Originally Posted By Mr X Well, I just returned from another memorable trip to America and had a great time BUT..wow. Customer service has seemed to reach an even more impressive low these days (DisneyWorld mostly a happy exception though, see other topics). So what is Mr. X bitching about today? Blank stares. This is what happened to me many, many times (when I arrived, like five times in a ROW in five different establishments)..walk up to counter, staff person either doesn't look at me at all or else a blank, indifferent stare. Awkwardly, I hand over my purchases or order (God forbid I had a question!). Price rings up. More blank staring. I'm expected to look at the register and pull out the proper cash. A couple times after an awkward silence, I'd get an annoyed point or shrug towards the total on the screen (apparently because I'm a moron who doesn't understand the proceedure, and worse I am obviously causing even more of an annoyance for the poor worker who is forced to actually interact with a customer). And so it goes. The weird thing is, I don't even really think this is any sort of intentional failure or rudeness on the employees part...this seems like simply the way things are, as though any sort of customer service training doesn't exist at all! Am I missing the big picture here (like, this is OKAY with some people?), or is America sliding faster and faster towards a completely incompetent and indifferent society?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo It's really sad. when I moved to europe, I felt the customer service standards were heads and shoulders above the world. I will be interested to see what happens when we return in Feb.
Originally Posted By barboy No, you hit it... USA service sucks royally. Low energy, lazy, uninterested employees who "serve" us here is the going rate these days. I don't care if it is Cheesecake Factory, Taco Bell or the Hilton---- customer service sucks here. Just last night at Border's Books I explicitly and politely asked for 1 cup for my coffee(to save resoures) instead of the standard "doubling -up" and the cashier gve me a hard time. She wouldn't shut up about Border's policy. Sea World in SD gave me a hard time too over requesting no sleeve for my coffee. At a Round Table Pizza(West coast chain mainly) I stood at a register for 2 minutes while two Guatamalan migrants yapped up a storm with each other in Spanish behind the counter. If I were their boss I would have fired them on the spot. I could be here days citing examples. Whoever thinks we have good service in the US obviously doesn't go to other countries much.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x I agree with the low customer service standards here in the US. On that note, however, when I'm working, I always try to be very involved in customer service. "May I help you find anything?" "Anything else I can do for you today?" "Thanks for shopping here!" And while I'm performing the transaction, I try to make small talk, so the customer doesn't feel like I'm ignoring them. If I ask to see ID for a CC transaction, and I see they're from another city or country, I ask a couple questions. "Are you here on vacation?" "how are you liking the weather?" or "I've always wanted to go to British Columbia. Is it gorgeous this time of year?" Right now, my "customers" are children. And I love it. And I treat them the best that I can because they are the future customer service people in this country! Just kidding. That's not why. The why is because I want them to enjoy school, because if they don't enjoy school, then they won't enjoy college, they'll drop out, and we'll have a bunch of dead beat slackers doing just what Mr. X described above.
Originally Posted By mapleservo There's been a few articles on the web lately about how well Apple's retail stores have been doing, with a strong focus on customer service. I know they are in a pretty unique situation, but hopefully more retailers will start to see service as a means of improving their bottom line. Unfortunately, so many of the people I know seem 100% focused on price - I don't know that the retailers can be held 100% accountable. Actually, while I was Christmas shopping this year, I was surprised at the number of decent service people I hit. Unemployment here is 3% or less, and usually it shows in the poor quality of service. Maybe I just got lucky? Any thoughts on self-checkouts? Seems like more retailers are moving towards them, but I really hate the idea.
Originally Posted By Mr X **She wouldn't shut up about Border's policy. Sea World in SD gave me a hard time too over requesting no sleeve for my coffee.** I would think, Barboy, that this is a somewhat different (though no less ridiculous) issue involving justified corporate concerns about lawsuits...in this case, surprise surprise, the employees were completely and properly trained and indoctrinated it seems.
Originally Posted By Mr X Maple, I'm not a fan of self-checkouts either (ESPECIALLY the horrible grocery store systems which I tried a few times this trip and it ended up taking twice as long since, well, I have no supermarket cashiering experience lol). Another interesting little thing I noticed this time is that the customers, in general, do most of the work now on credit card transactions. You swipe your own card, confirm the price, sign electronically, and all the cashier needs to do is grudgingly hand you your receipt. To me, it's just another way for the customer to get even less service from the staff who are supposedly "helping" them.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ooops, I meant in my post, the US standards were heads and shoulders. Sadly, I have to say, most of our US experiences in the last 10 years have been theme parks and Casinos (as well as San francisco places), so perhaps not representative. and the stores we have shopped at have either fallen in love with my wife's accent, or we have gone on major sprees where we have had awesome treatment (bought 15 outfits in one store in San Diego - they sent the packages to our hotel free of charge as well as arranging better baseball ticket seats for us). I will be intrigued with my upcoming experiences. My mom found their experience in restaurants in particular to be less than stellar. and she was upset buy how unhealthy, fatty and salty all the menus were.
