Don't Let Borders Do This to You/Us...

Somehow the notion that the customer is always right seems to have gone the way of dust in the wind. This afternoon I went in to my local Borders Books store to use a coupon issued to what, in theory, are its best customers; Borders Rewards members. The coupon serves as a clear invitation to make a purchase (during a certain specified time frame), and I did so.

As I completed paying for my purchase, my music CD and my receipt were handed back to me. That's when I asked for a bag. The clerk basically told me no, and asked me if I did not prefer to be "environmentally responsible." I repeated my request, since the clerk's response indicated that she had heard my original request. The third time around, she walked away, secured a bag - they clearly had them in stock - and reluctantly handed it to me.

We should not be treated like this by the very businesses for which we serve as the most loyal customers... And when it happens, we need to make sure to contact Borders' customer service and make them aware of what amounts to rude service. The applicable telephone number for Borders is 800.443.7359.

As I indicated to the customer service staff, being told I cannot have a bag for my purchase would be like Starbucks instructing its customers to supply their own coffee cups in the interest of saving the environment... while not lowering its prices. In my case, Borders had already paid for the bags and carried them in stock. If Borders elects to make a contribution to an environmental cause with a portion of their profits, so be it. But don't try to inflate company profits by offering me less service.

(By the way, some of us have learned to be quite responsible in terms of how we use the plastic and paper bags from merchants. We use them repeatedly before throwing them away, and we use them as an alternative to more environmentally harmful products.)

Finally, I need to make this statement: No young clerk at Borders or elsewhere should assume to know who I am or what causes I do or do not support. For all he or she knows, I may contribute to several environmental or other socially responsible groups. I may even work for one. But this is my business.

Rule 1, the customer is always right. Rule 2 for a company's survival in these tough economic times when there's a dispute, see Rule 1.