Have you ever gone to a store to exchange something? Well, I did today and let me tell you, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. It was as if the lady at the store didn’t want to be there or had better things to do and I was bothering her. The problem here is that this is ‘usual’ business in my experience. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the world that we live in.

When I entered the store (a major retailer here in Canada) I went directly to the returns desk (customer service desk) so that I wouldn’t have to carry the item(s) around the store with me and also so I could set the stage for the exchange. I like to tell them what I’m doing and get their ‘buy-in’… it usually helps the situation. Then, I walked around the store to find the correct item that I wanted in exchange and my eyes began to wonder… I thought maybe I could get a new shirt or some socks, so I did.

After I got everything in my hands, I walked up to the returns desk with my exchange items and the few additional items that I WANTED TO BUY. I politely asked if I could pay for the additional stuff at the same time (expecting a polite yes or of course) and was told that she could only do so if there was nobody else waiting in the line. At that moment, I was the only person there and thought “what a stupid thing to say to a customer that is purchasing more stuff”. Clearly, I am a repeat customer, and I am back to give them more of my money!

The little lady at the returns desk told me that I would have to take my additional 5 items that I wanted to purchase to the ‘regular’ cashiers. Imagine that… do my exchange with her and then carry everything over to the other cashiers, wait in line, and pay for the additional stuff. I was ready to just walk out of the store but then I thought I would leave everything there on the counter and see what happens.

As luck would have it, the lady who I was apparently keeping from more important things, had to go on break in the middle of this transaction (I guess that’s more important - who would think of finishing what they are in the middle of before going on break… what a novel concept) and after entering a few things, handed off the transaction to a replacement. Imagine that… she could not wait the necessary 5 minutes to complete my transaction! Anyway, the replacement lady finished everything up without hassle and I was on my way.

Needless to say, I was not impressed with the level of customer service. These people clearly need some customer service training.