Are you purposely trying to troll for a response? It seems like it. You said "This initially irritated me since I was wearing my company shirt, but I let it slide and pointed out the logo to him."
It's the question asked. If someone walked into my storefront wearing - as an example - a Microsoft polo shirt, I wouldn't say, "do you work for a major company?" It's implied from the shirt. It's a stupid question to ask...maybe ask, "do you actually work at Microsoft?" instead. Shows observation skills and attention to detail, both key in retail and customer service.
Internally, the question bothered me; not just because it was a stupid question, as asked, but because I was there to get a problem fixed. But I didn't get mad and I let it go because the computer was the priority, and he explained the reason for the question...they basically had to sell the replacement to me, so he was trying to identify discounts on the replacement that he could credit back to my card, which I appreciated.
It's no different than if you take your car to the dealer to get something fixed only to have them try and sell you on upgrades. It's annoying - UNLESS that's not what they're really trying to do and the upgrades they're pitching benefit you or save you money. But they need to be very aware of how they express their intentions. THAT, my friend, is customer service.
Citibank? What are you talking about? You work for Citibank? You got a loan through Citibank to pay for your Apple? What?
Pay attention.
Citibank was used as an example of another company that had absolutely no problems proactively checking for company discounts based on my employer and that is how things should be done, despite their reputation.
Apple, who has a superior reputation, is held to a higher standard in my eyes and failed on 5 other occasions.
Again, it all comes back to customer expectation. If you are aware of a promotion offered through your company, it is YOUR responsibility to make Apple aware of that at the time of purchase not theirs.
See, this is the problem with America today. Too many people are so caught up in others' desires to get discounts that they fail to remember - or are too young to remember - when the notion of company expectations, customer expectations, and customer service used to be in line with one another. Let me see if I can help you out.
If you go to Burger King and you order a Whopper with cheese, do you expect the cheese? Of course. But if you see a picture of a burger that has two slices of cheese, order it, get home and find that they give you a burger that has one slice, do you drive all the way back up to the place and get it fixed? I sure as hell do. You could argue that it's my responsibility to check the item before leaving, but what puts Burger King in a better light is to have THEM check their food and anything I MIGHT not be getting proactively for me, rather than having me get pissed and having to get it fixed later.
If you go to Albertsons, they will ask you proactively for a discount card. If you don't have it, they'll ask for your phone number. If you never got one they will swipe one there for you to make sure you get the discount. PROACTIVE. You could argue that it's my responsibility to sign up for and maintain the card, but what puts Albertsons in a better light is to simply help a customer out by proactively asking the question and then offering to still give the discount because it keeps the customers happier.
Verizon Wireless will PROACTIVELY check for company discounts. ALWAYS. They will ask you what company you work for and seek out the maximum discount you are eligible for every single time you walk in that store. You could argue that it's my responsibility to tell them in advance what company I work for and request the discount, but it's in Verizon Wireless' best interest to provide a solid customer experience by seeking the discounts PROACTIVELY rather than waiting for customers to ask for them. It also helps sales, because they can tout that they are saving the customer $X dollars.
People need to understand. I said it before. There's bad service, good service, and best service. On 5 occasions Apple gave good service. That's fine. But with their rep, plus the experiences of other companies I do business with, I expect best service out of Apple EVERY time. That means proactive customer service, instead of reactive customer service, regardless of my "responsibility".
