Customer Reviews

Crisp: Customer Service Nightmares (Crisp Professional Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First off, I want to say that the people who gave this a one star didn't even read it I bet. Notice how all the one star reviews were written within a 4 day period and all have one or two lines. This is either the same person or a collective effort on the part of posters from a certain anti-customer website that I use to be a member of but left in disgust a few years ago. The reason I left in disgust is because they all rallied together to slam another book about customer service: "Give 'em the Pickle". I found their behavior so childish and immature that I did not want to be part of that website anymore.

Anyway, on to this book. Its a collection of stories Ms. Friedman AKA "The Telephone doctor" collected from her readers. She also throws in some stories of her own under the heading of "Nancy's Notebook". The stories are entertaining to read and Nancy make comments on what the employees did wrong and how the situations should have been handled. Some examples of the stories include:

- the woman who went to buy some shoes and was told by a disgusted saleswoman that her feet were so big that only the shoebox would fit her.

-The diner who found a rock in his potatoes. When he complained to the wiater, the waiter said something to the effect of "Do you want to me f'ing apologize or something".

-The couple who called about a hospital bill after the wife had a baby. The employee complained if she had given birth to a healthy baby, they wouldn't be having trouble with their bill.

-The woman who told a salesclerk she was "just browsing". When she found an item she wanted and asked to be rung up, the clerk basically informed her "no, you are just looking remember" and walked away.

etc, etc.

Again, this is an entertaining book. I love to read these type stories. Was the customer always in the right? No way. In some of the stories a manager or another employee tried to rectify the problem and the customer still wasn't satisified. But I think overall this book does have some good lessons on how to treat people.

I'm wondering where the "Sucky Customers: How they can improve customer service workers lives" books are. It's about time, methinks.

You forgot about how many customers are so awful that it drives the low wage earning customer service employees to not be as nice as they normally would. I've worked at a movie theater for about a year and started off very friendly now i dont talk to customers at all beyond what is needed for work.

This book is completely one-sided, and operates under the mistaken belief that the customer is always right. The author obviously never dealt with customers at all. As someone who has been there, I can tell you that the customer is NOT always right. In fact, they are often completely wrong.

^^ Just go to any big box department store and you can get that for free!

I just read the exerpt regarding the person who came by 15 minutes before closing.

If she wanted the chairs so bad, why did she wait until the last minute to come and get them? The employees of the store have lives and they have families, but they all have to stay because one lady decided she HAD to have some chairs at closing time. She even said that she knew it was closing time in her story but she went in anyway.

The comments on the story were equally disturbing... EVERY customer is NOT special, the salespeople are not honored to serve them, and they should not bow down and kiss the customers feet. There's millions and millions of customers, and they all have to shop SOMEWHERE. Employees are not mindless robots with big smiles who like being ordered around, they're real people with real feelings, and customers seem to forget that. I can testify that I have seen many MANY more rude customers than rude salespeople.

I think that EVERYONE should have to work in retail at some point in their life... the author of this book has obviously never worked in retail in their life, because if they had it woudl be a very different perspective.

I recently purchased your book "Customer Service Nightmares" because I saw you on TV, & thought as a customer service rep that it would be something I could relate to. How right I was. I can honestly say that our company will solve a lot of problems with the advice from this book. Thank you.

Not every customer is a pleasusre to serve, but following Ms. Friedman's recommendations will help to turn customer service nightmares into pleasant encounters that will ensure your customers come back. And that's not only good for your company..it's good for you too.!

Any manager expecting their workers to follow the 'guidelines' in this book will experience high turnover rates among workers.
I can tell a customer how to get excellent service in this brief review, and save those who would otherwise purchase this book plenty of money.

1 - Be polite and respectful. Treat employees as you would like to be treated.
2 - No means no. If a policy is posted, written on a reciept, etc... then that's the policy. Don't abuse an employee because it is day 117 and the return policy is 30 days.
3 - Don't yell at or cuss at an employee. Don't threaten an employee. If you need a favor, ask nicely. Most are pleased to help those who are nice to them.
4 - Don't expect special treatment. Don't expect the store to open half an hour early for you. Don't expect the store to close half an hour late for you. Learn to manage your time. You aren't special enough to be worth ruining someone's evening to cater to your whim.
5 - Watch your own children. Employees are not baby-sitters. YOu are responsible for your child's safety. Nobody wants to see your child hurt, but it is your job to keep your child from vandalizing and destroying property.

YES, it can! Ms. Friedman's book not only provided real-life examples of customer service gone wrong, but solutions for solving those problems. I found it difficult to put the book down for its entertainment factor, often reading into the night as I might a recreational book. I hurt for those customers who were so horrendously wronged, but found satisfaction in knowing I could learn to prevent that from happening to one of my customers. As a manager of volunteers for a health care facility, I found many solutions that I could apply to my customer service training for my volunteer staff who frequently have front-line contact with the public and patients.

This book is a great way to lose your employees, if you've wanted to have to replace your employees over and over again then read this book.Everyone knows that it is cheaper to keep your workers than to have to spend money replacing them.. Its "helpful idea" are no more than ravings of a bitter customer. She obviously has no idea how the retail industry works. You only get get good service if you deserve it, if you act like a bad customer then you will be treated like one. The retail worker is not paid enough to kiss your [...].