One of my 2009 Better Life Commandments is to expand my comfort zone. Since making this one of my Commandments, I have found myself doing many things I never would have done in the past. Recently, a trip to OfficeMax with my wife provided another opportunity to do this. It also gave OfficeMax a chance to provide excellent customer service after failing to do so originally.
This event may seem trivial to some, but for me, someone whose preference is to avoid conflict, this was an uncomfortable thing to do.
My wife and I went to OfficeMax to buy supplies for a benefit we helped organize. While there, I noticed a Flip Ultra Video Camera with no price tag and a Clearance tag claiming "50% off" the marked price. I had just viewed the same camera the day before on Amazon, so I was very interested in this. I asked the cashier what the regular price of the camera was, and she let me know it cost $149.99. So I would get the camera for $75. I just wasn't sure I wanted to spend $75 on a "want" item instead of a "need" item. I checked the Clearance tag and it said the sale lasted until 3/28/09, so we left the store so I could think about whether or not I was going to buy the camera.
After discussing with my wife, I decided that I would get the camera. It was a great deal, $50 less than Amazon, and we both felt it would be a good thing to have with all of the funny things our girls do. As an added bonus, I would be able to take it to the benefit that we were having the next night for a friend of ours who has cancer.
The next day, we went back to the store to buy the camera. To my surprise, the Clearance tag was no longer on the camera. When I asked about it, I was told that the camera was not on clearance and that they weren't sure that a Clearance tag had been on it. Fortunately, the cashier who helped us the day before was able to confirm that the camera was marked as clearance the day before. The camera salesman went to the back room, and then let us know that the camera that was on clearance was an older model but they had none of those left in stock. When I asked if they would honor the 50% off price for the newer camera, he went back to talk to a manager and came out with a "No" for us.
At this point, we were disappointed, so my wife and I asked the cashier for the District Manager's name. She went to the back room to ask the manager, and without looking up from what he was doing, he told her that we "need to call 877-OfficeMax". He didn't even have the courtesy to come out to talk to us about it. Of course, we left the store irritated by his lack of concern and the fact that the camera had been tagged incorrectly the night before.
In the past, I would have let this go with no further action. This time, I called the number we were instructed to call and filed a complaint. I was told that matters like this are normally handled on a store level, but that my complaint would be passed on.
Five days passed, and I didn't think I was going to hear anything more about it. Next thing I know, I have a voicemail from the District Manager asking me to call him back. I almost decided not to call him back, again trying to avoid conflict. When I called him, he apologized multiple times and let me know that I would get the camera for 50% off, just as the tag listed originally. He had the Store Manager call me to let me know that they had the camera in stock, and that it would be 50% off. Thankfully, this was not the same manager who was too busy to even look up from his work a few days earlier.
In the end, what was a bad customer service experience at OfficeMax, was turned into a positive with a very simple act. By expanding my comfort zone, and simply asking for what I wanted, I was able to get a great deal on a camera that will allow me to record memorable moments with my family.
What could you ask for today that will help make your life better? What do you have to lose, why not ask for it now?
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