[manny_santos]

Did anyone watch Marketplace on CBC last night? They were talking about "Canada's Worst Customer Service". They "awarded" Zellers with this dubious distinction, although this is based on the opinions of people surveyed in a Leger Marketing study - and we all know any study is prone to bias and error.

The big surprise for me was that Canadian Tire was awarded second-worst customer service. They're not perfect but I find they are better than Wal-Mart, Zellers, and Rona. Their employees at least seem to know their products better than some other retailers.

Last night's program did smack of sensationalism though. I don't think it's fair to single out Zellers for bad customer service when customer service levels can vary widely from one store location to another across Canada, and there are often local competitors, some of which can be far superior to chains, and some of which can have service far worse than any chain.

What was interesting though was how polite Canadians are when confronted with bad service. They tend to just walk out without saying anything. Personally, I usually say something without making a scene; I realize that the front-line employees are often not personally responsible for certain problems, but at the same time someone needs to know.