Can good customer service ever come back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be honest, I’ve always felt like I get pretty good to excellent customer service, everywhere. There are rare exceptions where things are clearly going off the rails but in general everyone always seems to be working hard and trying to help me. So I think maybe it’s your perception.

Agree with this.

If you treat service people with decency, it will almost always come right back to you.

I think if you feel like you're frequently experiencing bad customer service, then that reflects your own character.

No. It just means you don’t get out much or only frequent high end places.

This. Or PP may be exceptionally attractive, these people typically will experience above average service.

Interestingly I often still find good customer service in rural areas, although it is changing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had the most incredibly pleasant customer service experience last week. I had bought tickets last minute to see Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium and I had several questions about access and parking. I called their number listed on their website and before the first ring ended a lovely man had answered and he proceeded to answer all of my questions in the next few minutes with patience and kindness. It was amazing.

I am the OP and yes of course these things DO happen. We had an outstanding flight attendant over the weekend. Nothing was unusual about our flight but she just went above and beyond at every turn with every passenger. And I did that the time to submit a compliment to the airline with her name and all of our flight details. But it’s rare and getting rarer. And I am respectful and polite and reject that that is all it takes. That just isn’t true.

Respectful and polite is NOT enough.

Friendly and implicitly sympathetic is what it takes.

Can’t remember my last poor customer service experience.

It IS enough. If not, there is something wrong with the other person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be honest, I’ve always felt like I get pretty good to excellent customer service, everywhere. There are rare exceptions where things are clearly going off the rails but in general everyone always seems to be working hard and trying to help me. So I think maybe it’s your perception.

Agree with this.

If you treat service people with decency, it will almost always come right back to you.

I think if you feel like you're frequently experiencing bad customer service, then that reflects your own character.

No. It just means you don’t get out much or only frequent high end places.

No, it means that if you feel like you receive poor service regularly, then *you* are the common denominator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You get what you give in this environment. I have had great customer service but I can clearly articulate what I need and treat people with respect and kindness. I have seen people make baristas cry at Starbucks. There is no need to do this. People are incredibly entitled in this area.

I was going to type something similar to this.

I usually get great customer service. I’m kind and respectful. I’ve apologized for the behavior of other customers on several occasions because I’m sickened by how some people treat employees.

If you’re kind, it tends to come back to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Society has changed and has become more "flat". People who work service jobs to not want to kowtow to customers any longer. They want there to be more equality in relations.

I support this but am not sure why this means we’re all rude to each other— we could all be polite to each other and then everyone would be in a better mood.

We make life worse all the time for no reason.

That’s a nice idea, but most people don’t treat service workers very well, so expecting them to turn the other cheek is unrealistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You get what you give in this environment. I have had great customer service but I can clearly articulate what I need and treat people with respect and kindness. I have seen people make baristas cry at Starbucks. There is no need to do this. People are incredibly entitled in this area.

I’m a PP and I have to disagree. I am always polite, prepared, etc but frequently customer service workers don’t even greet me. It’s bizarre.

OP here and I disagree as well. Being kind and respectful to the staff makes no difference most of the time.

NP. I disagree with OP.

I usually get exceptional customer service b/c I establish a rapport from the start.

It's very rare indeed that I have a substandard experience (except with international call centers).

You get what you give. Most of the time.

I have a script. Always succinct, polite, little bit of humor. Zappos customer service remains exceptional. International CS is a disaster because of language barrier. My healthcare member services department is a nightmare. Things ultimately get resolved, but I’ve never worked so damn hard to make it happen…I take notes, names, case/reference #s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You get what you give in this environment. I have had great customer service but I can clearly articulate what I need and treat people with respect and kindness. I have seen people make baristas cry at Starbucks. There is no need to do this. People are incredibly entitled in this area.

I was going to type something similar to this.

I usually get great customer service. I’m kind and respectful. I’ve apologized for the behavior of other customers on several occasions because I’m sickened by how some people treat employees.

If you’re kind, it tends to come back to you.

Completely agree. Come in with kindness, empathy, a sense of humor, and humanity - and the service person will give it right back.

If you're always getting bad service, look at yourself and the common denominator. And maybe try working in a service position yourself for a while. My guess is most of the people complaining haven't worked in service ever, or for a very long while, and they've lost their ability to connect with someone in a service position.