WHAT HAPPENED TO CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Firesticks said:
We NEED many more things in todays world to function. This thread is an example! A cpap machine was unheard of 40 years ago. Sleep apnea was not diagnosed.
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One might say, no, we just think we need more things now. A cpap machine is a great example. I use one myself, and could not sleep a full night without it. However, if I were the 170 lbs I should weigh (instead of what I am, a fat guy), walking the four to five miles a day I should be walking, I probably would not need a cpap machine.

But yes, corporations do make a lot of money on the backs of labor without gains in wages our efficiency would seem to entitle us to. But a frank discussion of that would entail going political, so let's step back from having it here.
 
Customer service went away with Political Correctness and the use of voicemail to handle incoming customer calls. God help you if you are over 65 and hard of hearing. It is my opinion that it is very widespread and most business and corporations either don't care or have pretty much chosen to ignore the customer after the sale is made.
It is widespread and is just about everywhere. I think that in many cases the companies have been sold a bill of goods as to how effective voice mail is and they are now unaware as to poorly you and I are being served. But I have Written to several companies with that as my complaint and they never have the decency of replying. Guess it is the way things operate today and just shows how far we have gone down the slippery slope to a national disaster.
 
I'm a local insurance agent for a big, well-known company.

Some people will still pay for service. Yes, the consumer base is graying a bit, so most agents are focusing on businesses since they almost always want or need someone local.

Nearly every day I hear from people who had a terrible experience with a "1-800 number" insurance carrier but are unwilling to pay more since "we're all just a commodity." Very few people are truly unable to pay more, it's a decision.
 
gregintenn said:
We opted for cheap in lieu of customer service years ago, hence the proliferation of the big box store.
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Actually what drove me to the big box was the local hardware store (where customer service wasn't any better) trying to charge me $32 for a $6 made in China shovel.
 
BLACKHAWKNJ said:
Back in the 1930s high unemployment meant employers could be very fussy in who they hired and could expect people to show up for work when they were need-and scheduled. And the tax bite was MUCH lower so even modest wages went a LOT further.
I recall an article in the Business Section of the New York Times some years ago on the decline of selling as an occupation, a reader pointed out that today sales people do not receive commissions and are basically just cashiers, and the corporate mentality is they can always find someone else. And during my brief experience in working in retail years ago, I met NO
"managers" who really knew the merchandise and had people skills, especially when dealing with employees.
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I have yet to go to a car dealer where ANYBODY on the lot knows a tenth of what I do about their product just based on a little internet research. Once had to have a sales manager call Chevy HQ so they could tell him that they did in fact make the truck I wanted in the way I wanted it. He was two model years behind in his knowledge. Then, when I had a problem with the truck the service manager tried to tell me it wasn't covered by the warranty because it was an aftermarket suspension -- it wasn't, it was factory.
 
Cardboard_killer said:
One might say, no, we just think we need more things now. A cpap machine is a great example. I use one myself, and could not sleep a full night without it. However, if I were the 170 lbs I should weigh (instead of what I am, a fat guy), walking the four to five miles a day I should be walking, I probably would not need a cpap machine.
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Don't I wish!
 
Went to my local Sears store. Had to go to second floor for kids department. Picked up a few items and went to pay for them. Walked around the whole floor. Not a person or cash register open. Sign said I Had to go down stairs to pay for items. One cash register open with six other customers in line. The lady working the register was mad that she was the only one working. Two other customers and myself set the items down and left.
 
I actually get good customer service from most of the businesses I deal with. I might not always like the price I pay, but if I do not get good service our business relationship does not last.
 
M29since14 said:
The horse not only left the barn, but they cut him up for gourmet dog food, razed the barn, and paved over the whole shebang. It is so bad that I feel almost giddy whenever I call and actually get something that resembles what used to be just common, ordinary customer service. :rolleyes:
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...and the bits that couldn't be made into dog food were rendered into the glue you recently used on some project.;)
 
The last time I bought a new car (over six years ago) I was appalled at the lack of anything resembling dealership customer service. No one I spoke with at any dealership seemed able to do anything other than to put a hard sell on options and other things I did not want nor need at outrageous prices. One thing I really detested was that the salesmen would always walk off then come back with a professional closer. I won't stand for that and every time that happened I left immediately.

