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Well when I pull in to get gas I'm not surrounded by guys in uniforms, bow ties, and caps cleaning my windshield, and checking my oil anymore.
Other than that, not really, around here most places have very good customer service. The only bad service I've had is from people around my age who are a bit cranky.
I think that if service has declined, it's because people are rude and expect the rep to give them exactly what they want, exactly when they want. I've known multiple people who worked in call center/customer service roles and the abuse that they take is astounding. People telling them they hope their family dies, their mother gets raped by a pig, etc. And that's just the tip of the verbal abuse they take (and no, not all companies will allow the rep to hang up or disconnect no matter how bad the abuse gets).
I would point a finger at companies having unrealistic expectations of their employees too. Keep in mind that when you call your gas company, a phone company or any other type of call center, the rep is graded on everything from the service they give to the time spent on the call. They might really want to help you, but many are restricted to using lame scripts that they cannot deviate from and are rushed off the phone to keep their metrics up to avoid losing their job.
I'm not saying all customer service is good. I've experienced incredibly lazy, indifferent and even rude service, but I'd also say that many customers have unrealistic expectations.
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I've known multiple people who worked in call center/customer service roles and the abuse that they take is astounding. People telling them they hope their family dies, their mother gets raped by a pig, etc. And that's just the tip of the verbal abuse they take (and no, not all companies will allow the rep to hang up or disconnect no matter how bad the abuse gets).
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Not too smart on the part of the customer!
"This call may be recorded for quality assurance ..." and to be used as evidence against you in a court of law.
I think that if service has declined, it's because people are rude and expect the rep to give them exactly what they want, exactly when they want. I've known multiple people who worked in call center/customer service roles and the abuse that they take is astounding. People telling them they hope their family dies, their mother gets raped by a pig, etc. And that's just the tip of the verbal abuse they take (and no, not all companies will allow the rep to hang up or disconnect no matter how bad the abuse gets).
I would point a finger at companies having unrealistic expectations of their employees too. Keep in mind that when you call your gas company, a phone company or any other type of call center, the rep is graded on everything from the service they give to the time spent on the call. They might really want to help you, but many are restricted to using lame scripts that they cannot deviate from and are rushed off the phone to keep their metrics up to avoid losing their job.
I'm not saying all customer service is good. I've experienced incredibly lazy, indifferent and even rude service, but I'd also say that many customers have unrealistic expectations.
That's what training is for. Just stay totally calm and professional no matter what the customer says, no matter how abusive he or she becomes. If anything, it's the best revenge on a jerk because they're unable to get a rise out of you. Also, it shields you from any trouble with management should they try to file a complaint about you, which often does happen.
Yeah customer support is a tough profession but it's always been so. My mother worked at a Macy's in New York City in the late 1940s, and the management used to send in mystery shoppers to test the employees--they were these older ladies who were extremely surly and ridiculously demanding and you just wanted to strangle them, but you had to stay polite.
You can't support yourself, much less a family, on customer service job wages nowadays. Treat people like slaves and pay them as such, and that is what you are going to get- wage slaves who do the bare minimum.
I don't find ageism as a problem; poor customer service is much more an issue of corporate culture than generational.
Take Lowes for example; I almost, without exception, have to walk isle after isle trying to find someone to help (regardless of their age), and once found, more than half tell me 'we don't carry that'. At which point, I go back and walk the isles until I find the item I am looking for. Home Depot, on the other hand, asks if they can help the moment I walk in the door, and 95% of the employees know what I am looking for, and where to find it. The other 5% are new or in training.
For most of my experiences, Best Buy is 95% fail, most stand and talk to each other ignoring customers, and nobody understands the technology. Ask a simple question about video card interface standards, and you are hit with a blank stare.
I used to love shopping at Sears; now, each visit results in someone saying 'we can order for you online'. Great! So can I; at Amazon, for cheaper. I wouldn't have driven 20 miles if I wanted to go order something online.
OK; I know I am whining. Retail has changed like it or not, but those brick and mortars that rise to the challenge will do well.
No -- it is about the same. However, some corporate/business cultures are awful and inspire employees to ignore or treat customers poorly. That was true years ago and is true now.
By their voice. You learn pretty quick when you speak on the phone to hundreds of people a day.
The age isn't the only thing you can figure you.
And I am sure that you tailor your stereotypes accordingly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichiganGreg
I don't find ageism as a problem; poor customer service is much more an issue of corporate culture than generational.
Take Lowes for example; I almost, without exception, have to walk isle after isle trying to find someone to help (regardless of their age), and once found, more than half tell me 'we don't carry that'. At which point, I go back and walk the isles until I find the item I am looking for. Home Depot, on the other hand, asks if they can help the moment I walk in the door, and 95% of the employees know what I am looking for, and where to find it. The other 5% are new or in training.
For most of my experiences, Best Buy is 95% fail, most stand and talk to each other ignoring customers, and nobody understands the technology. Ask a simple question about video card interface standards, and you are hit with a blank stare.
I used to love shopping at Sears; now, each visit results in someone saying 'we can order for you online'. Great! So can I; at Amazon, for cheaper. I wouldn't have driven 20 miles if I wanted to go order something online.
OK; I know I am whining. Retail has changed like it or not, but those brick and mortars that rise to the challenge will do well.
Customer service and all.
What do you expect from someone working in Best Buy? Do you expect technical knowledge from a kid working a second job, or a part-timer?
Don't they have a Geek Squad who are comprised of experts? Why would you expect technical knowledge from the person working on the floor?
When I ask a salesman working the computer section where to find a video card with a display port interface, do I have to run and stand in line for the Geek Squad to answer that simple question?
Sorry, to me that is the same as asking a shoe salesman where to find a size 8 1/2 white sneaker. I don't expect them to know the name of the cow that the leather came from.
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And I am sure that you tailor your stereotypes accordingly.
