So, as the saga continues, here is the second establishment:
(hope you are sitting down for this one… lol)
On this particular day, I woke up and went to FedEx Kinko’s extra early, in order to eliminate any confusion. I had it planned out from the night before, and I just wasn’t in the mood for any mishaps. My purpose for going to Kinko’s in the first place was to get some business cards made up. I called a few days prior just to verify the turnaround time, and to be sure that that specific location (125th Street) offered the same-day business cards service. I had an event to attend that evening, and so I really needed these cards. I went to the Kinko’s, and immediately upon entering I felt like it was a mistake. The associates were not helping any customers who were in the store already; they were just standing behind the corner talking and making fun of people. I dismissed this behavior as “typical,” and proceeded to the counter to get assistance. It took literally 5-7 minutes for one of them to acknowledge me, and when she did, she didn’t even smile or make eye contact. I explained to her that I was there to place a same-day order for business cards, and she called over her associate to help me. He took my order, and showed me the different fonts, styles, and cardstock. He wrote everything down as I gave him detailed instructions. I asked him how long it would be until my cards are ready, so that I could come back and pick them up, and I mentioned to him that I had a very important event to attend that evening. He assured me that I could come back in 8 hours, and that my cards would be ready and perfect. He also said that if there was a problem, they would call me right away. The ETC was cutting things close, and it didn’t leave a window for any error, because I knew that after I returned to Kinko’s to pick up my cards, I was going to have to immediately head to the venue. So, I paid him (just to get the payment out of the way), and I left with the confidence that everything had been done just right.
A few hours passed, and I started to get a little weary. A feeling of uneasiness and doubt started to creep in. Yet, I was so incredibly busy with other things in preparation for the evening that lied ahead. And I calmed myself with the assurance that if anything came up, he would call me on my cell phone.
I finished all of my errands and prepping, and I was about to put my clothes on for the event. I had about 45 minutes to kill. I called Kinko’s to check on my order. Nobody answered the phone (no surprise there). So I walked briskly over there, and as soon as I walked in the door, the associates put their heads down. I went to the counter and asked the guy who had been helping me if my order was finished and ready. He said that they had to send it out (what???), and that they cannot seem to locate the messenger, and are not sure if he ever even dropped the order off, or picked it up, or even if it was ready!!! Needless to say, I was aghast. My patience was running very thin. I asked where the “other location” was, and then over walks some big, burly chic who clearly had an attitude about life in general and wanted to vent it to someone. She proceeds to argue with me and tell me that it is not their responsibility to “track down” my order, and that is “my problem.” I asked her simply, how long does it take for the messenger to get from 78th Street (or wherever it was on the UES) to 125th Street, and she spat back, “You do the math!” (Wowsers!) So I told her that I shouldn’t have to be concerned with that. I was promised an order at a specific time, and I paid, and now I am being told that they don’t know anything about the order. What kind of service is that? She started yelling louder about how I am “patronizing” the associate (think she was a little confused on her word choice), and how again this whole situation is “my problem.” At that point, some other mean girl came from the back and “restrained” BigBurly, and BigBurly then started screaming, “She better be glad I’m at work!!!!” Are you kidding me?????????? That was all that I could think to myself.
Never is it appropriate to act like or insinuate that you are going to “fight” a customer. Over what? Exercise a little self-control. Acting like that makes you look extremely ignorant.
I asked for a refund, and by this time I was borderline running late, and remember, I still had my sweat pants on, so I still needed to go back home and change. With no business cards. The girl from the back refused to give me my money back, and said the reason was because the cards had already been printed up and I agreed to the proof. By this time, I was so done with this whole issue, that I asked for the manager’s name and the district manager’s name, and the name of BigBurly, and I was resigned, but I left.
You wanna know the irony of this story? By the time I ran home, jumped into my clothes for the event, called my driver to come get me, and went downstairs to wait for him, the original associate (the guy) who initially took my order, had literally run all the way from the FedEx Kinko’s on 125th Street to my house (which is a pretty far distance), sweating and panting, to hand deliver my business cards.
Wow.
I told him that his one good deed erased all of their ignorant actions in my book. And I never made the call to Corporate. But perhaps I should have. To report what a stellar client satisfaction employee they have in him.
Service with a Smile rating: hmmm, I think I will give the store an F. But he gets an A+
