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...I suppose he died shortly after his cousin, Chivalry.
I was feeling some type of way on Thursday afternoon. With a government shutdown looming and spending two and half hours in traffic just to think about it, I wasn't in the best of moods. As I pulled into the Wendy's drivethru to pick up the nugget meal I promised for MJ, I didn't care whether the employees were kind and courteous or not.
After ordering and paying at the first window, I pulled up to the second where I was met with a smiling face. The young lady was showing all her pearly whites and kept that smile on her face as she talked to me and handed me the goods. I bid her a great day with a reciprocal smile but as I pulled away I thought to myself, "What the hell is she so happy about?"
And then I thought again about the fact that what I had just experienced is a rarity nowadays. Though I know from first hand experience, it's not always easy, everyone that works in the line of customer service should offer service with a smile. Thinking about the fact that the lady had been so nice to me, I was able to forget all about the mood that the D.C. traffic had put me in.
After nugget meal delivery, I ventured off to Walmart for fruit, shampoo, a giant coloring book and yet another set of crayons for MJ. After picking up everything I needed, I walked the isles of stationary, childrens books and school supplies but I was unable to find the jumbo crayons and a giant coloring book. Just as I turned the corner of the last isle of the children's section, I ran into an associate--an older man who was just...standing there.
"Excuse me, sir," I said. "Would you be able to help me find where the jumbo crayons are located?"
As I spoke he stared at me, his face contorted, as if I were speaking Portugese.
"I don't know. Probably up these isles somewhere, check by the books and other toys," he replied as he brushed past me.
I turned to face him as he walked off and I said, "I looked there and they weren't there. I've been up and down each one of these isles."
As he continued to walk, he pointed somewhere off to the right and said "Well, check stationary," and as he disappeared around the corner, I said loud enough for him to hear, "Alrighty then, no thanks for your help."
I walked off to check the isles again, and I said to myself, "Just as I thought, customer service is dead."
This is something that Chief and I discuss all the time that there is a serious problem in the world of customer service.
Why is it this way now?
Why is it that when people are super nice to use, we're taken aback and suprised?
When did attitudes, sucking teeth and twisted faces become the norm for customer service?
Will it ever stop?
5 comments:
You highlighted it actually. The younger woman at the drive-through still has that drive - she wants to get the hell out of that window and by any means necessary, so she's choosing to smile her way through it. That older guy at WalMart is on some FML stuff and it was evident in his refusal to help. Customer service is a generational thing - people become jaded over time.
That would be my initial assumtion as well given this particular day, but there has been instances (ESPECIALLY at walmart) that even the young cashiers have the attitude that "I don't want to be here, ringing you up and baggin your groceries." So are these 19 year olds jaded too? Nor hardly. I think some people are just getting into the "wrong business".
I think about this all the time myself..a smile goes a long way and some people dont even want to do that. Maybe one day it will change..a strong maybe lol
http://aunaturaleandlovingit.blogspot.com/
Unfortunately, I bet I can tell which Walmart in our area you went to. Customer service, in general, is horrible in certain parts of the DC metro are. Dare I say PG County specifically?????
FYI, customer service typically sucks in Southeastern VA, too, but I don't think it has anything to do with age or experience. I started working at age 7 in my grandparents' store and was expected to be courteous and polite. I have been working ever since, including my own business at 13, Victoria's Secret, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and mental health care. As a family counselor, I'm on-call every other week and have been called at 2 A.M. about free Busch Gardens' tickets. I STILL provided a professional response despite the time and stupidity of the call. I think it's all about home training and professionalism.
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