Customer Service

[Palerider]

What do you think of customer service?

Is good or does it seem to be lacking? It bothers me when I go into a store and the cashier could care less I am standing there. Our local store is terrible when you stand at the deli. They look at you and they are busy doing other things.

I work in customer service and I am surprised how mean and rude some people are. Wow

What's your thoughts and opinions or stories.

[Guest]

I think customer service is becoming a thing of the past, and I think it's a consequence of the "trophies for everyone" style of parenting. So many kids aren't taught to think or act empathetically, so learning any sort of service or thinking of the needs of others is that much more difficult. And that's even if they wanted to. A lot of them just don't seem to care. They should get a paycheck just for gracing the workplace with their presence.

[skippy740]

The term "customer service" is what they are taught and what they think they do.

What they are NOT taught... is "customer courtesy". Saying please, thank you, a nice genuine greeting, being pleasant, etc.

[Swiper]

I got no problems with the customer service at the stores I frequent: Giant, Trader Joe's, and Starbucks.

[Quin]

It depends where I'm at.

Generally I find that customer service is expensive*... So one finds it mostly only in the very small places (either small towns or mom&pop places in urban centers), niche-industry (snowsports or model trains, whatever), or where you're paying for it (posh).

Granted, there are some mega-corps who insist and pride themselves (aka will fire employees) on customer service (Nordstrom, for example), and there are certain store managers who create a microcosm by only hiring smart & friendly people... So while every other store may be full of jerks, their store is knock your socks off, awesome.

* Good customer service requires smart people. Smart people move on to better jobs. In order to retain smart people a company has to treat them well, and pay them well. AKA it's more expensive. One thig you know for SURE when you're being treated badly by the employees is that it is an awful job, with terrible management, and lousy benefits.

So my personal suspicion is that it's far less that customer service is a thing of the past, and far more that customer service jobs are rarely livable, anymore. People work them when they have to, for as long as it takes to get a better job. The ones who can't get a better job stick around making it even more miserable.

There still ARE living-wage, good benefits customer service jobs. But those are both rare and competitive (like THE restaurant in town to work for, the best couple of airlines, etc.). Similarly, the amazing manager tends to inspire loyalty where the wages and benefits don't... Which creates the same kind of competitive nature to get those jobs = similar rarity.

Q

[dahlia]

I agree that it depends where I am. I am pleasantly surprised to find that out here in our little Midwest towns, the folks working in city government really do give good service. I'm so used to civil servants not caring about the citizens, the attitudes here are a breath of fresh air. I find that the staffs at our various grocery stores also give good customer service. I have nothing to complain about.

On the other hand, there are places that give bad service. You know me, I'm not going shut up for long. I have no problem asking for the manager, voicing my displeasure over where the person is not performing the way they should, etc.

What I strive to do is to distinguish between when it's the rep's poor performance and when the poor rep is just caught in the middle. It does no good to yell at people who didn't make the mistake and can't make any changes.

Edited February 14, 2014 by dahlia

[Palerider]

I work as a Service Advisorr at a dealership and I have been doing this for a long time. I am amazed at how rude some people are.

[Palerider]

I work as a Service Advisor at a dealership and I have been doing this for a long time. I am amazed at how rude some people are.

[Palerider]

I work as a Service Advisor at a dealership. I am amazed at how rude people are.

[Roseslipper]

yes, I agree their a lot of rude and not so nice people around.

Most of those people are not really happy I think. The people of the world are changing. Thou there are still a lot of good nice and polite people left. Let's hope it doesn't change us people. We should be a light to the world!!

[pam]

While I think really good customer service is becoming less and less the norm, I also feel that good customers are also less of the norm.

Customers themselves have gotten rude. And what I see as one of the major causes is cell phones. There is nothing more annoying than to have someone come to me to ring up their purchases and they can't put their dang cell phones down long enough to conduct business. And if I say anything like the total of their sale, they look at me like I just completely interrupted their conversation.

I've worked in retail for years. When I have a decent customer I notice my wanting to perform much better customer service increases. You get a bad customer right off the bat and you just don't care.

[Canuck Mormon]

When I was in customer service, the thing I was taught to do is to make people happy to give you money. It's not easy, especially in the auto service industry, but it can happen.

Pam, I would always wait until they were off the phone until I told them the prices, that way they would see that they need to pay attention. I know it doesn't always work, but for those times that it does, makes the job better.

Of course, what do I know. I got out of the service industry years ago and my level of stress has decreased significantly!!

[pam]

When I was in customer service, the thing I was taught to do is to make people happy to give you money. It's not easy, especially in the auto service industry, but it can happen.

Pam, I would always wait until they were off the phone until I told them the prices, that way they would see that they need to pay attention. I know it doesn't always work, but for those times that it does, makes the job better.

