Is a smile really asking too much?

When I lived in California, then Vegas, I loved that I was close to a Fry’s Electronics.

Unlike the stores with which I was familiar — Best Buy, Circuit City, H.H. Gregg — it seemed as though Fry’s had EVERYTHING! It wasn’t just the most marketable products, they also stocked the hard-to-find stuff that I always seemed to need…like the power supply to a three-year-old laptop, or a crossover cable to update the files between a Windows and Mac.

Yet, when I started becoming a customer, I realized that they stocked everything…but delivered little in the way of service. Returning an unopened package with the receipt was an incredible ordeal. Getting someone to assist in the store was even tougher.

So…I stopped going to Fry’s. Well, there were a few exceptions — if I needed a USB cable and knew exactly where to go to pull it off the shelf, I would endure it — but, that was really about it.

When I moved back to Indianapolis, I smiled when Fry’s opened a store here. Everyone was so excited about the new place with the virtually unlimited selection. At first…

Needing a couple of very simple things — a cable, and a copy of Windows 7 to upgrade a netbook — I decided to give Fry’s another try. I was met by a “management trainee” – it said so on his nametag – who should become an executive specializing in sales prevention.

He argued with me about what version of Windows 7 I needed, not realizing that Vista Business will not upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. This future manager was chewing gum in my face the entire time he was presuming he had superior knowledge and was rude to his customer.

Finally — after asking three clerks where I could find an SD memory card and a cable — I went to check out, I was greeted by the cashier with a disgrunted sigh when I told him I was purchasing software that he would now have to go to the “cage” to pick up for me. He rolled his eyes, and lumbered off into the unknown.

While waiting, I posted a Tweet: “If I ever lose the will to live, I’m going to apply for a job at Fry’s Electronics so I can be around people who feel the same way I do!”

Later, it struck me…NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON WHO WORKED FOR FRY’S EVER SMILED AT ME.

Is asking for a smile too much to expect as a customer? I don’t think so…but, it tells me that:

a) Fry’s management doesn’t encourage their people to provide friendly, engaging service;
and/or
b) Displaying a personal connection with customers is looked down upon by managers and viewed as unrelated to what it takes to succeed.

I will occasionally forgive a lapse in service excellence when I’m surrounded by friendly people. Treat me like you’re bored, however, and I will respond with a very similar disconnection…to you.

Then, I will tell everyone I know how much I am disappointed with how you do business!

Is that what you REALLY WANT your customers to do?