I didn’t set out to become a customer service benchmark. It’s just the product of being a consumer with a blog.
Those of you with glasses might know the name of those little oval pads that rest on each side of your nose. I’m too tired to look them up. But I needed one on Sunday, because one of those little pads tore completely free, rendering my glasses quite painful. I managed to get it back on long enough to make the drive to Wal-Mart, which was going to be my best bet on a Sunday afternoon.
I was surprised to see the Vision Center open on a Sunday, and gravitated there instead of the pharmacy section. The woman manning the desk didn’t notice me until I got right up to the counter. I pointed to the empty rack where the oval pads would be, and noted that the tiny circular pads would not fit my glasses.
She asked to see them, and I handed them over. Maybe out of reflex, she peeled the straggling pad off the hook and tossed it into the trash. She walked back into an office, rendering me blind for a couple of minutes. It dawned on me that if there were no compatible pads in the store, I would be in for a challenge getting home.
She came back with new pads installed, and refused to allow me to pay for them. “You needed those, and we didn’t have them in stock,” she said. “Don’t tell anyone, I don’t think I was supposed to do that.”
She fixed my glasses, and refused to charge me for that. Did I mention that I didn’t get my glasses at that vision center? I might just get my next ones there, though…
Wal-Mart? Are you listening? Promise me she won’t get into trouble!
[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Wal-Mart, marketing, customer service, eyecare[/tags]
