While this may be an ages-old problem, technology should have made it obsolete by now. With GPS at the ready, tradespeople can surely figure out the driving time between two stops and shoot a text to waiting customers. Yes, some jobs may run longer than estimated, but again, text or call those who await your arrival.

Digital coupons that don’t appear when you check out in the supermarket

The general rule of retirement is that you have more time, but less money. Hence, I pay attention to what’s on sale each week at my big-chain supermarket. I dutifully load my digital coupons onto my supermarket card each Friday morning (Fridays are 4x fuel points day) and shop accordingly. Yet, more times than I can count, the coupons don’t appear on my receipt. Lest you think I have nothing better to do with myself, let me assure you that I really only scan my receipt looking for the big ones — like the $10 off your order if you spend $75 or the free Tropicana Orange Juice (value $4.59) given only to the markets’ “best customer.” I love feeling special, don’t you?

How hard is it to make sure all the digital coupons and weekly sales prices are entered into the chain’s computerized cash registers? My local supermarket manager, who I swear sees me coming and heads to lunch, offers the paltriest of explanations — most of them blaming me, the customer. Perhaps I only “thought” I had done my digital downloading that morning, he once suggested, ignoring the obvious fact that the register accepted all my other coupons except the free orange juice. Another time, he schooled me that alcohol didn’t count toward the $75 of groceries I needed to get $10 off the order – ignoring my overflowing cart and receipt showing I had spent more than $350, of which no more than $60 was for wine. Apparently what happened was the register stopped “counting” my nonalcoholic groceries at the point the cashier rang up the wine. Punishment at the hands of a teetotaling cash register? Now multiply that across hundreds of grocery orders in every store in the chain.

Here’s the simplest solution of all: Knock off the couponing nonsense and just charge the lowest prices in town. It’s a winner-takes-all strategy.

Share your experience: What customer “disservice” makes you crazy? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.