Customers Need Service, Not Chores
January 4th, 2010 by Don Gallegos
I like the idea of gift cards. You give a present, and the recipient can choose something that will make him or her happy. Good idea, but…
Sometimes buying a gift card is a real pain in the neck. I went to the service desk at the Cherry Creek shopping center in Denver the other day to purchase a gift card. The clerk at the service desk said there would be a $2.50 charge to buy the gift card.
I almost fainted! A service charge because I was willing to spend $100 in the mall? That’s crazy. They should be offering me a discount to buy the card!
I gave the clerk my VISA card and the clerk asked me for my driver’s license. After I protested, the clerk explained that the driver’s license was needed because the VISA card could be a stolen card. Wait a second. Is the shopping center now the police department for Visa?
After I complied with the request, the clerk ran the card and asked me to sign and provide my phone number.
At this point, I’m fed up. I told the clerk my phone number is none of the shopping mall’s business and I refused to give it. Reluctantly, the clerk gave me my gift card.
To me, this was miserable customer service. Why?
For one: The shopping center should love having customers buy gift cards. The mall is getting an interest free loan from the customer. Instead, I had to pay a 2.5% fee for the privilege of giving them $100.
Secondly: A significant percentage of gift cards are never used, resulting in even more income to the shopping center.
And third: They wanted information they didn’t need – my phone number – which made the transaction take longer and made me feel my privacy was being violated.
It amazes me that people put up with such poor service. Maybe it’s because poor service is the norm.
That’s it for me. No more gift cards from Cherry Creek shopping center.
Customer Service Lesson: If the customer is making a purchase, don’t make it so difficult to complete the transaction, asking for unnecessary information. And don’t try to squeeze out extra money from the customer. You may discourage the customer from ever shopping with you again.
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Don Gallegos is the author of “Win the Customer, Not the Argument.” His customer service philosophy is, “The customer is not always right, but she is always your customer.” For more information about Don’s book, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.