Of course, what do I know. I got out of the service industry years ago and my level of stress has decreased significantly!!

Unfortunately when you have a long line of customers waiting for them to get off their phone isn't a luxury.

[EarlJibbs]

I do have to say that my online customer service for software purchased online has been amazing. Other than that, utility companies are always bad. My banks are generally pretty good.

[Palerider]

One of the problems I find is customers can't believe they have to pay for things. Really...you mean I have to pay?

[Backroads]

My husband did the whole call center thing for a couple of months. The company he worked for was under contract with a certain cell phone provider. So, Call Center just wants to make Cell Phone customers happy. Call Center, in order to make Cell Phone customers happy, rewards employees who do this in the most efficient way possible.

Sounds good, right?

Well, often in order to make the customer happy, a lot of grey area is covered. The simplest solutions aren't always the best and potentially lead to bigger problems later.

Creating, once more, an unhappy customer.

So you're either left with a super-nice call rep who bends over backwards to please you yet really does nothing particularly helpful, or a call rep who has to give you bad news that ultimately may fix your problem.

Rather a broken system.

In other news, I usually see wonderful customer service.

Of course, I think many of these employees in low-paying customer service jobs are only there temporarily and have no reason to become bitter.

I'd wager it's the trapped employees who are jerks.

[Dravin]

One thing to keep in mind is that while one can probably point to some very basic standards of customer service, or courtesy, the consumer is not a monolithic entity that has the same concept of just what good customer service entails. Not just in the case of what sort of experience you expect from a $50 a plate restaurant verses a $8 plate restaurant but just in something as simple as small talk. Some people just absolutely love small talk involved in their customer service, me I'm not a small talk with strangers person and am actually happier when I don't have someone who, either by training or natural inclination, engages me in small talk.

[classylady]

When I worked in reservations for the airlines, I had a lot of customer service calls. In our training we were told to "own" the problem among other things. I believe we had great training. But, then it often comes down to the individual agent and their personality. Some people in customer care/service simply shouldn't be in that type of job. They just don't have the right "people" skills.

[applepansy]

Customer Service today doesn't exist in very many places. The generation who grew up entitled are those clerks on the front lines. Often I run into the attitude "I have better things to do than earn a paycheck, but I can't get what I really want unless I do this, so I'll begrudgingly work to get the money I need to do fun things"

[Palerider]

One of my favorites is going into a store and the clerk doesn't acknowledge my existence and when I am done there is no thank you unless I say it....when they are talking to someone else like another employee that gets under my skin....ggggrrrrrr

[Backroads]

After college I was working at a Scout Shop. One Saturday we were super bored and started playing "Burrel Ives Sings Scouting" really slow. I think it bothered the few customers we did have.

NOT good customer service.

[skippy740]

I had a bad service experience at a chain restaurant that I think describes poor service.

When my father and I go out to eat during lunch hour, it's just the two of us, and we usually order quite well (meaning big $ items for lunch).

I ordered something quite good and it finally arrived... but I had no utensils to eat it with. Then, our server comes by, I flag her and tell her that I need utensils. She gets the drink order for the next table and THEN goes to get me my utensils.

How dare she make me look at my delicious plate and wait for her "convenience" to get me utensils so I could enjoy it???? I think I had to wait another 3 minutes because of her two blunders - 1 forgetting the utensils in the first place (which can happen) and then taking care of another table instead of hurrying with my utensils! (And yes, 3 minutes, when you're hungry IS a long time. It should've taken 30 seconds to make it right.)

I had other complaints at the time, but I was so upset that we packaged up our meals and took them home. I wasn't about to stay any longer. We spoke with the manager (who threw in some dessert items), and we left.

It's when the simple courtesies are forgotten, and when a problem is detected, that it doesn't become URGENT for the person who caused the problem... that's when customer service issues arise, satisfaction isn't there and it spoils the entire experience.

If she were to simply tell the other table "I'll be right back for your order", pick up the pace and get me a set of utensils, I would've felt that she was on the ball and made it right. Instead, she acted as though it didn't matter, that I didn't matter, and it was just "business as usual".

It's been well over a year since I've set foot in there, and I won't unless it's for food to go. The fact that I STILL remember this is also another indication of the inept service I received that day.

Edited February 15, 2014 by skippy740

[pam]

After college I was working at a Scout Shop. One Saturday we were super bored and started playing "Burrel Ives Sings Scouting" really slow. I think it bothered the few customers we did have.

NOT good customer service.

Now I'm curious as to what the Burrel Ives Sings Scouting thing is. :) Or who Burrel Ives is.

[Palerider]

Now I'm curious as to what the Burrel Ives Sings Scouting thing is. :) Or who Burrel Ives is.

There is one in every crowd.......