This is one of those few posts that I warned you about that will be about something other than food. It still relates to the food industry though… Sort of…

Last night, I emailed the Warner Bros. Store to inquire about a ring they used to sell. It was a Superman™ ring from years ago. I have been looking for this specific ring for a while, with no luck in finding the size I need, so I figured they might be able to help, look in their archives, do SOMETHING. What I got was greatly disappointing:

Hi Tara,

Thank you for contacting WB Shop. The only Superman Ring I have right now features the classic shield design against a red enamel background and is Stainless steel. It does come in a size 13 and is in stock. You can call us if you want to place an order.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

Dorothy

The fact that the description of the ring that they had on the website was just copied and pasted and they different even bother changing the typeface was rather annoying. But the lack of compassion was the worst. Here’s why:

I am looking for this specific ring for a very intimate reason. I want to give it to my fiance for his birthday (which is coming up soon), as he used to have one and loved it dearly. He didn’t loose it in an accident or anything, but rather buried it with our son, David, back in April. My fiance always loved Superman™, and was actually named after Christopher Reeve. So, he has a lot of accessories, clothes, etc with the crest. This ring became very important after our son was born extremely prematurely on Christmas Day because of this:

I took this when we first got to touch David in the NICU. He instantly grabbed my fiance’s hand, and wouldn’t let go. This picture meant the world to us, and gave us hope. He became our little Superman™ as he fought the complications of being born at 28 weeks, and got better. Unfortunately, even after being cleared of his monitors and oxygen 3 days before, he lost his battle to SIDS in his sleep March 31st. My fiance gave him the ring so he’d have a part of his daddy with him at all times.

I told the Warner Bros. Store™ this in a brief story, and received this generic, insensitive email a very short time later. It is just shocking that whomever “Dorothy” is had not even said any sort of condolences, mentioned regrets that they no longer have or can find the ring in question, but rather very rudely came across as saying “Please buy this ring that isn’t close to the one you asked about. We just want your money.” What I wanted to say in return was “If I WANTED the ring listed on the site, I would have bought it, and not asked you about a different one, you smeghead!” Instead, I began to think about who was actually at the other end of that email, and the modern day meaning of Customer Service… or lack there of.

With my most recent job in the food industry being a server in one of the top restaurants in the area, I am fully aware of how Customer Service has become the making or breaking point of any business. I learned quickly that if you take care of the customers, they would come back, even if their food was late or not quite right. Giving them the cork from their champagne they drank to celebrate their engagement or taking their pictures while you’re swamped with 6 other tables is noted and greatly appreciated. The atmosphere, respect and overall service is at least 50% of the business. But, if you have a server or representative that could care less, ignore your minor requests, or just try to sell you whatever they could, you could care less how great the product/dish is. You’re not going to go back. In the food industry, most servers are young high school students whom in this day and age, don’t understand what “service” is really. All of their troubleshooting is online, automated, and impersonal. In other industries, it’s the lack of compassion, education, manners in society in general and honestly, the horrible pay of the CS employee that makes them immune to what some rare people know as empathy. Look on social media and you will see a post maybe once a year of amazing customer service. It goes viral, and then goes away. No one seems to get the hint that this should be more of a regular occurrence. Customer service is now a thing of the past, along with hand written letters, compassion and unselfishness. It has become as rare as finding a four leaf clover.

As for Warner Bros. Store™, I will not buy anything from them, and will make sure my friends who enjoy their movies will no longer buy from them as well. They are a heartless, insensitive, money grubbing corporation that only wants people to buy their overpriced products for financial gain. You don’t see them donating Superman™ costumes to kids with cancer who look up to the superhero for hope. You don’t see them donating to any sort of foundation. You don’t see anything but marketing and greed. That’s not that I want. I just want to give my fiance a little bit of love and hope back, just as he gave it to our son everyday. He is my superhero.