Volunteering and traveling in Argentina to proclaim God's great love, and hopefully not getting sick along the way.

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Sunday, October 27, 2013

The so-called standards of customer service

Is this just the way of life here?

Where is the integrity?

At the conference in La Falda, there was something that really bothered me. I went to buy tshirt, a really cool tshirt at that. One stand was selling the tshirt for 50 pesos. The neighboring stand, which had more colors and sizes, for 60.

I found one I liked for 50 pesos, but then when a friend wanted to buy one as well, she could only go to the neighboring stand. I mentioned how strange it was that the exact same "Christian" tshirt was 10 pesos cheaper right over there. And since I was with one of Cristian's more outspoken friends, he complained a bit too.

The man behind the stand admitted that on top of it all, these tshirts actually belonged to the other stand, but he was selling the extras for them. Ahem...

He sold them to us for the 50 pesos, but would he have done so if we hadn't said anything?

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Andrea sends two of her students to buy some cookies to share with the rest. In an episode very similar to my first buying experience in Córdoba, the woman at the kiosk sells them an open bag of cookies for double the normal cost. When the girls come back without change and an open bag, Andrea decides to talk to the woman.

As she can't leave the students on their own, they all come with her while she asks for another bag.

"They must have opened the bag on the way over," says the woman behind the counter.

While Andrea had considered that possibility, she had sent her most trustworthy students with the money.

"They ought to repent for what they've done," the woman goes on, and in the end, refuses to refund any part of the transaction.

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I went to the Christian bookstore in the city to buy some Bibles for the ministry. Now, there was a sign that said, "Please check the prices, because some of them have not been updated." When I picked the ones I wanted, I asked the employee if these were the right prices and he said that they were.

When I got to the cash register however, they were actually 20 pesos more expensive (each one).

Without an apology, without thinking of even giving a possible discount for buying multiple Bibles, she just waited for my money.

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I guess my frustration is not just the standard of customer service in general, as I do have plenty to complain about there. It has more to do with the standard of customer service within a Christian organization. We should be different from the rest.

And I get the, "but the church is for the sick and not the healthy," line, but this has to do with business, not church. We are called to work for the Lord, not for men. We are called to holy living. Standards that set us apart--in which we are generous towards the advancement of the kingdom of God, and generous toward the poor. That way, people see us, and see that success comes from our faith in God, and then they start to ask questions.

Then we can tell them what this world is really about. But if we keep behaving like the world, nothing will change. Pardon my ranting. In Spanish, it's called bronca. I think I'm over it now.

2 comments:

  1. Oh man, this is getting my ire up just reading it, because I run into the exact same attitude in Cameroon. It's always the customer's fault, and people will lie through their teeth if they think they need to cover their butts. It's super frustrating, I'm with you!

    -Laura

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  2. thanks for the support! hehe. p.s. i LOVE the way you write. i haven't been as up-to-date as i would like to be with your blog, but you are awesome.

    i hope we have a reunion someday. i would love to hear about your adventures face to face!!!!

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