I will wager a small amount that somewhere in the conversation the words "reach out" came into play. It is the phrase that irks me more each time I hear or read it.

Yes, men. It was a man who serviced the address. If it had been a woman, I would have said, some women still have work ethic.

How about this, some of mankind still have work ethic. Better?

Besides, you're picking on the wrong man. I'm 100% inclusive. So I'm not apologizing for referring to a man as a man.

Speaking of men and women, my experience some years ago was that two Comcast employees arrived to replace the buried outdoor cable. One man, one woman. Sparks obviously flew and not from the cable. They left it hanging approx. one foot above ground in the back yard and 'went to lunch', not to return.

When calling, most of those who answer are on script. The other day DH was so frustrated answered all of THEIR questions first, then to not have his one question answered.

The phone rep ended with, "Did I answer all your questions?" DH said, "Are you kidding me. You didn't answer it at all!"

It sounds like each of the companies tried very hard to accommodate you. Yes some errors occurred while they were attempting to accommodate your busy schedule, however it seems as though they did try very hard.

There's another way to look at the situation... you were in desperate need of something far away. You got it in record time.

My son once worked in Amazon's shipping. It was a constant battle of chasing wayward orders. I do think companies try to get your order where you want them when you want them. It all seems to go wrong when one goes against the natural flow.

A little o/t but my first job outta college was mkt research w/a RE conglomerate. I tallied survey replies, analyzed them and reported findings. I was sooo disillusioned when I realized the inputs were only used as an anger monitor and improvements were made strictly to facilitate rent increase timing. If anger too high, no rent increase. They never intended to fix/improve anything. Most customer satisfaction surveys are a monumental joke.

It seems like every week you have a new post about incompetent people! I must say I don't encounter them as frequently though I've had my share of frustrations.

A little bit has to do w/how we start conversation. If you preface w/let me tell you how mad I am, you are guaranteed comments will rest on deaf ears, even if an easy fix.

Interesting encounter Anglophilia. Glad you got your package at all...

Bossyvossy, I've often thought that the customer satisfaction surveys are sent out by companies so that badly treated customers can talk about a badly handled transaction to the company, which rarely does any good, instead of publicizing their misfortune outside the company which is far more likely to bring change .

Smart observation ‘cause most people give up and only a few go all the way.

Sorry you had so much aggravation, just glad you now have the new equipment.

UPS went ALL the way imho. A customer service rep forgot to write in your file a note.... yes that was unfortunate. They repeatedly tried to make sure that your package got to you around YOUR schedule and made that happen for YOU. What about some appreciation for these companies for working around your dog grooming and medical appointments. Is it possible she didn’t lie to you, maybe there was a computer glitch, maybe her boss came to speak to her immediately when you got off the phone and she forgot??

When the package is an oxygen concentrator for supplemental oxygen so I can leave my house, it must be shipped as quickly as possible. This is not a blouse I'm anxious to wear!!!!

I really don't think it is unreasonable to expect the person with whom I was speaking at Inogen to actually enter in the computer the shipping information she told me to expect. I was not asking for anything special - this is part of what I paid for up-front when I paid extra for a "Lifetime Warranty" instead of the standard 3 year warranty (unit is not yet 1 yr old). One would think that she would be trained as to how to put in the correct shipping information.

As for UPS - the customer service rep outright lied to me and never entered in the computer that I had made the call. My driver received no call from her; he also received no notice to deliver it in the PM. He did receive a call the 2nd time.

Have we really reached the point that it is being "demanding" to expect people to actually do what they say they will? Well, if it is, then I guess I'm demanding. I find that today most people are very averse to any sort of conflict and will allow others to run roughshod over them rather than complain. We accept cold food in restaurants and shoddy service all over the place as we don't like to appear "demanding" or be perceived as a "complainer". Well, to each his own...

Lucille,

Cable wire has ultra low voltage and shouldn't cause any sparks. Or did you mean something else?

Glad you got your equipment despite the San Andreas Fault of problems.

It would be nice to see a system where the captured picture from their screen is automatically emailed or texted to you, the customer, as an assurance that you are indeed on their system. With that extra step it's less likely that it can slip someone's mind.

Of course they would definitely have to have other things in place like it would have to be sent to the pertinent locations for it to be completed but at least there would be a definite recording of your situation, which would mean that denial would be harder. Some companies do this already. I'd like everyone to do it.

