Can the "Canned" Customer Service
We all know that these days, friendly and accommodating in-store customer service is often hard to come by. How many times are we left combing the aisles for assistance or encountering rude clerks who can’t be bothered?
At Bed, Bath, & Beyond, though, that isn't the case. My experience there has been anything but exceptional, but lately it’s getting creepy. After getting married in October and registering for gifts there, I’ve spent some quality time in that store. That’s because Bed, Bath & Beyond is known for catering to wedding couples—the company devotes an entire area to wedding registries in its stores, provides a wedding registry consultant, and even offers customers coffee while they roam the stores scanning gift items.
After the wedding I’ve had to return a couple gifts of which my husband and I received doubles. As always the customer service makes my experience pleasant by quickly processing the returns and accepting items that have been opened and don’t have receipts. In the past month, though, the customers service must have underwent new training because on two different occasions, the customer service reps both asked me if I enjoyed the wedding and then inquired about where we honeymooned. Then upon leaving they both gave me an overly friendly farewell that included something along the lines of me having a glorious, wonderful evening.
Not only do I find these questions invasive and awkward when there’s a line of people waiting behind me and we’re chatting about the weather in Cabo San Lucas, but the responses are canned which makes them seem off putting.
My advice to Bed, Bath & Beyond is to maintain the friendly and efficient customer service that has become synonomous with its name, but be careful not to take it too far. Customers want to maintain relationships with the company, not customer service.
That reminds me of when Safeway Grocery Stores started greeting every customer to improve customer service.
It was nice until it became obvious that the employees were not paying attention to who they were talking to. I was asked how I was and if I needed help by the same employee on three different isles within minutes.
Now I go to Safeway and keep my head down and hope know one says a thing to me.