Curious: In times of rude service. . . which companies are really good?

[Mama Geek]

We really like

West Marine

Cabelas

Ritz Camera

 

They aren't always the cheapest, but they are very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.

[Jkacz]

Email and phone service at Rainbow Resource has always been great.

Phone reps at wayfair.com were wonderful when I had to return something.

For groceries, Market Basket employees are the best. They always offered to help bring out the cart when I was wrangling 2 small children, cover you with an umbrella when it's raining and help put things in your car.

 

Disappointed in Kohls lately, especially when I had a return.

[NotSoObvious]

Whole Foods, hands down

Costco

Trader Joe's

Critical Thinking Company

Starbucks

Harmon's

Chipotle, except for a few locations (we ate at many Chipotles while traveling across the country all summer- they are not all created equally)

 

 

 

[whitestavern]

EMS and LL Bean are consistently excellent.

[vonfirmath]

Boeing Employees Credit uNion

 

Kaskas Oriental Rugs in Austin

[magnificent_baby]

Email and phone service at Rainbow Resource has always been great.

Phone reps at wayfair.com were wonderful when I had to return something.

For groceries, Market Basket employees are the best. They always offered to help bring out the cart when I was wrangling 2 small children, cover you with an umbrella when it's raining and help put things in your car.

 

Disappointed in Kohls lately, especially when I had a return.

 

Same here with Kohls. Usually they are very nice, but I had one very snippy clerk when I returned an item. Also took forever to get some Christmas gifts I ordered online, tons of confusion on whether the items were canceled or not and customer service (over the phone) was not helpful at all. Then heard that many random people received $25 gift cards for order delays, but I did not. 

[magnificent_baby]

Amazon

Firestone (local place)

 

That's all I can think of.  Most places the service is ok.  I'm ok with ok.  Some places are absolutely terrible. 

 

I've never purchased anything from Firestone, but one late Saturday evening, I had a low tire light come on, on my dashboard. DH was out of town, and I panicked (have had SO many nearly flat tire issues) because had many places I needed to be that weekend. I had nearly gotten lost in a bad neighborhood before this happened, so was already frazzled. Pulled into a Firestone, first place I could find that was open. Couldn't believe they were open, close to 7pm on a Saturday. As soon as I pulled in, not one, but two employees came over to my window. They swarmed all around my van, checking all tires, airing them all up, gave me a verbal report on all the pressure readings and handed me tire guage. They were like little tire angels!  :hurray:

[Firefly]

I definitely get the best service from the local mom and pop places-- hands down.  But for large companies, Apple and Amazon come immediately to mind.

[East Coast Sue]

Rainbow Resource has amazing customer service.

 

[simplemom]

Publix, Costco, Amazon, Netflix, Chick-fil-a, and our local Aldi's.

 

I was in a customer service class where I used to work. The leader asked for examples of exceptional customer service we have received in public. One lady shared that she purchased groceries at Publix for her whole family for the week, then realized she'd forgotten her checkbook or card when she went to pay. They told her not to worry, she could leave with the groceries and without paying. She offered to have her husband come and bring the money, but they insisted she not worry about it. The leader of the class that goes around doing seminars regionally training in customer service said she had someone share an exceptional customer service story about Publix in every class. Later, my husband was at Publix with our baby. His debit card wouldn't work in the machine. He bought around $11 worth of food. The manager said they were having trouble with that machine and for him to to worry about paying. My husband offered to go through a different line,but the manager said it wasn't necessary.

[Tammyla]

Hanna Andersson

Land's End

The Teaching Company

CBD

JoAnn's

 

Our Chic-fil-a also has great customer service.

[MrsMommy]

Lego (both in store and online), has the best customer service I've ever encountered. They really go above and beyond.

 

We have a local grocery store chain, Dierbergs, that is also excellent. Right before Christmas, it was raining, and they had extra cart boys working, stationed at the store exits with umbrellas, offering to walk people to their cars. I just about dropped over, I was so surprised!

 

Nordstrom is also a great store for service. I wish I could afford to shop there more often!

[TechWife]

One of our local hospitals (we are blessed to have several hospitals to choose from) has awesome, caring practitioners and support staff. I just don't know about the others. 

 

Chick-fil-A

Target - I've never talked to an employee who didn't know their job and/or where to find something I was looking for

local quilt shop -  friendly, knowledgeable, just a fun place to go

locally owned carpet cleaners - professional, experienced, knowledgeable, prompt

 

ETA: The locally owned Great Harvest Bread Company 

 

 

[Luanne]

My daughter has a phone through T-Mobile and they have always given her great customer service.

[Lara in Colo]

Discount Tire-- I recently had a flat (nail in tire) and they wouldn't repair it since it was too far into the sidewall.  When I said I just couldn't buy a new tire that day (but I would have money in a week or so) I told them to just air it up and I would drive home (two blocks-- I have just done this to get there) they insisted they would give me a used tire for free-- I was super surprised and pleased especially when I later noticed it was a brand new tire!