Another thought is that whatever people are saying is recorded by a voice-to-text system. That way it is duly recorded already for the operator to utilize as their reminder. Of course that implies that voice to text works for everyone with their tone of voice, speaking style and or accent.

Brushworks, I was talking about something else, the sparks between the two Comcast reps.

"Is there no work ethic anymore?" Of course there is. Do you never see it, or is this a hyperbolic question?

It might be worth trying to rearrange your schedule if these deliveries are so important (aside from rehab of course). It would be nice if everyone did their job correctly and everything worked out, but there are usually snags and it's not always poor work ethic. Imagine having to listen to angry customers all day and try to fix all their problems. It would wear you out and make it easy to make mistakes. She may have entered the information but forgot to submit it, or there was a technical issue, or who knows.

Maybe next time you could reschedule your dog grooming and hair appointments and try to be more available. It's inconvenient, yes, but that seems better than becoming angry and frustrated and relying on a whole system to do everything correctly.

I suspect what's missing is the effort to instill some personal and company pride -- along with quality controls, provided the company has a decent pool of people from which to hire.

If you have short-sighted bosses who never praise you or tell you how important your job is, why give your best effort? Employees need to feel valued and to understand how important it is to them and their fellow employees to do things the right way in the first place.

Intake is an undervalued job. Fielding complaints requires some special skills. We've spoken here about an increasing tide of Rude People.

Companies treat workers like TP and employees leave at the clink of an extra 10 cents’ pay. The mutual honor and loyalty thing is mostly gone. Time will tell if it’s a good or bad thing. I don’t hear younger generations complaining, Which is interesting to me.

So, their problem should become MY PROBLEM, Chi? And then my problem becomes my hairdresser and groomer's problem? I was available all day on Wed when the delivery was supposed to take place! If they had told me Thurs AM, I would have gone to rehab that afternoon and tried to reschedule with the groomer for Fri, if she were available. But I was told Wed. Should I just cancel all app't all week long "just in case" she "forgets" to put in NextDayAir and instead enters UPS Ground?

Was thanking the Inogen customer service rep for telling me she was sending this NexDayAir not enough? Flowers? Candy? I am a very polite person and have worked in sales and ALWAYS thank people for what they are doing. I give out a LOT of "atta boys" all the time.

Sorry - I don't think it is reasonable that I should have cancelled the remainder of my week's obligations just in case she was an idiot or didn't care. She told me Wed, it should have been Wed. When we went to Thurs, I told her it needed to be in the PM - UPS has a box to check for this - I know this from my UPS driver. If she didn't know how to do this, she should have asked someone. She said she did it and then did not. I did not discover this until early Thurs AM, and at that time, called UPS to try to get the delivery done in the afternoon. I was not going to cancel with my dog groomer at the last minute - that is very inconsiderate to her!!! If UPS had told me it was impossible and the package would be delivered in 15 minutes, I would have called the groomer and asked her if 15 minutes would be okay with her. But no, the rep did NOTHING - she contacted NO ONE! And I had no possible way of knowing this.

I go to pulmonary rehab 3 times weekly - I try not to miss as this is vital for my health. I get my dog groomed every other week. I get my hair done every week - I can no longer stand in the shower with my hands over my head and do it myself. Other than this, I'm almost always home. Due to my poor pulmonary function, my mobility is so limited I rarely go anywhere else. It's hardly as if I was trying to get them to schedule this between my 3 times weekly mani/pedi!!!! They chose the date - it worked for me. How did I do something "wrong" here?

You're a hard crowd...

anglo, without knowing all the details, everyone is speculating (me included) but I think the sentiment is that you should consider better prioritizing your schedule. If you have an essential delivery coming that affects your health significantly, why isn't this #1 on your list? Dogs don't need to go to a groomer with the precision of a train schedule, same is true for getting your own hair washed. Be flexible and reschedule these less important things (and even your therapy, if necessary) to help the delivery people help you.

For the record, we've had the normal shipping and in-transit issues with purchases everyone has but once our packages hit town (as per tracking info), no matter what the company, delivery to the house is always acceptable.

anglo, it sounds like you may have UPS My Choice. If not, sign up for it, it's free. With that, you can tell them to hold a package for pickup. Or other alternatives. It's not hard to accommodate deliveries if you want to.

Yes, sometimes their problem becomes your problem. That's the reality of the world. Every day we all have to deal with things we shouldn't have to deal with that become our problems because other people drop the ball. Rarely do things work out perfectly. I often get emergencies at work because my boss doesn't plan correctly...and his problem becomes my problem, and I have to deal with it or risk losing my job.

