I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been busy moving, and we barely have Internet access in the new place (read: dial-up). Turns out SBC.com doesn’t recognize my phone number as being active yet, therefore I can’t sign up for DSL online (and that’s the only way I can get the promotional $14.95/month price). And, because our house has never had cable, Comcast has to send out a crew to build a conduit from the street to the house. So, no high-speed for us, at least for now. And no digital cable/ReplayTV, etc. We probably have to get some electrical work done to be able to handle our modern gadgets, anyway. (So far, we haven’t blown any fuses but I haven’t even run the microwave yet.) I’m just considering this a bit of a sabbatical from my digital home lifestyle.
Anyway, to my point. Our adventures in the new house took us to Target yesterday, where we were in search of a shower curtain rod. Being nearly 9 months pregnant, I wasn’t keen on trapising all around the store (this after looking in the seemingly obvious places), so I picked up a red courtesy phone. Customers are to press 1 if they want an associate to come immediately to answer their question, or press 2 if they just want to speak to someone. I was content with option 2, but it didn’t work properly, so a nice recorded voice told me that a sales associate would be there to help me within 60 seconds.
I was impressed. Help in 60 seconds is a pretty strong brand promise. I waited.
Sure enough, a young guy in a Target uniform came rushing around the corner in not too long. Is he coming to help me, I wondered? Yes, he indicated, he is responding to my call. But instead of asking me why I called or offering to help, he rushed over to said red courtesy phone and began tinkering with it, customer be damned. For at least three minutes he let me cool my heels while he pushed buttons, called his supervisor, etc. He was obsessed by the idea that he had to “clear the call” within those promised 60 seconds. If he didn’t, I suppose it would look bad for his, and the store’s, response metrics.
Before he managed to handle the technical difficulties, my husband walked around the corner, holding up a shower curtain rod triumphantly. We headed downstairs and were off, leaving the sales associate wrestling with the red courtesy phone. My husband told me later he’d tried to stop the very same sales associate as he was rushing toward me, only to be told he was too busy “answering a call” to help.
It’s a perfect example of a corporation getting so caught up in the metrics, they forget the point — which was originally to help the customer within a reasonable amount of time. Something to think about.
Posting will likely continue to be light as we continue to unpack and, within the next few weeks, become new parents. Due date in 12 days.
I have a young family (with a 4-year-old) and I shop at Target all the time. This anecdote is not how it usually goes. It is well known in the retail industry that everyone is chasing Target trying to emulate their success. Wal-Mart’s numbers are down and they are bringing in their version of “shabby chic” in order to play catch up. I return things to Target about once a month, and it never takes more than 60 seconds.
No company can control every action of every employee in every store. Weirdos will be weirdos, and the one you described above will probably be working elsewhere before too long.
Mr. Spoons, you’re totally right. Target generally rocks, in my opinion. We spend plenty of time and money there (and expect to do so more once our baby is born). I didn’t mean for this entry to be a slam on Target, but I wanted to make a general point about this one guy’s attitude. Sure, it’s crititally important to measure, but make certain that “making the numbers” doesn’t mean neglecting the ultimate purpose. In fact, my general positive opinion of Target is probably why this one incident was as disapointing as it was.