Yao Z.
Yelp
Worst experience ever: bad customer service, bad management, and bad policy.
Let me be the first to challenge myself: I wasn't completely faultless for the bad experience. I should have planned for an earlier arrival. I should not have gotten angry; wasn't productive and I apologize for that.
But I never used any rude language as one of the managers did. I never expected such a poorly designed appointment policy and such bad management lacking common sense.
Why angry? One day last December My wife and I came into Warby Parker Suburban Square at 10:40 for a 10:35-10:55 appointment, being told that our appointment was canceled and we need to reschedule for a future date. I asked why, and the manager said we arrived at 10:41 and missed the "5-minute grace period." We were shocked because nobody told us that before (they insisted they wrote it in the fine print) and we never expected such arbitrary enforcement of a "rule" in the service industry (we were mindful of our appointment time and did rush to the store after bad traffic). We just need a simple eye exam and already filled everything out online, so proposed to start our appointment right away to use our remaining 15 minutes. We even proposed we leave at 10:55 sharp if the next customer comes on time. But both the manager and the doctor just kept refusing us saying "I understand you" despite doing nothing. We kept arguing there. Time passed. 10:43, and then 10:45, and then 10:50.
At some point, I was standing at the doctor's door and yelling: this is a ridiculous policy! You're wasting our time!
The show began here. A manager named Candace came, pointed to my nose, and yelled:
"Look at you. You're shaking! Get out! This is a private business. We only treat human beings! Behave like a human being. Get out or we will call the police!"
Wow.
You're a private business. But don't you know you as a manager are representing a public company? Don't you know your stock price fell by 80% last year? Do you know why?
You only treat human beings. But every customer is a different human being. We as human beings have emotions and may get angry when we are treated by robots.
You stole customers' time and made them upset, and then threaten them by calling 911?
Ok, we got out at 10:52, as Candace wished. Candace won.
But did you really win anything?
Why the 5-min rule is ridiculous? Well, I can see some good intentions here. We are all tired of long wait lines. It could be a good commitment device to challenge a common problem.
But it's ridiculous because it's extremely poorly designed and enforced. It ends up only challenging our common sense.
First, as we rushed into the store, we saw the doctor just saying goodbye to the previous customer. Our time has been eaten from the very beginning anyways despite the dispute of whether we arrived at 10:40 or 10:41. The doctor and managers failed to commit anyways. Had the policy been consistent, they should have ended any appointment on time regardless, but apparently, they didn't. If you can't commit, how can you expect your customers to commit?
More importantly, think about the Charles Goodhart analogy: "The weary traveler who arrives at the railway station late at night, and, to his delight, sees a taxi there who could take him to his distant destination. He hails the taxi, but the taxi driver replies that he cannot take him, since local bylaws require that there must always be one taxi standing ready at the station."
Funny. Non-sense. But don't things at Warby Parker sound familiar?
People are busy. Hospitals do skip late patients for the next and come back to the previous. Restaurants do skip late customers for walk-ins and try to squeeze in late parties. That's how we keep the ball running.
But Warby Parker thinks it can enforce a 5-min rule for an appointment like a dictator, and if customers are 5 mins late they simply refuse service and leave the team idle for 15 mins or even more. If everyone is late for 5 mins, then nobody is seen. Oh boy. What a design like Goodhart's taxi to challenge our common sense.
When you ask your local managers to follow some poorly designed policies, they will be busy defending themselves and forgetting about customers. When managers focus on rules, they lose track of what a rule really achieves.
Bottom line: I'm sorry but I'll have to give this Warby Parker store's management and the 5-min rule one star. I'd advise my friend to avoid this store unless things change. Probably not a good idea to buy WRBY either if you care about your investment money. People vote by feet.
I'm sure the managers will respond to me accusing me of being mad. I wasn't. Every customer, like me, knocks on your door hoping to happily sign a check. You decide whether you win the business or make people mad. Remember: it's your right to accuse your customers, but if you focus on that you're simply in the wrong direction of doing business.
