I feel like I'm about to get my old man swagger on. "Back in my day we actually cared about the customer."
I do think the 'death' of customer service is a bit extreme. Quality service maybe, but every where you go you are getting at least some kind of service. What is it that is killing off quality customer service? Is it lack of compassion? Are people just not capable? Maybe it's the fight for the almighty dollar?
I'm not going to bore you with the details of my recent experiences. It's been nearly 15 years since I have taken a phone call as a service rep. The level of expectations of people today to know their product, to be courteous to their customers, to be prompt, to show compassion is no where near where it was 15 years ago.
What was great about working for the company and with the teams I did back then, we were able to hold each other accountable for each others actions. We knew when someone didn't follow through. We knew when someone had a bad day. We knew when someone just didn't know the job. And having that level of accountability we strove to be better because we didn't want to let the team down.
Maybe it's because we live in a 'me first' mentality today that people just aren't interested in providing that high level of service. Maybe the skill set of today's youth coming into the workforce just isn't as strong as today. Maybe it's the fight to maximize every corporate dollar that corners are cut. Maybe I was just extremely lucky to work with a great group of people. Whatever it is, it's sad to watch what seems to become more and more acceptable today.
Rest In Peace Quality Customer Service.
