Does anyone think that Customer Service in general these days is getting worse?

Answer 1

It depends where you shop. I sometimes go to John Lewis where all the staff are 'partners' in the business, meaning that the more sales they make, the better off they are financially. I find the staff there very pleasant, always willing to go the extra mile for you, and extremely polite.

However, where people are paid the minimum wage, are treated like commodities, are doing a job because they may not have any other option, the service can be dubious to say the least. Why should they care when all the profits are going to faceless shareholders?

Treat shop workers like human beings (and I mean that customers should be respectful and polite, as well as their employers) and pay them a living wage and they will respond in kind.

Answer 2

Customer Service????? Whats That All About Then....Someone Should Explain To The Right People Just What This Is And How It Is To Be Used

Answer 3

Call Centres are frustrating but I find that by being polite people you are more likely to get what you wnat! Also I find that people are too ready to complain and never comment on good customer service, I like to tell the Supervisor at least when I have experienced good/excellent customer service so that the others can learn!

Also the people providing the customer service are generally a job I wouldn't like to do so a smile or a kind word goes a long way!

Answer 4

Well I'm not sure the UK ever really understood the concept of Customer Service...you have to remember that this is still somethign that is both a) a frightening and new concept for many customers and b) a damn chore.
Agree that many customers can deal with the customer service operatives very badly but often this is due to a singular failure in the customr service ethos to start with - for instance automated telephones - enter your number press # etc etc until you run out of options and you still haven't heard the thing you want and when you do get connected you realise it was all bull as they start the questions again.
If companies in the UK understood it it would work better but all too often it is something they feel they need to do as some prat manager has learnt that this is what hapens in the US - and lets be honest the Brits like being grumpy....grrrr

Answer 5

There is a move in the business world to go back to good customer service. For example some call centres are moving back from places like India so that customer service will improve. There is a move away from mass production and towards mass customisation, which should mean that customer service will gradually get better!

Answer 6

Yes, quite definitely.

Companies nowadays use "customer services" to bully, harangue and sell you stuff that's nothing to do with your query or complaint.

They're also staffed by 'no-brainers' who can't think for themselves, and follow the Company-set procedures without listening to what you're saying. This is not only unhelpful and frustrating, but ultimately destroys what reputation the Company may have had.

They're shooting themselves in the foot, and need to radically turn things around to benefit the customer rather than always benefitting the Company.

The concept of, "The Customer is always Right" is dead as a dodo, with the creeping introduction of more and more complicated and convoluted contracts or Terms & Conditions, as well as so-called consumer rights legislation such as the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 which is barely worth the paper it was written on as there are so many loopholes that Company's can jump through to get out of their legal and contractual obligations.

Excellent question, and if I knew how to award you 10 points for asking it, I would. You've touched a sensitive nerve in my otherwise lifeless existence. Thank you.

Answer 7

I must admit that if I don't get satisfaction, I give customer servies a couple of goes, and then I get the details of the cahirman from comapnies house, and write to them. Use words like disappointment, and remind them their competitors will probably do a far better job, and you will get a sincere apology, and money off vouchers.

So yes, customer service is not awfully good, but there are better ways to skin a cat.

Remember if you don't complain, then companies will assume they are not treating you badly enough!

Answer 8

Every time I go in the sainsburys near me I get pissed off with the service. The other day I was standing at the till and the person behind it didn't say one word to me. No hello, no thankyou, nothing. This is pretty common now. But then that could be because most of the people working there can't speak English properly.

Answer 9

I work in customer service and think that it depends on the company. i also feel that it is not always the call centre that are unreasonably. you get customers being rude and abusive about things that you have no controle over. i usually find that the people who complain the loudest about customer service are the ones that start conversations in an agressive manner and always try to find floors in any solutions you nsuggest. just remeber service is a two way thing. so try helping us help you frather than always whining about how bad things have gotten.

Answer 10

Yes to some extent. But coming from the customer service background, I find a lot of customers now are very rude and treat you like some kind of dirt. We also are humans and are here to try and help.