Champions of Customer Service

It doesn’t take long to realize when living in China the lack of motivation for people to help one another here. I cringe anytime I’m going to have to deal with salespeople, landlords, waitresses or anyone else when it comes to a customer-service oriented situation. So when I went to the gym recently (for the first time in 2010... I don’t want to tell you when was the last time I went in 2009) my fears of dealing with these often useless sales people were brought back to life.

So there I was, at the gym, handing my membership card to the reception girl when she realized there was a problem (maybe it was because they hadn’t seen me in over four months). Calling over someone who could speak English, they told me my card was expired and that I couldn’t use the gym. Puffing up, I said, “No, my membership lasts until May. I can use the gym.”

- “No, this card is not good.”

- “I have the receipt at home. I will bring it next time. But I’m going to use the gym today.”

- (To avoid an angry foreigner and to save some face) “Ok, ok. Next time bring the receipt.”

Later that week (yes, I went to the gym twice that week) I returned with my receipt ready to lose some face and get real mad if they told me I couldn’t work out here. Long story short, I bought a six-month membership, but, when I bought it, the sales girl told me I could come for nine months. Now, for those of you not familiar with China, there are some pretty asinine things about the way memberships, leases, paying bills and other everyday items work here. As I begin to argue with the sales person as to why my card is “not good” he tells me that I was supposed to renew my membership after three months, back in November.

Why? Why did I need to do this? I wanted the nine-month membership. Why not just write on the receipt that I could use the gym from August to May? Why complicate a simple gym membership for someone who doesn’t really speak your language and make them “renew” their membership? If someone can explain, I’m all ears.

So I tell him that the sales girl never told me this, and “I would not have bought the membership if I thought that I couldn’t use the gym for the nine months.”

- “Ok, but this card is not good, you were supposed to renew this back in November.”

Side note: That’s another thing! They repeat themselves as if you’re not understanding what their saying. And I’m thinking “You’re speaking English! I know what you’re saying and you’re not saying anything new. Stop repeating the same thing to me four times!”

So, I tell him that I only want to use the gym for a few more weeks. I throw in there that I don’t really speak their language and that I cannot read Chinese, so I didn’t know I had to renew. I even threatened that I would tell all my friends not to come to this gym. I was saying anything I could to be able to use the gym for the time I wanted. Finally, he says, “Let me talk to the manager.” I guess I should have asked to that 10 minutes ago. Luckily he comes back with about 5 one-week-free cards for me to use. This is great! I can now go to the gym sporadically – even better. I sincerely thanked him many times for his help and went on my way.

This place is funny. Good, helpful customer service is kind of a rarity, yet, it’s not that difficult. In fact, I would argue that being helpful and accommodating is more productive than being a pain in the-you-know-what. It seems some of the Chinese, when it comes to customer service, have not learned the art of dealing with customers. Instead, they prefer the challenge of who is going to win the argument. In the case of the gym membership, I’d like to think I won.

In hindsight, maybe I feel bad about causing a minor scene at the gym. Now, I do feel slightly embarrassed anytime I go to there, but then I think, at least I can come to the gym. Or maybe I shouldn’t feel bad. I haven’t asked, but I would think Chinese people face similar problems in customer service – where the customer is always wrong. If my Chinese was better, I’d probably recognize arguments over prices, service and the same things a foreigner deals with. They have it a little easier, though. At least they’re arguing in the same language.