The Importance of Customer Service.

So there you are, night out with your friends, gonna go get some yummy food at a restaurant.

The waiter or waitress comes up to take your order, but what is with the attitude? They seem to hate their job and their customer service skills are horrible. Once the food gets there, it is good, but then why do you have a bad taste in your mouth? It was because of that darn snippy waiter or waitress.

Have you ever experienced this?

To me, customer service is almost as important as the food, product, or service itself. I work in customer service; it is such a broad term. It doesn't just mean cashier, or waiter/waitress. I find myself thinking that every business has at least some sort of customer service.

When I answer the phone for my office, I always give it my best. I try to convey professionalism and the urge to help solve our customer's problems. Another thing, something my dad taught me, is to adapt to the customer's personality and needs. If the customer is sarcastic and witty, it usually works to throw in a little bit of friendly sarcasm yourself. When the customer is all business, it helps to take a serious, business tone with them.

What are your thoughts on this? Is customer service as important to you as it is to me?

I go in to eat! I dont give two hoots about their attitude, just give me good food, go away, and leave me alone.
Job done.

Metaphorically speaking; We are all just planting seeds of thought. It takes a wise person to be able to interact effectively with others. Marrying a balance between this, with the right suggestions, queues, & proper awareness, & you can deeply effect another person's mind, or heart.


Customer Service is a Skill.

Some people forget what they had for yesterdays' dinner, or the newly acquainted person that they met at dinner, while others can remember the pattern of the palm of an individual as he reaches into his pocket, or remember the patternization of strangers' eyes for their lifetime. Gifts/Curses/Supreme/Mundanes


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reply to post by survival


See that's the thing with me, I realize the voice on the other side of the phone is actually a human being just like me. Just because we are in the positions of customer service and customer, doesn't mean we cannot still get along or impart words of wisdom to each other.

Yes, customer service is part of what I pay for when I patronize a restaurant or a store. If they're jerks, it ruins my experience, and I feel that I just paid a whole bunch of money to be waited on by a jerk.

Thankfully, out here in west Texas, is it exceptionally rare to run into a rude person who waits on you. This is a very friendly part of the US, and open, friendly service is definitely the rule.

However, when I lived in large cities, and particularly in areas like California, Arizona, and Colorado, I have experienced some seriously rude servers and clerks. I never go back...I vote with my wallet, and occasionally, I have let the management know why I never will return.

I understand that working with the public can be a pain, and I did social service for years, so I know that there can be people who are very difficult to please, but each customer or client is new and deserves politeness and respect until they prove that they do not deserve it.

Customer service is long gone in society anymore.

I worked in customer service when I was in my teens and early 20s and it was VERY different then. We were trained the right way to give customer service. I loved it honestly and to see how it's become something of the past really irks me. It's not hard and i don't care if you hate your job or your pay sucks, it's a job! If you don't want to work where you have to do customer service, find a different job! I didn't make a lot of money when I worked in customer service but I had a job and an income! I was happy to be part of society and working for myself. Heck making someones day made MY day.

I dread calling any form of customer service today. I either get a foreign country or someone who can't speak English very well in this country who gets an attitude when i asked to be transferred to someone who speaks English and can understand me. Customer Service to day is not customer service, it's sales in disguise.

About 2yrs ago I worked for Zales Customer Service or so I thought that is what I was doing. I mean my title was customer service agent. Well It had been probably 10yrs since i worked in a customer service call center environment. It was clear that the rules had changed. I was not a CS agent I was a SALES agent. They didnt' teach us ANYTHING about CS and how to help these people who called in on Zales' customer service line. We were trained to SELL to them!! It bothered me so much because it was Christmas time and I couldn't help people with their problems. Lost packages, damaged packages, wrong packages, missing packages and so on. They never trained us for those situations. They trained us to upsell! I had to go into the system and basically beg management to tell me how to do certain things so I could help people. I remember getting so frustrated a few times i actually cried. I liked helping people and the fact I couldn't because that wasn't the agenda of the center I worked at really bothered me. The supervisors were LAZY as LAZY can be. THey constantly refused to take calls from upset customers wanting to know where their packages where. Instead they told us to handle it and they sat there and shoved their faces. How can I handle something when i have no idea where to even start! I sat there over the course of a few days and went thru every single screen and wrote down everything i could so I could help people. I basically trained myself! I will never forget when I left and they told me I was rehireable for next holiday season. I looked at him and laughed! I told him I'd never work for a company that doesn't know true customer service and has lazy supervisors who don't do their job ever again. He just looked at me dumbfounded.

I will say the only place I actually LIKE calling is Apple customer service. Yup, Apple. I have never had a bad experience with Apple. They never say "I don't know" or "I can't." They always answer my question or solve my problem. My fiancee laughs at me because I enjoy calling Apple customer service. It is nice to have at least one place I deal with still practice actual Customer Service.

The one place I dread calling is ATT. I can't even dial their number it makes my blood pressure boil. Worst CS EVER!

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
Yes, customer service is part of what I pay for when I patronize a restaurant or a store. If they're jerks, it ruins my experience, and I feel that I just paid a whole bunch of money to be waited on by a jerk.

Thankfully, out here in west Texas, is it exceptionally rare to run into a rude person who waits on you. This is a very friendly part of the US, and open, friendly service is definitely the rule.

I need to move to Texas!! I haven't had many good experiences with dining out here in FL. Most people are rude and lazy.

However, when I lived in large cities, and particularly in areas like California, Arizona, and Colorado, I have experienced some seriously rude servers and clerks. I never go back...I vote with my wallet, and occasionally, I have let the management know why I never will return.

