What happened to common decency?
or, A customer service rant.
One of the things for which I'm most frequently complimented, particularly at work, is how polite I am. In most circumstances I'm grateful for the sentiment, putting it down to my upbringing, but when I'm serving a customer I see it as part and par of the course. Of course such behaviour should be never be taken for granted - the occasional acknowledgement notwithstanding - yet a polite manner (at least in front of the scenes) is something I would expect from anyone who works in the service industries.
Don't get me wrong: I do appreciate it when a customer thanks me for my help. What disturbs me is that the extent I go to is sometimes seen as going beyond the norm. A customer who, a couple of years ago, wrote to my then boss praising me for the assistance I'd provided - in that case, looking up available recordings of the Beethoven string trio, I think it was, in the catalogue and ordering one for her - seemed to think such standards were exceptional, when in actual fact it was everyday stuff for me. Now of course she wasn't to know that, but above all it was my helpful attitude she'd been impressed by; I'd not been conscious of having done anything beyond the usual for her.
I know I shouldn't be finding criticism here, but it is a bit dispiriting that people should have expect so little of the staff serving them. For all the importance of my knowledge of classical music, I still see it as coming second to having the appropriate manner in dealing with customers and can only assume that negative experiences in the past have had an adverse effect on their expectations. Now I do believe the service industries take customer service a lot more seriously than was the case ten or twenty years ago, but it's still no excuse. Finding the right staff is not that difficult ...
By far the best compliment I have received was from a man who was impressed I managed to remain so affable (his words) on what was a busy day not long before one Christmas. My colleagues and I could do with more like him.
One of the things for which I'm most frequently complimented, particularly at work, is how polite I am. In most circumstances I'm grateful for the sentiment, putting it down to my upbringing, but when I'm serving a customer I see it as part and par of the course. Of course such behaviour should be never be taken for granted - the occasional acknowledgement notwithstanding - yet a polite manner (at least in front of the scenes) is something I would expect from anyone who works in the service industries.
Don't get me wrong: I do appreciate it when a customer thanks me for my help. What disturbs me is that the extent I go to is sometimes seen as going beyond the norm. A customer who, a couple of years ago, wrote to my then boss praising me for the assistance I'd provided - in that case, looking up available recordings of the Beethoven string trio, I think it was, in the catalogue and ordering one for her - seemed to think such standards were exceptional, when in actual fact it was everyday stuff for me. Now of course she wasn't to know that, but above all it was my helpful attitude she'd been impressed by; I'd not been conscious of having done anything beyond the usual for her.
I know I shouldn't be finding criticism here, but it is a bit dispiriting that people should have expect so little of the staff serving them. For all the importance of my knowledge of classical music, I still see it as coming second to having the appropriate manner in dealing with customers and can only assume that negative experiences in the past have had an adverse effect on their expectations. Now I do believe the service industries take customer service a lot more seriously than was the case ten or twenty years ago, but it's still no excuse. Finding the right staff is not that difficult ...
By far the best compliment I have received was from a man who was impressed I managed to remain so affable (his words) on what was a busy day not long before one Christmas. My colleagues and I could do with more like him.
posted by Anthony at
23:33
1 Comments:
Bravo for your high standards.
By
Matthew, at 24/7/05 12:29
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