Is customer service worse today than it has ever been?

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  1. Joan King profile image69
    Joan Kingposted 11 years ago

    Is customer service worse today than it has ever been?

    It seems that customer service is really not customer service anymore. The quality of customer has been on a steady decline. For the most part people who serve you today have no idea what a smile is, they are rude for the most part and know very little about what they are selling. It used to be that poor customer service was the exception rather than the rule but today it seems to be the reverse.

    https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/6578643_f260.jpg

  2. Dubuquedogtrainer profile image61
    Dubuquedogtrainerposted 11 years ago

    I think so. I think about this fairly often and wonder what has happened. In my previous career in the medical field customer service was so important and emphasized in every position I ever had. I do not see anything close to what I would consider acceptable customer service these days in the vast majority of my business interactions. I even thought of starting a lecture tour on the topic but didn't because I doubted businesses would be interested!

  3. BusinessAdvisorUK profile image62
    BusinessAdvisorUKposted 11 years ago

    I agree and disagree at the same time.

    I believe that in general it is easy to say yes customer service is worse now than ever, however I can point to several examples of businesses and services I use that go way beyond what any business in the past would have considered doing.

    In major high street stores i believe there has been a decline in customer service despite many having better returns and customer service policies than before.  It's a bit of a paradox really, by becoming more professional and customer focused in their customer services policies they seem to have lost that personal touch which makes us (the customer) feel that the service they provide is worse than before. 

    Online of course is a different matter, with absolute shining examples of customer service are places like Amazon  and others.  Conversely there are also some terrible examples online I personally have experienced!  One of the biggest, most aggressively advertised web hosts I can think of provide not only a sub standard product but appalling customer service.  Perhaps spending too much money on promotional models leave them short in the customer service department, of course this is based on my experience.  Due to this I moved to a different, much smaller web host that provides me direct contact with support from a Principal as well as being flexible with the services they provide me making a much more satisfying and less 'packaged' experience.

    So in summary I would say customer service has not really declined but OMG we really miss 'personal service'. 

    Feel fee to ask if you want the name of my fab web hosting company - not too many of you though, I don't want it to lose the 'personal service' smile

    Ken

  4. Lifes 2nd Chances profile image72
    Lifes 2nd Chancesposted 11 years ago

    I beieve there are a number of things that affect customer service. First and foremost is the company they work for. There are companies who push their employees so hard, with unrealistic expectation of performance, that it is little wonder the worker can provide good customer service. The old saying that crap rolls down hill works for good outcomes too, if the top is good, what flows down to the customer level is good as well. When ever I happen to cross paths with someone who is in customer service and they do a particularly poor job of it, I try to remember, I do not walk in their shoes, I do not know what burdens they carry today, and I should not judge. I treat them with as much kindness as I can, because I know that it might be the only nice thing that happens to them today. C.

  5. fitmom profile image73
    fitmomposted 11 years ago

    I definitely think so. I'm amazed at how many customer service people don't smile or act friendly at all. When you walk into a Wal-Mart and the greeters no longer greet with a smile and a hello, there's a problem!

 
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