So there is a guy who "sells computers" in a "shop" near me. I use these terms loosely because people rarely go into this shop, and when they do, nobody buys any computers.
It may have to do with the salesman/owner. He doesn't rank highly on the customer-service-ometer. I went to his store once (big mistake) to try to buy a motherboard for a computer that was suffering from dementia. I am sometimes impatient and wanted to buy a motherboard that day; also I had done zero research because the onset of dementia was rather sudden and I needed this fixed ASAP. Consequently I did not have a specific motherboard in mind when I embarked on my quest; all I knew was I needed an AMD motherboard for my AMD processor.
The man in the store seemed rather peeved that I was disturbing his solitude. In fact it took several minutes before he even talked to me, during which time I amused myself by browsing the selection of products available in-store on the shelves. I was trying to choose between a sun-faded PCI video-card with 16 MB ram (remember: this story takes place in 2006), and a handsome plastic drawer for storage of 5.25" diskettes. I had almost decided when the owner asked me what I wanted. This is when his excellent communications skills came into play:
Me: What kind of AMD motherboards do you have?
Him: What kind do you want?
Me: Well, what do you have in stock?
Him: We can order anything.
Me: Yes, but what kind do you have in the store?
Him: Just tell me what motherboard you want, and I can order it for you.
Me: I want to buy a motherboard today, and take it home right away.
Him: It takes 3 days to order.
Me: Do you have any AMD motherboards in stock, right now?
Him: Yes.
Me: What kind of motherboard can I take home today?
Him: We can order any kind you want, just tell me which one.
With this kind of service, it's no wonder that everyone I know who's been in there has come out saying "He's crazy!" Yet somehow his store stays open.
If he isn't selling computers, what is he doing then? My theory is that his store is a front for a secret government research centre. His disheveled appearance, the random collection of parts in the store, and his total inability to communicate with a customer lead me to believe that he is a relic of the Harris government's attempts to eradicate poverty by cutting welfare and genetically modifying poor people to become super-soldiers, or undead zombies.
Showing posts with label Customer Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Customer Service. Show all posts
Booking flights: bait and switch pricing
I tried booking a flight today, and was greeted with this excellent bait-and-switch routine. First, the search engine shows candidate flights sorted by price:
Then, when you click on "Select" to pick this flight, it shows you the same booking, on a form that asks for you to choose the number of passengers:
But after choosing the number of passengers, you are greeted with a subtly updated booking detail:
Note: the price has changed. In fact it's gone up almost $100. WTF?
I called Flight Centre to ask what happened. I was told that "all websites do this" and "the price is updated when you try to book, but the search results are not updated." Furthermore they pointed me to the minuscule text at the bottom of the search results page that says "These prices are for comparison only."
Comparison to what? When you are searching for items based on lowest price, the only thing that matters IS the price. If the price is incorrect, which in this case it was off by 20%, how can you make a meaningful comparison? The weaselly text at the bottom of the page may absolve them from criminal liability for deceptive advertising, but this still stinks to me.
Then, when you click on "Select" to pick this flight, it shows you the same booking, on a form that asks for you to choose the number of passengers:
But after choosing the number of passengers, you are greeted with a subtly updated booking detail:
Note: the price has changed. In fact it's gone up almost $100. WTF?I called Flight Centre to ask what happened. I was told that "all websites do this" and "the price is updated when you try to book, but the search results are not updated." Furthermore they pointed me to the minuscule text at the bottom of the search results page that says "These prices are for comparison only."
Comparison to what? When you are searching for items based on lowest price, the only thing that matters IS the price. If the price is incorrect, which in this case it was off by 20%, how can you make a meaningful comparison? The weaselly text at the bottom of the page may absolve them from criminal liability for deceptive advertising, but this still stinks to me.
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