Covid customer service, ugh

So, referencing the subject of this thread, we are bouncing around 3 different subjects. The subject of "COVID Customer Service" is what was started. However, Customer Service has been dying for some time now and long before the pandemic.

Prior to retiring 6 years ago I was a Corporate Trainer for about 15 years. I worked primarily with service-based companies or said another way, companies that provided a product or service(s) to other companies or individuals. In most cases, these service companies had competitors that provided the same product or service for a comparable price. The only real thing that kept their customers coming back was how the customer was taken care of.

In our industry we defined great Customer Service as, "Service that exceeds Customer expectations". But, a number of years ago, as businesses were forced to operate leaner, Customer Service training was one of the areas we saw reduced or eliminated. As a result, there is a generation or 2 that truly do not know what the saying, "The Customer is Always Right" means. And they don't give a shit. However, in their defense, (and I hate defending them) it's their employers, and parents, that have failed them. If a company has price-comparable competition, and the only thing that makes a customer want to return is how they are treated, you'd think they would be doing all that's possible to make that buying experience pleasurable.

And we used to evaluate employees. If you didn't follow the company policies, you were coached, retrained or processed out. We don't do that anymore because (A) people are too hard to find and (B) we certainly don't want to offend anyone because if you do someone sues for wrongful termination and blames everyone but themselves.

Now that I got that rant out, I wish I knew what the solution was. I read the other day that the problem with the generations that have come after us (I'm 72) is they have never truly experienced hardship. No war, no depression, no cell phones, no instant everything, only 3 or 4 TV channels, no "downloads". If we wanted to listen to music we got on a bus, went downtown to the music store and bought a record that we took home and played on a record player. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for technology but we screwed up by wanting things to be too easy for our offspring and theirs.

My time on this rock is drawing to an end but I truly fear for the generations to follow and hope they can get it figured out.
I hate that phrase “the customer is always right.” In fact the customer is frequently wrong. If I did everything my customer “wanted” I’d be out of business. Now that is not to say we aren’t accommodating. We are very accommodating and have a hard time saying no. But it goes both ways. I can’t give what I don’t get. Want good customer service, then be a good customer.
 
So, referencing the subject of this thread, we are bouncing around 3 different subjects. The subject of "COVID Customer Service" is what was started. However, Customer Service has been dying for some time now and long before the pandemic.

Prior to retiring 6 years ago I was a Corporate Trainer for about 15 years. I worked primarily with service-based companies or said another way, companies that provided a product or service(s) to other companies or individuals. In most cases, these service companies had competitors that provided the same product or service for a comparable price. The only real thing that kept their customers coming back was how the customer was taken care of.

In our industry we defined great Customer Service as, "Service that exceeds Customer expectations". But, a number of years ago, as businesses were forced to operate leaner, Customer Service training was one of the areas we saw reduced or eliminated. As a result, there is a generation or 2 that truly do not know what the saying, "The Customer is Always Right" means. And they don't give a shit. However, in their defense, (and I hate defending them) it's their employers, and parents, that have failed them. If a company has price-comparable competition, and the only thing that makes a customer want to return is how they are treated, you'd think they would be doing all that's possible to make that buying experience pleasurable.

And we used to evaluate employees. If you didn't follow the company policies, you were coached, retrained or processed out. We don't do that anymore because (A) people are too hard to find and (B) we certainly don't want to offend anyone because if you do someone sues for wrongful termination and blames everyone but themselves.

Now that I got that rant out, I wish I knew what the solution was. I read the other day that the problem with the generations that have come after us (I'm 72) is they have never truly experienced hardship. No war, no depression, no cell phones, no instant everything, only 3 or 4 TV channels, no "downloads". If we wanted to listen to music we got on a bus, went downtown to the music store and bought a record that we took home and played on a record player. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for technology but we screwed up by wanting things to be too easy for our offspring and theirs.

My time on this rock is drawing to an end but I truly fear for the generations to follow and hope they can get it figured out.

"parents, that have failed them"
Here in lies the root cause.
 
I hate that phrase “the customer is always right.” In fact the customer is frequently wrong. If I did everything my customer “wanted” I’d be out of business. Now that is not to say we aren’t accommodating. We are very accommodating and have a hard time saying no. But it goes both ways. I can’t give what I don’t get. Want good customer service, then be a good customer.
Therein lies the problem. Be a good customer? Define a good customer. The businesses I managed always were the highest in revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction and retention because I busted my ass and created a culture in my business that realized….we were ONLY there because we took care of the customer and exceeded their expectations. If you don’t do all you can for your customers they’re going someplace that will.
 
I always cringed at the term "predatory lending". In my life I've never been to a closing that involved me signing a promise to pay at gun-point. Perhaps I'm one of the few and fortunate...
Obviously you have never dealt with Tony Bananas. He’s like Big Lou, he’ll loan you money too.
 
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The only real thing that kept their customers coming back was how the customer was taken care of.
I don't do a lot of fast food, but when I do my preference is to go to McDonald's. It's not that their food is any better or cheaper than the other guys out there, but they make me feel like they were glad I came in.

One thing that really bugs me is when the cashier, after getting my money and giving me my food, says "have a nice day" as she's turning around to do to the next customer's food. She doesn't look at me or acknowledge me at any point other than when she hands me back my change.

Pizzes me off.
 
Only fast food I have eaten in the last 10yrs is Chick Fil A. They require the owner / franchisee to actually work in the restaurant. Even in the worst of the Covid mess they managed to keep the customer service. I don’t know how they do it, but most of the workers are either clean cut kids or older retirees.
 
