Customer Disservice

I was shopping at Banana Republic today to stock up on some t-shirts and a salesgirl was helping me sort through some piles to find what I needed. When she realized there weren't any white tees on the floor in a medium she checked the stockroom. I was disappointed when, after a good deal of time left on the floor to pretend I was interested in their collection of overpriced socks, she returned empty handed. "Sorry," she said and proceeded to reorganize a stack of cashmere sweaters.

Now, the last time I worked in retail (at GapKids) the Counting Crows were a hot new band and wearing oversized plaid flannel shirts were in style, so perhaps things have changed, but I was trained to do whatever it takes to make a customer happy. If we didn't have something they wanted, I would jump on the phone and call every GapKids store within 20 miles to track down an item.

I was very surprised when this salesperson didn't go the distance to help me find what I wanted. I asked her if there were other stores in the area we could call to see if they had the t-shirt and she said the closest store was Boston (too much of a nuisance for me). There was no "would you like me to call them?" or anything like that.

On my way to the registers I silently chided myself for supporting this Banana Republic with its poor customer service but I couldn't say no to their 30% off sale. The cashier asked me if I found everything I was looking for. I was about to utter my automatic "yes" when I realized, no!, I hadn't found everything I wanted. "Actually," I began, "there was something I didn't find." I must have caught the cashier off guard because she looked worried. I suppose most people smile and nod when answering her generic question. "I wanted another t-shirt but you didn't have anymore in my size," I explained.

The cashier gave me a curt smile and tried to reassure me I did have what I wanted. "But you found these t-shirts here," she said. The woman nervously pointed to my pile and I got the feeling this 50 year old lady was scared to pick up the phone and call other stores. I told her yes, I did like the t-shirts I had but I wanted one in white. "Oh, sorry about that," she said apologetically and proceeded to ring up my purchase.

I left Banana feeling a bit vexed; what is the point of asking a customer if they've found everything they're looking for if you don't offer to help a customer if they haven't found what they need? I'd rather the cashier didn't ask me her hollow question, than remind me that customer service was lacking at this store.

On my way to my car I rememberd that my experience at Banana Republic was identical to a grocery shopping excursion I had with my mom recently. The checkout girl asked my mom if she found everything she was looking for. My mom said she didn't couldn't find a brand of soup she loved.

Without looking up at my mother, the saleswoman continued to slide the groceries over the scanner and replied, "That's too bad."