My recent experience with The Source is this;
I went in on Wednesday (March 2) and wanted to see if they had a Wii Sensor Bar, as mine had broke. If you don't know what a Wii Sensor Bar is, it is what picks up the wireless remotes activation. Without it, you cannot use your system.
When I came in, there was two associates working.. both of which were activating phones. I was second in line at this point. The next person in front of me was also going to be activating a phone. I stood in line for 20 minutes with merely a question at the time. Behind me was a man buying one pack of batteries, and behind him two other customers. Despite my annoyance at this point.. they didn't have what I needed, and said they could order one for me, I took the offer. Granted, there was no other store in town that could get the item for me, so it really was this or order it online. They said it should be in by Friday (March 4).
After waiting until almost closing time, Friday, I hadn't received a call saying it was in.. so I called wondering what was up. They hadn't even ordered it! At that time, they said they would order it Monday and it would be in Wednesday (9th).
I hadn't heard anything by noon on the 9th, so I called. No one answered. Maybe they were busy? I called ten minutes later. No one answered. I waited until 2pm and rang rang rang until I finally got someone on the phone. They didn't know why it was in, and would call me back after looking into it. I told them I had to go back to work and to leave a voicemail.
They actually did call me back, which I appreciate. They said that they could order me a wired one (the standard sensor bar) from a PartSource and it would be two weeks. They also said that the wireless one (the one I was getting originally from them) would take a few days from a different store.
All while, I'm holding my cool because I know that they don't deserve to be yelled at- NOBODY deserves to be yelled at at their place of business. However, if you are not competent to do your job, perhaps someone should train them to be competent. I requested their customer relations phone number (which is 1866-454-4426 for those who have complaints about the company) but their hours of operation are closed right now, so I'll be calling on my lunch tomorrow to let them know that they have lost a sale because of their terrible customer service... so that they can get better at their job.
Keep in mind, Powell River is an isolated town on the mainland but only accessible by ferry or plane. There isn't much option for electronics. The Source is located in the Town Centre Mall. It's not very busy in this town. It's population is roughly 15, 000, and the town is thought to be a retirement town. What business the Source gets, they should be appreciative of and work for. I feel like I was working to give them my money. And in my week of waiting, I looked on Ebay and found one for less than half of what The Source was selling for, and already paid for it. It is coming from California, and with my tracking number, is already at the border. I should receive it probably in three or four days. I will never purchase from The Source again, and I have warned several of my friends to be wary of their customer service.
Resources: I work in customer service, so perhaps that is why I am expecting a higher level of customer service than I received, because I am expected to do it for my job.
In my job, if there are more than three people in line (including the person you are serving, you call for backup. If there is no backup you call a manager. People hate to wait.
I think it is horrible to say to a customer that "it'll be in on Friday" or "it'll be in on Wednesday" when I know it hasn't even been ordered. I think it's horrible to say that, even if it has been ordered and it doesn't make it on that day. In saying these words, it's like creating a customer promise. Say "I'll give you a call when it comes in, it shouldn't take more than a week or two" If you need to say anything at all.
Also, it is standard practice to answer a phone call in THREE rings, even if you are busy, and ask the customer to be on hold until you were available to take the call.
0 comments