 

Costco-- My daughter (13) was sick and being whinny in their store and she crawled behind the shelves and when she was told (for the billionth time) to get out, she broke something.  The mess was cleaned and I went to checkout to pay for the broken item (which DD was going to have to pay me back for) and the checker noted the parenting situation, and let the sale stand without saying a word-- then she pulled me aside and said she didn't want to mess  with my parenting, but normally we wouldn't ever have to pay for an accident.  I was pleased she didn't speak up and let DD off the hook, but still let me know what their own policy was.

 

Bass shoe outlet-- I recently bought a pair of $70 penny loafers (which I got for Christmas and have been wanting for  several years) and after wearing them for one day, they went from too tight to way too big once the leather stretched.  They took them back with no issue and I bought another pair and it has the same warranty as the first pair (another 30 days even if worn) plus a (forever?) warranty for manufacturer  issues -- (like stitching)

 

[Jkacz]

Wanted to add Disney Educational Products to the good list. We bought a Bill Nye video but when we went to play it, the wrong video was on the disc. I sent them an email about the problem. A day later, I received a phone call back from a rep. She thanked me for letting them know of the problem and told me that they had checked their stock and had found the same problem with other copies of that disc. She told me to keep the disc I received and that they would send out a correct version of that disc as well as another disc of my choice as a thank-you for bringing the problem to their attention.

[KRG]

In general, I may be alone in this but our local walmart is great about customer service.  I've had employees go to the back to get things for me.  Once I had a coupon for free wholly guacamole.  The shelf was empty but the employee working in produce went back and got every flavor they had in stock so I could choose.  I've had other encounters like this at our walmart, too. I don't have a problem with return there either.  If I paid cash I am getting cash or store credit back.  If I used a credit card the charges will be reversed. 

Amazon
Rainbow Resource
Jif Peanut Butter
Starbucks

These are companies that I have had to contact customer service in the last year.

[mommymilkies]

Chick Fil A has consistently great service.

 

Chipotle is so so.  They're not exuberant like the Chick Fil A folks (which admittedly freaks me out a little), but they are not gruff by any means. 

 

Starbucks is usually great but I had one pissy barrista the other day that ruined my visit. 

 

Skyline Chili is always pretty great.

 

I've never had a cranky Target employee experience.

 

Amazon is usually great, too.

 

*In person* Sprint customer service is great.  We've had good luck with them on the phone once or twice, but the times we've gotten outsourced employees have been atrocious.  Absolutely atrocious.  Not that you can't understand them, but that they were gruff and rude. 

 

The absolute worst cs experience I ever had was with BCBS of NC.  Hands down. So I have low expectations.  :lol:

[twoxcell]

I have had good experiences with these companies:

Amazon

Costco

Snapfish

Redbox

Netflix

Red Robin

Dutch Bros.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I forgot to add Zappos to my list. I love that they ship fast and process returns fast. Once, I bought a very expensive purse and accidentally shipped it to the wrong address--clear across the country (I'd sent a gift to someone else on my previous order and didn't catch that the mailing address was still set to theirs). They sent me another purse and sent a prepaid label to the other person (who was gracious enough to send the box back).

[I talk to the trees]

Think Geek

Rainbow Resource

 

Swarovski- I have dealt with in store reps, phone reps, and online reps. Every single one has been friendly and helpful, going above and beyond what I would consider normal customer service. :thumbup1:

[Cricket]

Discount Tire-- I recently had a flat (nail in tire) and they wouldn't repair it since it was too far into the sidewall.  When I said I just couldn't buy a new tire that day (but I would have money in a week or so) I told them to just air it up and I would drive home (two blocks-- I have just done this to get there) they insisted they would give me a used tire for free-- I was super surprised and pleased especially when I later noticed it was a brand new tire!

 

Costco-- My daughter (13) was sick and being whinny in their store and she crawled behind the shelves and when she was told (for the billionth time) to get out, she broke something.  The mess was cleaned and I went to checkout to pay for the broken item (which DD was going to have to pay me back for) and the checker noted the parenting situation, and let the sale stand without saying a word-- then she pulled me aside and said she didn't want to mess  with my parenting, but normally we wouldn't ever have to pay for an accident.  I was pleased she didn't speak up and let DD off the hook, but still let me know what their own policy was.

 

Bass shoe outlet-- I recently bought a pair of $70 penny loafers (which I got for Christmas and have been wanting for  several years) and after wearing them for one day, they went from too tight to way too big once the leather stretched.  They took them back with no issue and I bought another pair and it has the same warranty as the first pair (another 30 days even if worn) plus a (forever?) warranty for manufacturer  issues -- (like stitching)

 

We've always had a good experience with Discount Tires too. They always been more than fair with us and are always very nice.

 

We loved Les Schwab Tires when we lived in the northwest!

[tabinfl]

Publix - Always a great shopping experience, well worth the slightly higher prices. They also employ a lot of seniors and people with disabilities, at least in my area.

 

Costco - people are usually happy and helpful

 

Amazon - last year my husband exchanged a tape deck that didn't work, but didn't realize he'd left an original tape in the returnd one. Amazon tracked it down and git the tape back to him!

