What's more important to you - price or customer service?

It depends on where we're talking about. For a Walmart or other cheap grocery stores I'm going for the price. I could care less about customer service. If I'm sitting in a restaurant or buying a car, then I'd expect some customer service.

But while we're on the subject - one thing that would bring back customer service to places like these would be to allow their workers to accept tips. Walmarts don't allow their workers to accept tips.

I would say BOTH! Customer service AND price! At times, I have INTENTIONALLY paid TWICE the price because customer service STUNK elsewhere. F...s is a good example. Rather than learning how to work with 1970s technology. In the 1970s, they found a way to create faster/smaller components, but it is more sensitive to static. At their current rate, they may NEVER find a satisfactory replacement. HECK, we are into 2014 and NEW circuits being designed have the SAME "problems"!

SO, instead of learning the RIDICULOUSLY simple precautions, they will bad mouth "OEM" memory, etc... So then I go someplace else and buy better memory. Either name brand, or OEM. Funny thing! They STILL haven't come across with a proper retort to why companies like IBM, INTEL, APPLE, TOSHIBA, NEC, Etc... reliably use OEM parts, or why they seem to be the only ones that have problems with it.

STILL, if there are two places with the same customer service, I will often go the cheaper way.

Steve

To read this thread you'd think the customer service at every Walmart was the same. Apparently that's not the case, because the workers here are both helpful and friendly.

I think your score of 0 out of 10 is too low. What about instead of ignoring you, they insult you instead by shouting e.g. "it's right there, can't you read?" or "We are too busy, be patient or go elsewhere!".

This is the sort of stuff we commonly in Hong Kong. I think most people here choose price over service and it show. If you want some examples of Hong Kong styled service, you can read up stories about the "Wong Kei" restaurant or "Edsel Ford Fong" through Google.

both are important price is important for the shopkeeper or seller but on the other hand he/she should take care of customers. Some customers just try to waster the time to ask pricing and in window shopping. This is annyoning for dealer and some shopkeepers are really lazy they just dont care what customer is saying they tottaly avoid there customers so it depends on circumstances. In your case it seems he avoided you so better to move from this shop to another.

WalMart fills a need for sure. At the one nearest to me, more wealthy
people started going there when the economy slowed.

For good service at this WalMart, and I suspect many others,
the trick is to go when the long timers are working. Find out
their schedules. There is a core of employees who started
before WalMart minimized employee numbers and did the
you-work-part time-whenever-we-say thing.

For other than day to day things, I look for value. Right now,
I might be deciding between a tested but used automotive
transmission for $900 with a five year warranty, or one that
has been completely refurbished for $1200 and only has a
30 day warranty, or one done by a shop I decide upon.

We don't have a Publix here but we have Trader Joe's and I agree that they're pretty awesome on price. The staff is friendly, too, but they don't seem that knowledgeable about their products and that one kinda gets me. I realize they're not going to know every product in their store but I expected them to know more than they did when I started shopping there.

I only go to Walmart to get one or two things that are outrageously priced or hard to find that I use on a continual basis. The employees are fine, but not too bright sometimes. The real problem for me with Walmart (as far as the shopping experience) is that the management will allow lines to back-up so far. They need to stop being so greedy that they expect customers to wait in lines for a half hour and 45 minutes. Is it going to crash their bottom line to put on one or two more checkers when it's busy?

It was a 45 minute wait in line for something I had to have that put me out their doors in the first place -- however, I now only go in there out of necessity for my couple of items and I only go in late at night when the store isn't busy. Since the lines are my major problem with the place when I go in, I go when not too many others are there.

Generally - I really have to go with prices these days. When I can afford to choose or if I have a choice between where I get a service/product at generally the same price, I go with service. One thing I always make sure of, though - if I can't get American customer service on the phone if I need help, I don't care what their price is, it's too high.

Our Walmart the employees are very senior overall, most of them appear to be just taking up space, there are a select few that will always go over and above to help.

For me going into Walmart I go in for prices. You know in advance that there is no investment in their staff, it's pile em high watch em fly attitude.

Customer service is very important to me. I would rather go to a small business where you are treated as a person and am able to help you any way they can. It concludes in a sale for this establishment.

If I just want cheap I'll bite the bullet and go to Wal-Mart. If I know I'm going to have questions, or going out to eat I'll shop where I know there's customer service.
Example: I go furniture shopping at those Mom and Pop stores because they have better customer service than large stores. Every time. If I have something specific in mind, they'll happily order it for me. Their prices are usually reasonable too. Maybe not as low as the large stores, but I'd rather have the good customer service experience.

I stopped shopping Petsmart because they had
annoying dog food manufacturer reps that would
not leave me alone.

The final straw was that corporate HQ controls
their cash registers to control payroll. I was in a
store about a half hour before closing time and a
line of about 10 formed at the only open register.

I noticed the manager stocking shelves nearby
and asked if he could open another register. He could
not because corporate closed the other registers.

Dan