What happened to customer service?

By September 8, 2015Blogposts, Uncategorized

There used to be a time when companies showed you appreciation for your business, especially in the service industry. These days it seems like we should be grateful to spend our hard earned dollars with some of these corporations, because the “I don’t care” attitude is alive and well.
Could it be possible that over population and over spending are sending the wrong message to these corporations? “It doesn’t matter how we treat our customers, they’re going to come back either way “is the statement businesses are stating these days with the way they are hiring customer service staff.
At this point in my career I live in Edmonton, AB and maybe it’s due to a past of great economic growth that has lowered the quality of customer service, because either way people need to go out and spend their money, but that’s going to change real soon if the main Alberta resource of oil keeps declining at this current pace.
Unfortunately it’s not just Edmonton, I have the privilege of travelling into big cities in the United States and the consensus is the same south of the border. I remember a time when being a VIP in Las Vegas meant something, when dinning at a 5 star restaurant was actually an experience, but I find this “I don’t care” attitude to be an epidemic. I blame the head of these restaurants, bars, shops & corporations in general because they are obviously not properly training their employees on how to deal with customers and they are not doing their due diligence when it comes to reviewing employee performance.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a bar this past summer, finally got past the bouncer who doesn’t seem like he’s able to say hello. Note: if your doorman has steroid rage and can’t tell the difference between a good patron and someone who he needs to kick out, get a host or manager at the front door, it’s that simple! So I get in and order a round of drinks and receive a dirty cup, a fruit fly in my drink, or get a round of shots with the shot glass rim surrounded in scum. This happens more times than not, and it’s absolutely unacceptable. Maybe if it happened once in a while and management comped the drink while profusely apologizing this would be okay. Unfortunately it’s every single time I go out and this is at “High Class” restaurant and bars, well at least that’s what their marketing suggests, it’s unacceptable and if this bad management and training keeps up this will be the demise to these establishments.
During an economic downturn consumers will only go to companies which are at “Top of Mind” and also the companies that go above and beyond expectations. The problem I see is that staff don’t care because they have no skin in the game and the owners aren’t around to see their employees acting the way they are, it all comes down to good management and that comes down to hiring good staff and continue with reviews and training throughout the position.
On occasion I like to play poker, so I called a Casino in Edmonton to put myself on the list, I asked the lady, who answered the phone quite rudely in the first place… like she had 100 things better to do than spend 30 seconds with me on the phone, one question she answered quickly and HUNG UP! I was blown away by the lack of common sense, I had more questions, wouldn’t you want to accommodate me so I come and spend money at your Casino? The answer is no because it’s not her money, she makes the same amount of money if I come there to play or go to a different Casino, so she doesn’t care.
The economy is changing, advertising is changing, and if your customer service doesn’t change to be a more positive experience in the near future, your business will not survive this next recession.
How do you start changing this “I don’t care” attitude? You get better training and hire better management while stressing the importance of customer service, maybe add in some staff incentives and other very effective techniques to drive results, at The Mark Consulting we can help you with staff training ask us about our program.

Contact me at Dave@TheMarkConsulting.com for any inquiries!
Written by: Dave Pavelich (Business Consultant)
Social: @DPavelich