Customer service

The scene is in our local music shop, part of a well known group.

me: excuse me, do you have "The Definitive Series" by The Easybeats?

her: umm who?

me: The Easybeats "The Definitive Series"

her: I don't know who they are

me: (looks at her as if she's from another planet)
me: are you kidding me?

her: I've never heard of them

me: The Easybeats the greatest Australian rock and roll band of the 1960s?

me: you work in a music shop and you have NEVER heard of them?

her: well, they are a long way before my time

me: honey, thats beside the point. You need to get another job.

This was a perfect example of one of my pet hates, sucky customer service. How can someone working in a music shop not know of The Easybeats? Didn't she have any training?

Bad customer service irritates me. I've had my share:-

1) I hate when I walk to the shop counter and the assistant (once she finishes her telephone call) looks up and says "Are you right?" WTF am I standing here for, you fucking moron. I really hate those three words.

2) People trying to sell me faulty products. A sales assistant once tried to sell me a digital camera. With a cracked screen. For full price. He didn't get the sale.

3) Sales assistants who barely look up when asked a question. It's as if I am ruining their already mundane day by asking if they have Dora the Explorer pyjamas in size 6.

Don't get me wrong, there is great customer service too. We have the best newsagent here where I live. Everytime I walk in, the staff make such a fuss over me and my kids that it's a pleasure to go newpaper shopping. They fawn over my daughter, she runs to them to show off her hair and it's all good. And the fish and chip shop is awesome too. Besides making great food, they are always friendly, even on a Friday night when the stress levels peak. That's called being professional. That's great customer service...