Customer Service - a dying art? - Rant

**shoiji** · 05-05-2010, 06:46 PM

Is it me or is customer service becoming a dying art? It seems like everytime I go to the bank the teller says she doesn't have the quarters or dollar bill denomination I want. To which I say can you ask another teller? Which they do and whoolah!! All of a sudden they have the quarters or dollar bill denomination I want.

Right now I am fuming because I am waiting for another cable person to come in and see what is going wrong with my service. The last guy just left about 10 minutes ago after being here for five minutes and telling me that as far as his equipment shows everything is working fine and that the only way he would be able to fix the problem is being here when the service was not working. As soon as the idiot left I called the customer service number and reported him and told the customer service rep exactly what the five minute cable guy told me. Well, turns out the customer service rep spoke with his supervisor and agreed that the cable guy did not provide a better answer for me. So now I get to wait for someone else to come out and look at the cables.

Well thanks for letting me vent. Now to sit and wait.

**nodmicks** · 05-05-2010, 07:00 PM

Oh how frustrating! Hope his boss set him straight and your cable gets fixed.

**lisaflex** · 05-05-2010, 07:12 PM

sad to say it is a dying art...sad thing is that it doesnt cost a thing to be pleasant, say please, say thankyou and be understanding.

**frugalwarrior2** · 05-05-2010, 09:16 PM

Dude, I'll be w/ you in a minute man. Can't you see I'm on the phone?? (to a friend in an unwork related matter).

**Nada.Leona** · 05-06-2010, 05:03 AM

I always go out of my way to give props when I do get good customer service -- I'll write a letter to their boss, and forward a copy to the rep so that they can use it in their portfolio, or I'll write up a customer service card. I try to give them something tangible, not just a nice phone call to their boss, who usually forgets or doesn't bother to tell them about it.

But yes, those opportunities are getting fewer and fewer. I find it's especially bad over the phone. :S

**CampCrazyMom** · 05-06-2010, 06:52 AM

I do think it is a dying art. I needed the reminder - I used to be really good at pointing out good service to managers etc. Going out of my way to do so. I need to get back to that.

I have stopped visiting businesses because of rude employees. Employers need to understand that their employees are the face of their business. What they are showing to the public is the image of the store. If the employee shows they don't care, that conveys an image to me that the store doesn't either. If the cashier is texting and can't get me my coffee or help me find something - why would I want to shop there?

Sorry, this is a hot topic for me! I'll go have a coffee and be quiet now.

**Ssindi** · 05-06-2010, 07:12 AM

I complained in an email about bad service at a local restaurant that we had enjoyed several times previously. I have yet to hear from them one way or the other.
Like I told them in the email, I will not visit that particular establishment again.

**Darlene** · 05-06-2010, 07:42 AM

Sometimes people have bad days and sometimes they really drop the ball and yes some are just idiots who don't care. It's our job to let them know when we are pleased and when we aren't by taking our business elsewhere or staying with that one company that really cares. I really hate the instances where it's like I'm held hostage because one company seems to have a monopoly, like electric co etc. If they displease me there is only so much I can do but I'll let them know loud and clear how I feel.
Get your cable fixed?

**McD** · 05-06-2010, 09:27 AM

I've worked in customer service positions since I was 15. Yes customer service is a dying art. But so are manners. So is general respect. So is just being a decent person. I think in general people just suck sometimes.

**frugalfoster** · 05-06-2010, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by mrsmcdowell

i've worked in customer service positions since i was 15. Yes customer service is a dying art. But so are manners. So is general respect. So is just being a decent person. I think in general people just suck sometimes.

lol... So true!!!

**Telephus44** · 05-06-2010, 09:57 AM

I work in customer service, and I think the biggest problem is that employers think that anyone can do it. We don't assume that everyone is talented at being a mechanic, a doctor, or a musician, but for some reason they think that they can pick anyone off the street, pay them almost nothing, and that they'll be highly talented at customer service skills - NOT! It's not super specialized and doesn't require tons of training, but it's one of those soft skills that a lot of people don't have.

**pollypurebred39** · 05-06-2010, 10:54 AM

I have found with my son's job that many working there should not be, they are not suited for such work. They would however be suited for a manufactoring job where no customer service skills are required. The problem with that is there are very few of those jobs out there, service jobs seem to be all one can find out this way. So I expect more and more rude cashiers & employees that make me feel like I'm such a pain in the rear end for expecting them top stop what their doing and check me out. More deep sighs, and shifting foot from foot as they have to help me locate a sale item the store was supposed to have. No, it's not what it used to be that's for sure. back when I was working customer service you'd have been fired immediately for surly behavior, now management ignores it.

**shoiji** · 05-06-2010, 06:40 PM

I guess from working in customer service oriented businesses and knowing that I needed to go the extra mile to keep a customer happy I just find it overwhelming when someone acts as if actually doing their job is such a bother.

And NO, the cable is still not fixed. Someone is supposed to be here tomorrow from 8:00 - 11:00 am. Will see. If the cable guy does not bring a ladder with him right off the bat I am pretty sure nothing will get fixed. Seems to be a good tell all.

Would you believe I was so upset I started looking to see how much fios tv would cost for the lowest level. And it is cheaper. HMMMMMMM. I would probably do it but the cheapest level does not include discovery channel which I watch a lot. Yes I could watch it on the internet but it does not seem to cover all the shows. But I may be thinking more about it.

**Brat** · 05-06-2010, 07:51 PM

In most business now days there is no customer service..Those that a working there it is all they can do to wait on you because you have interruped what ever it was that they was doing when you walked in to door...I have been in customer service retail for almost 40 years and I still great everycustomer that comes into the store that I work and asked if they need help finding something and if they tell me that they are just looking I will let them know that if they find something that they need help with I will be right here...

**mek42** · 05-06-2010, 08:22 PM

Before moving, I would often spend more in gas than purchases to go to one particular store where the young guy behind the counter was always willing to call "Joe" from out back to answer my question instead of trying to snow me.

Likewise, when I bought my LCD monitor (back when they were $1,000) I did some research and asked some questions I already knew the answers to. The company with the sales guy who snowed me was a little cheaper, but I took my money to the shop with the guy who simply said, "I'm not sure. Do you need me to find out?" to my fairly esoteric technical question.