Only fast food I have eaten in the last 10yrs is Chick Fil A. They require the owner / franchisee to actually work in the restaurant. Even in the worst of the Covid mess they managed to keep the customer service. I don’t know how they do it, but most of the workers are either clean cut kids or older retirees.

Closed on Sundays, they pay above average compared to other QSRs and they are busy enough to have plenty of staff working at all times, which gives everyone working less to do...
 
I don't do a lot of fast food, but when I do my preference is to go to McDonald's. It's not that their food is any better or cheaper than the other guys out there, but they make me feel like they were glad I came in.

One thing that really bugs me is when the cashier, after getting my money and giving me my food, says "have a nice day" as she's turning around to do to the next customer's food. She doesn't look at me or acknowledge me at any point other than when she hands me back my change.

Pizzes me off.
Fast food restaurants are an interesting study, and you see a different type of personnel depending on the region of the country located. Mike, when I lived in California, both Southern and Northern, the workers were mostly Hispanic. They were, for the most part, friendly, respectful, polite and working there until something better comes along. Here where I live in SE Louisiana, many of the fast-food (not Hispanic) workers think they're doing you a favor by serving you. They act like you ordering and expecting your order to be correct is inconveniencing them. Rarely do you get a "Thank You", an order correct or even acknowledgement that you exist. Now the exception is Chick-Fil-A. Clean-cut, well-groomed mostly high school kids looking to make some extra money while they work towards something better. It's not a career position like it is for some others here. But I've found over the years that the level of Customer Service in any business is a direct reflection of the manager or owner. IF great Customer Service is important to them and they understand the value of it, they insure their employees are trained and understand it as well. Bill K. is correct....if you don't perform at a Chick-Fil-A you're gone. These days there are too many managers and not enough leaders.
 
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Closed on Sundays, they pay above average compared to other QSRs and they are busy enough to have plenty of staff working at all times, which gives everyone working less to do...
Actually, I believe one cannot simply buy a Chick-Fil-A, I believe that you must be recommended and pass certain criteria AND that it isn’t really a franchise. One becomes the “manager” of the store.
 
Actually, I believe one cannot simply buy a Chick-Fil-A, I believe that you must be recommended and pass certain criteria AND that it isn’t really a franchise. One becomes the “manager” of the store.

That's partially correct. It's a franchise, but you have to align with their values to be allowed to buy in. The main difference to other franchised brands is the owner / franchisee has to work 40-50 hours a week in their store - so they don't have franchisees with 3-300 locations, resulting in much better store level ops, compared to other brands where the franchisee isn't that close to day to day ops.
 
I just ran into the worst customer service ever. I wanted to buy a new holster and found what I wanted on Amazon. But I wanted tan and the company only had black. So I ordered the black, paid the $50 and got it about 3 weeks later. UGH

I had it for a few days and got a survey request from the company which I ignored.

Then I got a notice that my holster was being shipped. Then another, and another and then got a tan holster. I had already used the black one and had stretched it out a bit so the gun would come out easier.

I tried to call the company to explain their error but kept getting trapped in a phone system where I could not talk to a regular ol' human being. It kept referring me to their website. So I went to their website to make the return. I was offered 3 choices:
1. Return for exchange (free shipping)
2. Return for store credit (free shipping)
3. Return for refund ($7.99 shipping)

So I returned it for a refund and the $7.99 will be deducted from the original $50 and I'll get a refund for the remaining $43. Then they emailed me a shipping label.

So, my original $50 black holster will not have only cost me $7.99. Ya gotta love doing business with companies like this. (NOT)
 
I just ran into the worst customer service ever. I wanted to buy a new holster and found what I wanted on Amazon. But I wanted tan and the company only had black. So I ordered the black, paid the $50 and got it about 3 weeks later. UGH

I had it for a few days and got a survey request from the company which I ignored.

Then I got a notice that my holster was being shipped. Then another, and another and then got a tan holster. I had already used the black one and had stretched it out a bit so the gun would come out easier.

I tried to call the company to explain their error but kept getting trapped in a phone system where I could not talk to a regular ol' human being. It kept referring me to their website. So I went to their website to make the return. I was offered 3 choices:
1. Return for exchange (free shipping)
2. Return for store credit (free shipping)
3. Return for refund ($7.99 shipping)

So I returned it for a refund and the $7.99 will be deducted from the original $50 and I'll get a refund for the remaining $43. Then they emailed me a shipping label.

So, my original $50 black holster will not have only cost me $7.99. Ya gotta love doing business with companies like this. (NOT)
Talos Tactical in West Richland has holsters, and outstanding customer service.
I bought a 9mm earlier this year from them, great people to deal with.
 
Closed on Sundays, they pay above average compared to other QSRs and they are busy enough to have plenty of staff working at all times, which gives everyone working less to do...
In our area they recruit in the religious groups and are closed Sunday as you stated so never a conflict on working on Sunday for those with that belief…
 
I messaged you Mike.
 
Yesterday, went to McDonald's (drive thru) and ordered 3 coffees and one muffin and said, "I have two coupons for two free coffees". Told me the order was $2.65 or something - good enough. Drive up to the window and the girl there says $4.69 to which I say no, two of the coffees are free and gave her the two coupons. She seemed annoyed and punched some buttons and then said "that's $5.89. I then say with some attitude, "no - the price for my order cannot go UP by simply removing 2 of 3 ordered coffees, it should be less". She says, "it's more due to tax"! I say try again, there is no way that makes any sense. She calls over the manager looking really ticked - it was $2.65, but no apology or even an acknowledgement that she was wrong. Brutal.

Thank the teachers Union and public skool edumacation.
 

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