How do you, on a very busy day with lightbulb replacement #28 on the priority list, turn a spontaneous stroll into a lightbulb store into a stressful event?
Light Bulbs Unlimited showed me how it's done.
From the moment I walked in, I got a bad vibe from the guy who "helped" me. He looks like Milton from Office Space on steroids. A big guy. He said "can I help you" from the other side of the store, behind the counter when I walked in. I looked up and didn't see who said it right away, so he said it again, forcefully, and when I acknowledged and started to talk and approach him, he gave me a look like I had insulted him, or like I was a moron.
I was immediately apologetic about the fact that I wasn't sure exactly what I needed. But maybe if I could tell him what the bulb I was trying to replace LOOKED like and what it was used for, he could help me find it. If not, no big deal.
I described a shape, he would pull a bulb out. "Like this?" "Well, kind of- but I guess it's less round- more tapered at the top." He would then throw the bulb back on the shelf, walk frantically to the next location, and repeat the process, increasingly visibly irritated at having to interact with me like this. I didn't know the wattage and voltage, either, which irritated him off even more. He was shrugging his shoulders, throwing his hands up in the air when I answered incorrectly, giving exaggerated sighs of impatience at every opportunity.
I'm not an idiot, and I don't like being spoken to like one. Few times have I ever been so put off by sh_tty customer service that I was compelled to burn up more of my time writing a review online. This guy is passive aggressiveness personified, and I got the impression that he's like this all the time.
My friend tells me she had a similar experience at the WeHo location.
Hey, guys- take your lightbulb expertise power trip and go f__k yourself.
more