My oven quit working so I called Ann's Appliance. She came out the next day, but couldn't fix it. She referred me to another appliance guy who came out the next day and got it running. Then he asked if Ann had charged me anything and was prepared to lower my bill by that amount.

They both spoke highly of each other and I felt.... cared for.

I was nice.

I'm impressed your call was answered by a real live person!
I cringe whenever my call is answered by an automated system because the question I need answered, or the option to speak to a real person, are not always menu choices.
Glad you had a positive experience.

Last edited Sat Oct 4, 2025, 07:06 AM - Edit history (1)

And as someone with so much experience dealing with customer service, I know that the customer does bear some responsibility for ensuring that business is conducted smoothly over the phone. Once I was told that I could add the two items to my order, I provided the details clearly. I didn't dither around trying to make up my mind or remember what it was that I wanted.

So many people don't seem to understand their part in the equation. As the customer, they don't have to be perfectly professional, they're allowed to curse and call the product a piece of shit if that's how they feel. But when they can't even name the product or provide any identifying information, just upping the volume of their complaints and throwing in more curse words isn't going to get their problem resolved.

When I was new to IKEA customer service, one of my first calls was from someone complaining about her missed delivery. Her name didn't come up in the system, and cross-checking by date and address produced no results. I practically begged her for an order number, and when she finally deigned to go dig out some paperwork, it turned out that she had ordered her furniture from a completely different company.