You care more about your breathing than they do. For you, it's a health matter and for them, you are just one of many they are helping that day. When the balance shifts like that, it's on you to make sure you get what you need, because they don't care to the same extent that you do. It's inconvenient, and it's not always fair, but that's how it is.

No one is saying you did anything wrong. You can't change how people work but you can change your attitude towards it and be more flexible for a solution instead of expecting them to fix it around your schedule. How things *should* work and how they do work are very different sometimes and the only thing we can change is how we adjust to it.

We've spoken here about an increasing tide of Rude People

Apart from rude driving, rude phone calls, rude posting, rude public smoking, rude shopping habits, rude texts...

...whatever do you mean?

Last year I had one of those oversize Cost Co shopping carts pushed up over the top of my foot, to clatter noticeably when it returned to the floor afterward.

No acknowledgement of what had happened was given.

Speaking of UPS yesterday another oldish person thought the way to leave the store was to walk over to the left, where I was leaning against a table in the corner. Instead of going to the right, much more toward where the door was.

Me having the nerve to be there resulted in them coming to a halt, waiting for me to squeeze around them so as to get at the front counter from which they had just come.

This is what I encounter in public all the time now, people who move around - both inside vehicles as well as buildings - as though they are the only one there. As though there is no consideration for others at all in their minute to minute thinking.

Despite all of the associated social media etc. chatter going on electronic communication has been said to be producing social isolation. Due to a resulting reduction in face to face interaction.

"This is what I encounter in public all the time now, people who move around - both inside vehicles as well as buildings - as though they are the only one there. As though there is no consideration for others at all in their minute to minute thinking."

YES! It's amazing. All the more so when holding or carrying something (whether it's happening to me or someone else) and another person's stupid determination to take a particular (unnecessary) route causes a real inconvenience. They must be humming quietly "Me me me me".

Whenever I hear or read about incompetent service, I have to count my blessings. Rarely do I have an encounter that doesn't end with a positive resolution, no matter what the source of the problem.

My husband has called me the master communicator and I am the designated "complainer", whether it's a billing problem, electronic equipment failure, insurance issues, restaurant quality...it doesn't matter.

My voice and demeanor always tells the person that I expect success from the call or meeting, that I expect a positive outcome and a pleasant experience. I maintain a friendly, even warm attitude, and express gratitude at the end. I make sure that I communicate the details of my problem, question, or complaint clearly and that I listen carefully to my 'partner'.

Expect the best....get the best.

Elmer, why am I not surprised that you felt the need to "pile on" and chastise me for my "lack of flexibility" in my schedule.

What those of you who feel this is somehow something I should accept and be flexible about, aren't getting is that if I do that, I'm not just inconvenicing ME, I'm inconveniencing others!!!! My groomer does not get paid if I cancel; my hairdresser does not get paid if I cancel. They have turned down jobs at that time as I have a standing appt with both, but if I don't come, they are not going to get a "walk-in" in my city - both shops work by app't only. I am thinking about THEM! I am being considerate of them and their time! They have nothing to do with Inogen or UPS and should not lose income due to these two companies!!!

The "domino effect" is alive and well. I asked my hairdresser this afternoon how he feels about last minute cancelations of standing app't. He said if the person is sick, he is grateful they call and cancel - he does not want to get sick. But customers who call for other reasons (need to stay home for a delivery) only get a very few times doing this before he will cut them lose - he commits to that time and he expects them to do the same. My dog groomer is a very poor woman who does not have that luxury - she just loses the income. And no, I should NOT have to pay for a service I did not receive due to Inogen's mistake and UPS's outright lying. There is something VERY wrong in that picture. I don't have unlimited means and as I've gotten older and less healthy, I must pay for more and more services and must watch how much I spend on these.

Inogen set the schedule; I did not. They dropped the ball and now it was a problem, but one they could, as the shipper, have easily fixed - at least that's what my UPS driver tells me and since I've known him now for 16 years, he has a lot of credibility with me; Inogen's credibility is on hold for the time being. The UPS customer service rep outright lied to me - that is unacceptable in ANY situation. And by the way, I DO have MyChoice - it would not allow me to reschedule the delivery as it was on the truck - I did try before calling UPS - it would have been much quicker and I was going to be late for my dog groomer and that would make her run late for others. I DO think of others, not just "me" - I think of them a LOT and because of that, the people who provide services and my yard man like me a lot as I'm always considerate of their needs.

