I recouped $12 & Happy Thanksgiving CA

Greetings,

Are you ready for the long weekend? Since my DH will be at work on the holiday I am not too excited. You see, I think that in order to have great R & R at home you should not have to even get your own meals, so I'll miss that on Monday. But with that time I guess I can have a great time in the kitchen. How about you?

Those of you who know me very well knows how frugal I am or maybe very diligent with my pennies. So as you would imagine I am a vigilant coupon clipper and user. Also I am one of those people who scrutinize their receipts long after leaving the store.

Several weeks ago I went to Costco and shopped for two different families and of course, I used my member coupons. And I guess amidst all of the activities at the register the cashier missed a coupon worth four dollars. Upon this discovery I contacted the store. The associate (Michelle) who answered the call told me that my only option would be to bring my receipt back to the store. To this I let her know that because I live one and a half hours away that’s not an option, and she repeated their policy.

At that point I asked for a manager and was placed on hold. She returned shortly and asked for the transaction information from the receipt and my mailing address. A few more short hold sand I was told sorry for the inconvenience maam and we are mailing you a cash card with your refund.

Feeling good about the better customer service from Costco I decided to investigate the balance on my Amex gift card. Early September when I used the card I remember the balance being twenty-five dollars. However, when I tried to use it last week it did not work so I checked the balance online. To my dismay I notice that AE had been charging me maintenance for the past three months to a total of eight dollars.

I called AE and helpful Ms. J answered my call. I explained to J that I received the card as a gift less than a year ago and do not think it’s fair that I should not have to pay the fee. After checking the history for herself she agreed with my complaint and agreed to credit me back the money. After being on hold for a few second she returns and said maam I am sorry but our system is currently down. Please give me your information and I will credit your card and call and let you know when it’s done. By the end of the day Ms. J left me a voice message to let me know that my card has been credited. Yuppie, with the excitement I bounced my way over to the WF market and voila. My purchase was paid for my AE.

Thanks Costco and AE gift card for refunding my twelve dollars and keep up the great customer service. And to you “my friends” take care and still well and keep your eyes on “that one”. Happy Thanksgiving for my Canada friends, may you always find a reason to be thankful.

Del

Metro Cutomer Service

On Friday I rode the trains with my pregnant friend; so I’m sharing our experience in customer service.

We arrived at the Medical Center Metro about 4:20 PM and she asked the manager to use the customer restroom. He said that the cleaner just went to the back and sure when she’s finish he’ll let her do so. Fifteen minutes into the wait the station manager went to check and came back out she asked him how much longer and he said he was not sure, but he told the cleaner that there was a woman waiting and when she's finish to let her know. Well that wait drag on to some thirty minutes at which time manager number two arrived on the scene and enter the area, when he came out my friend asked him if th restroom was ready he said no it had to dry. By that time her patience and emotions had worn thin and she blurted out to him with tears streaming down her face, "how much longer do I have to wait, I'm pregnant and have been here for more than thirty minutes." He said to her okay Ms. let me see," and went back to the area, he came back almost immediately and said to her go ahead and be sure to close the door behind her. When we got to the restroom area the floor was wet, but there was no one in sight, meaning the cleaner.

Upon leaving the restroom area both manger signaled for her to come to the booth. When we got there manager two said "Ms. I'm going to give you a free ride today." Her with her modest self said no it's ok, he insisted and proceed to write her a free pass for the day. He said "something like this should never happen, you should never have to wait 30minutes to use a restroom. That is unacceptable and the lady is just a custodian. But this will never happen again, I am not on duty yet, but even the other manager agrees that you have been here that long and it's unacceptable." That's why I Del, tell people all the time do not make it an issue about whether you like a job or not but one of character. Be and do the best you can despite the circumstances and even though people may not like you they will not be able to deny the quality of your work.

So kudos to the station manager at Medical Center Metro on Friday, August 1. To the custodian shame on you, you are the perfect example of how poor customer service has become. To my friend, thank for allowing me to be there for you and seeing your vulnerability, and that to me is the way friendship should be. Stay well, Del.