Customer Service

If you look up the words customer and service in the bible of dictionaries, Webster’s New World College Dictionary, this is what you will find;
Customer - a person who buys, esp. one who buys from, or patronizes, an establishment regularly.
Service - an act giving assistance or advantage to another; friendly help; also, professional aid or attention.

Now, can someone explain to me how anyone in the customer service industry does not know the meaning of their job? There are few spots I regularly visit and I have to say, I am terribly disappointed at the lack of customer service I receive. Wouldn’t you think in today’s economy, people would try (even just a little) to be friendly, attentive and helpful to those keeping them employed, more so a returning customer?

A nail salon, in a heavy traffic area of East Hanover, situated in a strip mall – I have been a dedicated customer for over two years. Not only am I loyal and spending a lot of money there for myself and my five daughters, I have also referred many people. What do I get for my patronage? I get insults, derogatory comments, pushed aside for new customers, rushed service which leads to pain and poor mistakes. You may be wondering why I still revisit this establishment. Basically, this is what you get anywhere you go nowadays. If anyone can refer me to a good nail salon, I am all ears.

A name brand fitness center, located in West Caldwell – Boy oh boy, a place I used to “regular” so much that I viewed the staff more as friends. My husband committed to having me train with an in-house trainer, which we took a liking to. The staff, my husband and I would joke with each other from the moment we would walk in. It was an amazing place. That is, until the day there was a glitch in my account. Mind you, the issue didn’t come from any one of the regular staff. The regular staff actually said, “no worries, Ivy, we will take care of it, when we can get the chance.” I kept trying to get in touch with the one staff member I originally spoke to about the situation, but we kept missing each other. Then one of the membership consultants offered to help me fix the issue; to the contrary, I was hesitant because I knew he was newly employed- but… he seemed nice, so I was like, “psh, why not?” What a mistake that was! The man never did his homework, and on top of being full of nonsense, he dished out unnecessary attitude. With that, my husband went in, closed our accounts and said “Unfortunately we will need to close our accounts. There is nothing else that needs to be said because I would not be a man if I let anyone get away with disrespecting my wife!” Way to go honey!

So through my venting on customer service, I hope this message reaches those who need to hear it. There are so many unemployed people looking for an opportunity, let’s give those people a chance and replace the many who lack desire to work and bring back the true meaning of customer service.