I have made it a lifetime practice to treat others the way I would like to be treated. I try to accommodate the needs of others if I possibly can. Most of the time, this is possible; sometimes it is not and this was one of those times as it would have inconvenenced others and that is something I try not to do.

Elmer, MY priorities are straight. But if someone else screws up, it should be THEIR priority to try to accommodate me if at all possible - I was not asking the "impossible" of them. The way to give good customer service is to apologize if one makes a mistake and then bend over backwards to try to make it right - I did this for years and years and years in various jobs. One does not add further inconvenience in order to "make it right" - that is idiocy - one does whatever is necessary to make it right and says mea culpa right and left and actually MAKES IT RIGHT!

I learned years ago to do as rhizo says - I am unfailingly polite, I always say I'm sure you will find a way to make this right - I show them I have faith that they will be able to fix this. I don"t swear at them, I don't berate them and I always thank them profusely for solving the problem. I thank them because I AM grateful that they fixed it!!!

When one loses ones health and becomes old, one learns humility and that one must "depend on the kindness of strangers" for things one formerly could do oneself. My dog groomer is nice enough to watch for me and come out to the car and get my dog - she knows that a leash and an oxygen tank and cannula can easily get tangled. She brings my dog out to me when I come to pick her up. I am very grateful that she shows me this kindness without me even asking her to do so. I show that gratitude with money. I've used the same hairdresser since my daughter first used him for her wedding day 21 years ago. When my husband in the hospital dying, he let me just drop by and shampooed and blew out my hair and never charged me a penny. It's only 5 minutes from the hospital and being clean sure made staying there every night with my DH easier. It was a lovely, generous thing to do. He's a lovely man and does not only my hair but my DD's entire family as well. He moved shops and parking is a major problem there - we have now changed my standing app't by an hour and it's much better. For this, I am grateful and I show it.

I never expect of anyone else more than I would expect of myself. But I refuse to just allow poor customer service be taken for granted - that's why it's poor - people just silently accept it. It's NOT acceptable!

One of the first things I learned in therapy over 40 years ago, was to always approach a problem with the question "Who owns the problem?" If we all did this a bit more, people would have a greater sense of personal responsibility as often the problem is THEIRS, not mine, be it service personal or family members (often children). It's a valuable lesson for a child to learn and far too many children today dump their own problems on their parents who appear to willingly take on problems that are not their own.

I had a problem with a faulty product for which I had paid a LOT of money. The company from who I purchased this product had made it as well as sold it. So this was Inogen's problem. Instead of solving my problem, they compounded it with a stupid, careless mistake and then compounded it further by refusing to find out how to properly fill out the form so I would not be further inconvenienced. They did not do that. Then UPS lied to me and further compounded the problem. I was not asking them to be inconvenienced in any possible way - no special favors.

If you can't see this rather simple chain of events, they YOU are part of the problem today by just accepting this and telling those who are unhappy that they need to be "more flexible" and "get their priorities straight". Really?

Anglo - I'm amazed that you know the schedule and delivery time of your UPS driver. That was fortunate. I know my UPS driver too - such a great fellow. Bob always wraps packages in a plastic bag when leaving them on the porch - and - he includes a dog biscuit for Maggie. But I could never be sure when he might arrive since his route was determined by where he was delivering packages. He might show up anytime from late morning to after dinner depending on his schedule.

Jim, that's a personal attack if I ever saw one.

I don't understand why they would lose income if you reschedule. The income would be delayed but it would be the same amount when you do go in, right? I do understand it would be inconvenient for them as well but I'm sure they would understand that things happen sometimes.

Jim, is your name calling any better? I've never heard him call names.

Anglo, i think there's part of the problem.. "I DO have MyChoice - it would not allow me to reschedule the delivery as it was on the truck"... It was already on the truck. Its possible the UPS rep did not lie to you. Perhaps she attempted to call the driver when he was out of the truck. Maybe she even left a msg he might not have yet checked.

Anyway, glad you got the piece of equipment you need.

If one were to look at several forums on Garden Web, one would be hard-pressed to discover nice posts from Elmer J (no period) Fudd, who might have been known as something like a character from Rocky & Bullwinkle programs.

I dare you to find some semblance of nice guy postings from that individual.

'Nuff said.

I think I will hang out at Hot Topics for a while. Wow.