I ended up going to a high-volume minimum service dealership (think a Wal-Mart for cars). Told a salesman what I wanted, got none of the usual options sales pressure, no insistence on extended warranties, no closer, etc., and the price was less than I calculated it was going to be from my pricing research on the internet. I wrote a check for it and left within less than an hour from arrival, and picked up the car the next day. To me that is good customer service, not giving the customer a hard time.
 
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Well, I have a positive story............

Two years ago I purchased a new truck. I also purchased some WeatherTech floor mats.

I noticed a few weeks ago that the driver's side was starting to wear where my right heel sitteth. Georgia red clay and combat boots are hard on a mat.

I noticed somewhere that WeatherTech's have a lifetime guarantee. I thought, what the heck, so I called them, just to find out.

"My name is Jennifer, how can I assist you today?" answered the girl on their Customer Service line. I asked her about the warranty and was expecting her to say it was normal wear-and-tear.

"Yes, they are guaranteed for life. What is your current address, sir?" I gave it to her. "You should receive an expedited replacement set on Thursday, delivered by FedEx." This is on a Tuesday.

My jaw dropped. Holy cow! She even emailed me to ensure that I received the replacement mats and that they suited me and fit well.

I will be a WeatherTech customer for life.
 
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DWalt said:
The last time I bought a new car (over six years ago) I was appalled at the lack of anything resembling dealership customer service. No one I spoke with at any dealership seemed able to do anything other than to put a hard sell on options and other things I did not want nor need at outrageous prices. One thing I really detested was that the salesmen would always walk off then come back with a professional closer. I won't stand for that and every time that happened I left immediately.

I ended up going to a high-volume minimum service dealership (think a Wal-Mart for cars). Told a salesman what I wanted, got none of the usual options sales pressure, no insistence on extended warranties, no closer, etc., and the price was less than I calculated it was going to be from my pricing research on the internet. I wrote a check for it and left within less than an hour from arrival, and picked up the car the next day. To me that is good customer service, not giving the customer a hard time.
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I usually buy new, but decided this last time to go with low-mileage used to save a little. Experience with dealerships was just as bad as buying new. Happened to find a truck at CarMax at a fair no-haggle price. They will be my first choice next time unless I'm buying new.
 
Cardboard_killer said:
It's more than that, though. When labor was cheap, human service was worth paying for. But with the cost of labor so high, human service becomes that much more expensive.

But the flip side of the coin is that our wages are also up. To get back to lots of personal service, we'd have to all go back to 1930s wage levels, when it was cheap to hire extra store clerks for customers.
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I am not sure if it is labor that is up or that profit ratios are so much closer. Add to that our willingness to travel to the next town to get a better deal.
 
Everywhere you go these days it seems that good customer service is missing.

The problem is poor training and supervision.

The company I work for has a reputation for outstanding service since it's inception 40 years ago. Yes, every once in a while we drop the ball. But how you respond to and correct the mistake is what counts the most.

I am in a position of leadership. So I have to play the part and be nice even with difficult customers. And these days it seems that customers are more demanding and less understanding. The phrase "the customer is always right" goes out the window the second they become disrespectful. I've been accused of being rude many times. The fact is, I'm not rude until forced to. Be cause I tell the customer what they don't want to hear, or I tell them no, or I say no to a discount, they call me rude. And there have been a few times that I have told customers to get the hell out. But this is only when they push me to that point.

It's a two way street. If you walk in the door and act like a jerk, you will be treated that way.

But yes, good customer service is missing these days.
 
Customer Service left the scene when texting became the "preferred" form of communication. Phones are no longer an instrument to have verb communications but devices to send written messages. The philosophy is that everything can be accomplished by texting so you don't have to actually "talk" to a person. That is the reason my phone will not accepts text messages - you have to TALK or there is no communication.
 
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