One of my favorite Italian restaurants I no longer go into for service I order take out. The reason is their rude hostess when I went in a couple mths ago with my sister. I am pregnant and can't sit in certain chairs because of my sciatic problem. Well the girl sat us at a table that was so tiny that my belly would be against the table and my chair against the guy behind me. I asked to be moved because I couldn't sit there. She rolled her eyes and went to the front. I then watched her MOCK me to the other hostess. She was saying to the other girl "Oh I can't sit here cause I'm pregnant and i can't sit here cause I'm pregnant" and she went on mocking me to the other girl! I was so upset. ALL I did was ask for a chair that didn't have me up against a table and another patron. If I wasn't pregnant I wouldn't have cared but her reaction really upset me. She KNEW I ate there often and came in during lunch and she knew I was pregnant. This place was my one craving in the beginning of my pregnancy and i went there weekly for lunch by myself and left a nice tip every time. The service wasn't bad but this time it was horrible and I have not gone back since. I even let the management know why I haven't been back. I do still order thru their delivery service because the one waiter I liked usually delivers or a nice little Asian man delivers. I will not eat in their establishment again while pregnant and as long as that snot is there. I wanted my sister to try the place and well we winded up leaving because of how this girl reacted. You would have thought i asked her to move the damn table across the room!!

I understand that working with the public can be a pain, and I did social service for years, so I know that there can be people who are very difficult to please, but each customer or client is new and deserves politeness and respect until they prove that they do not deserve it.

Agreed!! Personally I liked working customer service or with the public. I found it pretty easy to please people and I enjoyed it. I am also very outgoing and that always helped me with understanding what people wanted, even the grumpy ones!

i know to much to anger anyone in the restaurant business if i even sense anything sketchie with any of the staff i just walk out but i definitely know what you're talking about and it's because there's absolutely zero motivation for anyone to actually work these days and every excuse for a person to sit on their butt at home collecting government checks, have more babies whenever prices raise so they can keep up with inflation! and i am in no way knocking our system because we do need that little bit of help for when someone actually needs it but i personally know people who abuse it illegally collecting.

it completely sickens me standing at the check out line at the grocery store seeing people with 3, 4 buggy's so full that food spills over and the kinda meat i can only dream about and this is stereotyping but believe me there is stereotyping for a reason but these people aren't just getting off work and doing their weekly or even monthly shopping if you know what i'm saying.. and there's me barley able to feed my family.

anyway.. before i get to negative i'll just acknowledge your anger and frustration.

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I am also very outgoing and that always helped me with understanding what people wanted, even the grumpy ones!

It makes my day when I can make a grumpy customer has some semblance of happiness by the end of the call!

Those are definitely the challenging ones. But I accept the challenge and try my best.

Although, there are some customers that will simply not be pleased by any means. That sucks.

Originally posted by SolarE-Souljah

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I am also very outgoing and that always helped me with understanding what people wanted, even the grumpy ones!

It makes my day when I can make a grumpy customer has some semblance of happiness by the end of the call!

Those are definitely the challenging ones. But I accept the challenge and try my best.

Although, there are some customers that will simply not be pleased by any means. That sucks.

Agreed.

Yes some you just can't make happy no matter what you do. What people need to not do is take it personal when someone gets pissy at them. I had quiet a few esp at the Zales job get so nasty with me but i still kept a nice tone and tried to help them. I knew they weren't mad at me they were just projecting it on to me because how can they get upset at the company itself? It isn't a person! I felt bad for those people and I know them getting their frustrations out helped. I know I've been on that end too!!

Now I do remember one girl who was just a straight up nasty person. She got mad because her ring wasn't 14kt and it was 10kt. The site had a misprint and yet she cursed at me and went on and on about how she won't wear 10kt. Inside I was laughing and wanting ot tell her fiancee to run for the hills. I told her that is was an error on the site and that the rings were 10kt. I explained to her that it didn't come in 14kt and if it had she would pay more and that nobody would ever know it wasn't 14kt. She was so stuck up, there was nothing anyone could have done to help her!! I honestly felt bad for her future husband lol

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I agree, the customer is mad at the situation and not at the person.

It still sucks when they vent at you because they see you as the company.

SolarE-Souljah i could not agree more with you

I tend to drown people with kindness and it is usually returned with kindness.
I am not phony about it and people can tell.

In a restaurant I always say something to the wait staff to "break the ice" and get their eye contact. A lot of times it just seems like they too need a friendly face to acknowledge them as something more than a waiter or waitress...

Now if we are talking Walmart cashiers for example....around here where I live...THEY are horrible! They never say hi, or look you in the eye...they look broken inside and I feel sorry for them. I try to never go there anymore its just so bad.

reply to post by FissionSurplus

I vote with my wallet, and occasionally, I have let the management know why I never will return.

I understand that working with the public can be a pain, and I did social service for years, so I know that there can be people who are very difficult to please, but each customer or client is new and deserves politeness and respect until they prove that they do not deserve it.

Couldn't have said it any better.

reply to post by Starwise

Now if we are talking Walmart cashiers for example....around here where I live...THEY are horrible! They never say hi, or look you in the eye...they look broken inside and I feel sorry for them. I try to never go there anymore its just so bad.

I really don't expect customer service from a discount big-box store. Then again, if it isn't a service where a tip is involved, I just don't expect to receive good customer service anymore.

reply to post by Starwise


I'm with you Starwise....when I worked (serving the public), I would drown them in the niceness that is me, lol! I treated everyone like gold, and my 'bad' customers were few and far between (only 1 made me cry, lol).
I've even had customers THANK me for being "so nice to me" (their words). I think it's sad that people thank someone for being nice to them.
Customer service is disappearing, and that is a shame. I take my business where people are pleasant to me...it enhances the experience.
Passing positive energy to another person makes them feel good...it's painless and free...shouldn't be so rare.
jacygirl