Anonymous wrote:I’m 55. Life has changed, and not for the better.

I have fond memories of getting all of my Christmas gifts wrapped (for free!) at department stores like Leggett, Miller & Rhodes, Thalheimers, and JC Penney. Sales clerks would ask if they could help you find merchandise, start a dressing room, or bring you another size to try. Yes, lingerie departments had bra fitting ladies.
A department store is where you went as a newly engaged couple to register for gifts. A staff member would help with your selections and make recommendations. Service was given with a smile and people were polite and courteous. Stores were clean, well-stocked, and organized.

Department stores are just one example, but service was better then in all areas of life.

People were just nicer. Now, much of life has gotten to be a slog. It’s very depressing as someone who remembers how things were not so long ago. I think much is to blame - corporate greed, decline of church attendance, changing demographics (diversity really isn’t all that great and hurts communities of all races).

I feed sad for the younger generations.

Anonymous wrote:We have become more tolerant of rudeness in general.

I went to a job interview at the HQ of a government agency last week. I needed to check in with the receptionist. She glared at me silently. When I told her I was there for a job interview, she responded with "So what?".

I don't know why this is acceptable.

This could be a test to see how you respond in kind to a receptionist for a job interview.

Regular grocery stores kept taking groceries to your car quite a bit longer than full service gas, although the gas station by my grocery store had a full service lane until not many years ago (now it's diesel). Oregon only recently allowed self-serve gas btw. Bu I'm sure that for years they would fill the tank but NOT wash your windshield.

I'm 70. The summer after h.s. I lived with my grandparents, had a waitress job in their town and my first car (10 years old of course). Gas was 33 cents a gallon. I'd buy a dollar's worth at a time (did not drive very much, it was a small town and I walked to the restaurant) because the attendant was so gd cute. Never learned how to flirt so just yearned for him to notice me.

Surprised no one has mentioned how we used to be able to call up a business and get an actual person on the other end rather than be put through endless messages to press 1 for this, 2 for that, etc. Bothers me most for medical related offices.

I’m in my thirties and remember all of the above as a kid! Fairfield County, CT

how can we maximize shareholder value with that level of service????!

The fault here is on the corporations not the workers. Yes, every now and again there’s somebody who is not even meeting the bare minimum of the position, but companies don’t want to pay for labor, so this is what we get.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Np, and I have thought often of the days of gas attendants. I have OCD and dread pumping gas due to the multiple hands that have touched the pump. I carry Clorox wipes in my car for that reason and won't touch any part of the gas pumping process without a wipe. I would tip handsomely if an attendant were there. I believe NJ still has them.

So you use a clorox wipe on the pump then wait the 6-10 minutes for it to disinfect the pump before using it? You know they sell gas gloves right?

No, I wrap the wipe around the pump and keep the wipe on for the entire pump so there's no direct contact; I use a separate wipe to touch the screen. Remove and toss in the trash when I am done. I do the same for door handles that don't have a touchless handicap feature to wand me in. I remind my Psychiatrist often that I was not this way pre-Covid. Covid made me hyper-aware of germs.

Andes mints.
Lollipops at banks.

I was born in the 50s andcI remember all of that in Florida, Massachusetts, and in NoVa when we moved here in the 80s. Actually pump your own gas started with express pumps a few cents cheaper, maybe in the early 80s when gas prices spiked.
I actually hate the napkin folding. Germs.

Anonymous wrote:These things have gone the way of red pistachios, After Eight mints, and payphones.

Red pistachios!!!!

Customer service in the U.S is terrible, even in expensive stores and restaurants, we simply don't have a culture of respect or humility. You want to experience good customer service? Go to Asia and see what customer service is all about. Even in Europe, customer service is decent.

Anonymous wrote:I just went to a restaurant on Saturday with amazing service. I tipped well.

Service is not dead, OP.

OP's point was that it used to commonplace. The default. That is no longer true, it is now the exception.

I just went to a restaurant on Saturday with amazing service. I tipped well.

Service is not dead, OP.

I miss having the option to use a dressing room, yes.

DD ordered a homecoming dress that took an accidental trip across the US via UPS and wasn't going to make it in time, so off to the mall we went. I was shocked that Macy's had zero dressing rooms available at our mall. JCPenney's had only 1 so you had to schlep your items to the 2nd floor men's department to that dressing room. Which, wtf... men rarely try on clothes! Why not have the fitting room in the women's dept open and make the men come down?

Nordstrom did still have fitting rooms open, but no employees even offered assistance. Nordstrom used to have the best customer service! Back before ordering online was the norm, I would go into Nordstrom and immediately be greeted by an employee who asked if I wanted them to start a room for me and then they'd check in with me periodically and take whatever I was carrying to the room for me. And no, I'm not ancient (I'm 42).

The smaller boutique stores had their fitting rooms open, but holy cow were they a mess. F21 had heaps of tried on clothes all over the floors back there and no employees working back in that area at all.

But it all comes down to greed. Businesses want to run as lean as possible to make the most profit. You avoid shopping there to make a point and what happens? Profits go down and they cut even more employees and run even leaner.

I stopped shopping at the Kohl's in my city years ago. DS needed new black pants for his concert so off we ran this weekend. They only had 2 cashiers on one side of the store open. The line snaked all the way to the back of the store. There were zero employees on the floor in any section we were in. After standing in line for 15 mins and hardly moving, I pulled up my Target app, found black pants in his size and we left. IMO, Sephora and Amazon dropoffs inside of Kohl's is what's keeping them afloat. The Sephora inside of Kohl's had 4 employees working in it!