Bad Service - Does it Grate on You?

Let’s talk about bad service and how it affects you when you’re on the receiving end of it? There are many things that make you wonder as to why you receive the bad service; is it just you or do they treat the majority of customers in the same manner as they do you? Let me say from personal experience I have found it was more than just myself that was on the receiving end of less than remarkable customer service.

I do not expect the clerk to jump through hoops and be forced to tolerate overly rude and demanding customers; but I think most of us would like to be greeted with a sincere smile and at least be shown that they put in an effort to be pleasant and helpful. I for one do not like to leave a store or place of business and feel worse than before I got there, as if I have been affronted. Unfortunately for me, the bad service that I sometimes experience tends to stick with me for quite some time, and I will do my best to not return to this place of business if at all possible.

We have to keep in mind here that we need to keep this in perspective. Sometimes we can go to a store and be treated poorly and then the next time we go the clerk is pretty awesome, I have experienced this a time or two. When you’re from a smaller town you begin to learn who to stay away from and where to go. For example, let us suppose you shop at the same grocery store most of the time because of gas coupons or something similar; in these situations you learn which check out cashiers are rude and which are more cordial. I personally will line up in a longer line to avoid the clerk that I’ve had a bad experience with in the past.

On the other side of the coin, the service does differ from store to store; some places of employment seem to have trained their staff quite well in regards to customer service.  I would say that as far as grocery stores go where I’m at, Sobeys probably has the most pleasant staff; this is my personal experience. If we’re talking restaurants the best service places for me are East Side Mario’s and the Keg; the food is great and the service is always with a smile. As to Drug Stores I will have to say I’ve had the best experiences at London Drugs.

On the other side of the coin, the store itself cannot be held totally accountable due to some restrictions that they may have. There could be a number of factors attributing to their service; as in, they may not have a lot of applicants who have refined customer service skills. Now, why they don’t have a good pool to choose from could be due to wage restrictions, demographics, or how strong the job market is. Let me ask you, if there was a job offered working 9 to 5 in an office with weekends off versus a job at a store where you work varied shifts any day of the week; which would you choose?

I believe it is a fair assumption that the majority of business owners would like the customers to walk away from their business with a good customer service experience. Most business owners that is, there are also those business owners who are not overly concerned with customer service, profit earnings are the only place of concentration. If you are a non-participating business owner you need to verify that the person you put in charge in your absence is working towards creating a well-rounded business atmosphere for you and your clients.

Being a business owner you need to know that if your business has a reputation for bad service, sooner or later your dollar signs are going to shrink, so start thinking more clearly. If you are an arrogant JA this fact will soon get around, could take a while but eventually the majority will figure it out.