 

And one recent pleasant surprise: Tiny Prints + Fedex: an order got mixed up and shipped 2 days late (boo for this happening w/out letting us know, BUT...), and we didn't discover it until the day before we needed it (traveling, it was supposed to arrive at my destination before I did, got there to discover it was now scheduled for the next day, the day we needed it, but no guarantee on what time -- UGH ). Tiny Prints managed to get through to someone at FedEx who found the package and got it onto an early AM truck so it got to us first thing in the morning!

 

L.L. Bean - after my cousin's town was affected by heavy flooding, her son wore her Bean boots while cleaning out their house. The boots, of course, were ruined in the process after holding up well for years and years -- not their fault, everything that went in the contaminated water had to be disposed of. She sent them a photo & note, and they replaced the boots for free!

 

I can accept mistakes now and then, happens to everyone. Coming through in fixing them, or going above and beyond when the customer has a problem, is where some companies really shine!

[Firefly]

Think Geek

Rainbow Resource

 

Swarovski- I have dealt with in store reps, phone reps, and online reps. Every single one has been friendly and helpful, going above and beyond what I would consider normal customer service. :thumbup1:

 

Oh yeah!  Think Geek has terrific customer service.  I also love that my catalog comes addressed to Kelli "Boom Boom" Lastname.  And yes, the Boom Boom is in quotes. LOL

[LibraryLover]

Zappos

[Jeannie in NJ]

I love our local Home Depot.  I have heard (and hope it is true, that they are huge hirers of people with disabilities).  My special ed son really wants to work there when he turns 18.

[Cafdog]

In-N-Out, Nordstrom, Zappos, Amazon, American Girl....and Disneyland!

[Guest]

Target has much better customer service than K Mart here, largely because they treat their employees better. My local K Mart is just too depressing.

 

Peace Hill Press has been outstanding.

 

Amazon was very prompt about replacing a Kindle before the warranty expired. I did do more troubleshooting on my own after talking to the CS representative and could not fix the unit, even though my initial reaction was that he had been TOO willing to replace rather than repair. I stand corrected.

 

My local CVS is good. My local Winco's is mixed--the good CS people seem to work the night shift so I try to go there after 9 PM.

 

Farmer's Auto Insurance feels a lot more local than it actually is .

[Mrs Mungo]

Chick-fil-a

Ted's Escondido (a local restaurant)

 

I don't think I realized you were local to my family. We love going to Ted's when we go home.

[Serenade]

I have found WIlliams-Sonoma and Coldwater Creek to always be top notch.

[HollyDay]

LLBean

RoadID

Biggby Coffee

 

 

[happypamama]

Had to bump this thread to add a couple more.

 

LEGO -- their service is wonderful! They have replaced missing parts, free of charge, a few times for me.

 

OshKosh -- MIL bought a sleeper for my baby, very cute, but too small. OshKosh was out of it in any other sizes, but they sent me a prepaid mailer to return it, and then they sent me a check for a refund, at the full retail price. Also, an item MIL bought for another son fell apart after one washing. Again, out of stock (MIL shopped early for Christmas gifts), but they looked and saw that other stores had it as a return, so they gave me those stores' numbers to call. One in the mid-west had it, and the lady very nicely set it aside for me. I went to my local OshKosh outlet, had them call the other store, and paid for the item. The other store shipped it to me in just a couple of days, and my son is thrilled. I also have a prepaid mailer from OshKosh to return the damaged one, and they will send a refund when they get it. I think that is pretty good customer service!

 

KleanKanteen -- We have several of these, and my six-year-old one is still in excellent shape. So when my 9yo son's water bottle, only about 1.5 years old, developed a split in the weld, and consequently, a leak, I called them. Without a blink, they took my address and are sending a new one to me. That, IMO, is how you keep customers!

[Lady Florida.]

I don't do a lot of shopping, but I will second Amazon and Publix. Their customer service is consistently good. 

 

Believe it or not, Bright House is pretty good too, at least the local people I've dealt with (and one phone CS person from out of state). While I might not always be happy with their prices (we have them for internet only), I've never had an issue with an actual employee and they are always helpful when I have trouble. The last time a guy came out for what I thought was a modem problem it turned out to be something I didn't connect correctly. He was very gracious and didn't charge me for the service call even though he could have.

[Lady Florida.]

LEGO -- their service is wonderful! They have replaced missing parts, free of charge, a few times for me.

 

 

 

I've never dealt with the company other than at The LEGO Store in Downtown Disney, but those people were always great. We used to make regular trips there when ds was obsessed with LEGO. They showed us how to get the most pieces when filling the cups from the wall of bricks. Also, ds was on a Junior LEGO League team with some other homeschoolers one year. When we took the team to The LEGO Store, one of the "builders" or whatever their called, gave them tips about how to create certain looks (among other things, they wanted a mountain top that didn't look too square). Being the person who builds LEGO creations at one of their stores used to be ds' dream job. :)