Times like this I remind myself that I can only control the things I can. I can't control other people. Not everyone has the same standards I do. It's a waste of time and energy to get worked up over those things I have no control over. Perhaps just accept that there will always be people who don't live up to your standards about customer service, and to just chalk it up to another incident. That takes less energy, and there's nothing you can do about it anyway. You've spent quite a bit of time and frustration posting and then coming back to explain things. All that time and energy could have been better spent on something more positive and enjoyable. Rather than continually ranting when your expectations aren't met, perhaps let it go and just accept what will be. You can still work on getting your package delivered, but with just less energy and frustration involved.

Sephia, I understand what you are saying but in this case disagree. This issue is about proper delivery of medical supplies, and I think that oxygen is important.

In the early days of my son's insulin dependent diabetes there were some late deliveries. Fortunately the nearby pharmacy covered, but issues like this are worth speaking up about in my opinion.

If I was Anglo I would have made formal complaints to whatever government entity oversees such medical supplies because timely delivery is crucial.

Jim, you made me look!

And I did find many nice postings.

BTW, when are you leaving for your Panama cruise?

Lots, Jim. I just don't tend to post when I have nothing to add to a conversation and when I believe I have something to add, it's usually a counterpoint or otherwise differing idea.

Here's a nice thought, just to surprise you. I think you're probably the cruisin'-ist person who visits here. I'm sure you brighten many spirits when you describe all the trips you take and share the diverse photos you have.

So there! (listen for raspberry sound)

lol

Ditto what nickel said.

I think Anglo explained very well why she felt customer service failed in a couple of instances here. I agree that when the Weds delivery didn't happen, then she should not have had to cancel her other appts, affecting her hairdresser's and dog groomer's schedules. They don't get paid if someone cancels at the last minute, since it's too short notice to book someone else. Someone asked why it would be a loss, since the appt would be rescheduled, wouldn't it just be delayed pay? No, because changing to a future appt fills in a slot where a 2nd customer could be booked. Effectively, Anglo would be getting two appts for the price of one.

Perhaps some posters' strong reactions are not to the facts of this situation, or even the rant, but maybe the language used to describe the failures of these two people in their jobs. "Is there no work ethic anymore?" is condemning the whole work force for being incompetent, instead of just relating to this actual situation.

If I relied on oxygen to live my life, I know I'd be very frustrated at not receiving the order in a timely matter, as well as having an expensive machine failing within such a short time. But there are millions of people in the work force, most doing their best to do their jobs well.

DARN!!!! It appears that posts have been deleted from this thread, too! I miss all the “fun”.

I find it interesting that when Anglo posts a story about dealing with incompetent service providers, many posters castigate her for her "impossibly high expectations", yet when other members (for a recent instance, ravencajun - no disrespect intended to her, it's just an example) post similar experiences, everyone is sympathetic.

Why is that?

Lucille, I was trying to suggest trying to reduce controlling and getting worked up over every situation, not the medical supplies issue necessarily. Sorry for not being more clear. Some things in life just aren't that important to waste time and energy on. Medical supplies, yes.

Then there's the other side of the situation, patients who forget to renew or refill their medications and expect us to hand deliver it to them NOW. When told that can't be done they get pissed and basically say it's our fault. Or they go on vacation without their medications and can't understand why they can't get immediate, to- their- door- service NOW. Then there are the others who call expecting us to send an ambulance or taxi to take them to the hospital. I could go on and on. They call at midnight expecting to speak to their doctor's nurse, when they have had issues for a week or more but they can't understand why their doctor and his nurse are not working at midnight or on weekends. Then they start ranting how they are being mistreated by the system. When offered to triage their symptoms they refuse. They call at night or on weekends when they know the appointment desk is closed to change or cancel an appointment and then get mad that we don't have access to that system.

Yes, when an individual is dealing with an organization there is more involved than when the entire interaction is one on one - as the immediately preceding post shows we are talking to an entire system, with its customs and protocols in such instances. And in these days of buyouts and mergers many organizations are huge, with how individuals are dealt with in the trenches perhaps rather often having been decided in an office sometimes thousands of miles away, by a person or team that is never face to face with the people being served. "Corporate", "the home office" or if nothing else "the manager" has decided previously how people with your issue will be responded to, and not the party to whom you are speaking. With something like the "work ethics" of individual employees not really coming into it.

Or even mano a mano, Spanish for hand to hand, a duel or encounter between two people.

Just an FYI, and not a surprise.

I just received an email from Inogen.