JC Penney

Living 63 miles from the city has its advantages as well as disadvantages. Advantage: By the time I get home from my commute, I am usually decompressed and relaxed. Disadvantage: When I have a bad customer experience, it gives me time to crystallize my thoughts.

Yesterday I looked into my closet and decided it was time for new suits. Being economically stingy as I am, this meant my bi-yearly trip to my “local” JC Penny’s, which, as I stated above, is 63 miles away. In the past this has been a mutually satisfying relationship: I give them my money and they provide a suit I can wear.

After making my $400 plus purchase, I drove the 63-mile trip home looking forward to being smartly dressed the next day.

There was a problem as you have guessed. The attendant neglected to remove the security device that was attached to the jacket. Unfortunately, I did not discover this fact until the next morning, while getting dressed. Plans ruined… to late to return to the store… time to redress… Crap! Now I’m late!

So, wearing a suit I did not want to wear I drove to my meeting. Life goes on, but I needed to return the product to have that damn security device removed. Since the meeting I was attending was an additional three hours away, it meant traveling after the meeting an additional 100 miles out of my way to get the devise removed.

Thirty minutes away from the store, I called to speak with the store manager. I explained the situation and asked if she would be there to speak to me in person when I arrived. Carol said that she would. I verified. Again, I was assured she would be on hand.

I arrived at the store twenty minutes later. I asked for Carol, the manager, and was told that she had left an hour earlier (clearly a lie). I did not argue. Why? Because I knew I would be writing this article.

If Carol had made herself available and listened to my recommendation for customer service improvement, I would not be writing about the experience here, where millions of people will now associate my experience with JC Penny’s. I am a process improvement professional who was willing to give my advice for free. Now I feel insulted and victimized. That I will not abide. I am the customer!

So remember, dear manager, the days of avoiding customer complaints are over. If you won’t hear your customer’s complaints, there are millions of others that will.