Originally Posted By barboy Ya I see what you mean about a two stacked cup policy or sleeves for coffee due to that dreadful creature called lawsuit BUT, I insisted on just one cup only and she still argued and lectured me. I was helping the planet(just a little) and I was helping Border's save costs(just a little) and she gave me grief over it.
Originally Posted By Mr X **and she was upset buy how unhealthy, fatty and salty all the menus were.** That's a whole different topic.
Originally Posted By Ursula I can't stand CVS stores because they are so slow on the check-out, so I seek the self-checkouts to get out of there faster. I'm not a checker, either, but I was faster than the people working there.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Hm, I think that service varies wildly on where you are and what you're buying. I find that the supermarkets around here have made great strides in service. Fast food is great where there is good management, and sucks when it's absent. I actually went into a new Walmart (can't believe I did that for the $4 prescription) and wandered around while waiting and actually was asked by a clerk if I needed some help!! And, it was clean, too.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Argh, I was going to delete the whole post and submitted it by mistake. nonononono
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<Another interesting little thing I noticed this time is that the customers, in general, do most of the work now on credit card transactions. You swipe your own card, confirm the price, sign electronically, and all the cashier needs to do is grudgingly hand you your receipt. To me, it's just another way for the customer to get even less service from the staff who are supposedly "helping" them.>> This is indeed the trend in the US. Get the customer to do more and more of the work. If they could figure a way to get us to stock the shelves, they would.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy I honestly foresee a day where I won't step into a retail store at all. Not only is service non-existent, but having to fight all of the electric scooters clogging the aisles is becoming quite a hassle, too. I'd just as soon stay home and have everything delivered.
Originally Posted By Mr X fkurucz (how d'ya pronounce that?), there's a great idea for a new promo...stock shelves for an hour and receive $10 off your purchases. A whole new concept...consumployment!
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< walk up to counter, staff person either doesn't look at me at all or else a blank, indifferent stare. >>> Maybe I'm just used to it, but the bad service doesn't stand out to me much. But I did have an exceptionally bad experience at WalMart last month regarding exactly what you spoke about. Lots of people harsh on WalMart and blame it for all things bad, but I actually usually have a good experience there. Well, it's more like I don't have a bad experience. I don't really need to be chatty or carry on a conversation with the check-out clerk, and I can find most things myself. As long as the merchandise is stocked on the shelves, I can navigate through the aisles, and there are enough check-out lanes open, I'm happy. But I needed something special at the returns/customer service desk. I needed a duplicate receipt for something I had purchased the previous week. The person behind the counter had absolutely terrible people skills. She never greeted me, never made eye contact (instead stared blankly off into space at an angle, except when talking to her co-workers), and had an expressionless face (again, except when talking to her friends). The worst was that each time I explained what I needed, she would take some action without saying anything. I had no idea if she understood what I had asked, or even if she was acting on my issue or an unrelated one. It was really frustrating, as often times when an unusual situation occurs, you have to go back and forth with the service person before they understand what exactly you're asking for, and I was getting absolutely no feedback to tell me if we were on the right track. Then the manager got involved, and a similar thing happened. Perhaps the most ironic part of the whole thing is that in the end, they were both actually very helpful and actually customer-focused - they did what I asked without complaining, huffing and puffing, or rolling their eyes as is often the case when you ask for something unusual. What they did for me was in such stark contrast to their interpersonal skills it was amazing to see.
Originally Posted By Mr X **Perhaps the most ironic part of the whole thing is that in the end, they were both actually very helpful and actually customer-focused - they did what I asked without complaining, huffing and puffing, or rolling their eyes as is often the case when you ask for something unusual. What they did for me was in such stark contrast to their interpersonal skills it was amazing to see.** I got that impression too, pretty often. Sometimes at the end of one of those weird exchanges, I'd say something like "Happy Holidays" or whatever, and suddenly they would perk up and become friendly and much more approachable (funny since I wasn't approaching anymore, but rather leaving)..so it's almost as if it's not intentional (disgruntled employee sort of deal) but some sort of current "standard", to ignore the customer and feel put out by the "hassle" of dealing with them, which just blows my mind.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Service here (in the US) sucks. I don't drink pop. So when I go into a MacDonald's or Burger King, I ask for an orange juice with my combo meal. First, of course, I have to get the attention of the alleged customer service person -- who is apparently too busy for me because she is flirting with the sandwich-maker or complaining to a co-worker about her baby-daddy or jus' bitchin' about work conditions. Then I order #1 and ask for orange juice as the drink. She either A) doesn't get the difference between orange JUICE and orange DRINK, or B) has to call a manager over to help her figure out what to do with this whack, special-needs, disrespectful customer. "He says he wants orange JUICE!" But it's not just MickeyD's. I work at Macy's. Best friends of mine bought boots as a "Santa" gift for their kid from Macy's. On Christmas morning, it turns out that there were two right boots in the box. They called me to see if I could help make it right. I was glad to assist. Our store didn't have any more of the right size and color. I called another store and asked for the right pair. The response from the sales associate there: "What kind of boots are these? Because if I have to go upstairs to look for them, I'm not going upstairs."
