I was  at a major retailer that can remain nameless, let’s just call them Bullseye. I love Bullseye. I love how Bullseye takes the time to find the balance of Design and Utility. I love the way Bullseye presents itself and makes itself guest focused.

I had a recent experience at Bullseye where i was the guest and I was clearly not the focus….

I recently spent over an hour trying to resolve a “customer service” issue with Bullseye. Out of that hour, I spent at least 45 minutes of my time by myself. Waiting. Waiting…and waiting some more. And while I waited for Bullseye to fix their mistake, I waited by myself, clueless as to what was being done to resolve my problem…

And when the manager came back, he made an attempt to appease me with $15 in Bullseye cash.

I didn’t ask for it. I’ll be honest, at that point I didn’t even want it. I didn’t want to be placated with their solution, I wanted them to initiate a conversation with me, about what might make me feel resolved regarding this situation.

I often placate. I try to silence problems by applying what I think to be the best solution, without initiating a conversation around what might be a real solution for the other party. 

I think I need to do a much better job of initiating conversations, rather than offering placating solutions….