No-one gave a duck before the pandemic and they sure as hell don't now!
Yes
Apr 24, 2024 at 2:51pm
Just today: - Major grocery chain shorted me 7 items or $50 worth of food on my grocery delivery. I ordered the delivery driver to come back and return the tip for products not received. - Aesthetician tried to charge me $100 on service redo that SHE messed up on. After the grocery thing in the morning, I was completely fed up with another pathetic customer service incident.
What's next ?
Apr 24, 2024 at 3:46pm
Will they use our frustrations with their infrastructure failings to justify putting brain chips in everyone? Phugg That!
Agreed
Apr 24, 2024 at 8:59pm
I remember taking a SuperHost course as a teenager. Customer service was so important back in the 20th. Now it’s all “meh”.
No kidding
Apr 25, 2024 at 3:19am
There are still some businesses that take customer service seriously, and there are some amazing people who excel at it. I think the best customer service tends to be more common with people you’re talking to on the phone, although the process you have to go through to actually reach them sometimes can be ridiculous. The worst customer service, in my opinion, is in stores. Particularly places like the big grocery chains like Safeway. Having some cashier stand there chewing gum and staring at me struggling to put my groceries in bags as fast as I can in an area not designed for this, makes me want to slap them silly. Like their job is so hard and they can’t be bothered to lift a finger to assist and they literally just stand there watching. I’m a senior and old enough to have done that exact job when I was young, before there were computer cash registers and we had to remember every code and price, enter it in manually and make change by doing the math, AND pack bags. So the whining from these people about how hard done by they are and how “the public” is so awful really doesn’t impress me. They believe that because they’re not making as much money as they want, they’re entitled to do the absolute bare minimum, or as if they’re doing you a favour just by allowing you to pay for your stuff. Ever since Covid gave them an excuse to not pack bags, the stores have just carried on with it even though the excuse is no longer valid.
Lower Your Bar
Apr 25, 2024 at 8:27am
You are asking far too much of them. Isn't it enough that they try to make change? Give them some credit... they get that right at least 50% of the time. Well, except for the rounding up or down now that we don't have pennies. But that's - you know - HARD.
@No kidding
Apr 26, 2024 at 11:53am
My experience overall has been good, even with chain stores, cashiers more than happy to help me pack my bags or do it for me. I find the best service is from mom & pops, local outlets that feed a family or two through employment. Nurture these people, they often end up giving me better deals or value add freebies. Why? Because they truly appreciate my business particularly throughout the lock down.
Anonymous
Apr 28, 2024 at 9:47am
It's extra insulting now that everything costs a million bucks and Still poor service. What are we paying for exactly?
A free market society trends this way
Apr 30, 2024 at 4:11pm
I think the decline in customer service speed and quality is a reflection of a free market society's trend towards the "battle for the bottom". The ideology is "the lowest cost of production with the highest possible profits"... its no longer about creating good jobs and training folks adequately... and if its digital or over the phone it is most often outsourced to cheap labour in other countries. Consider that if a company (grocery store, internet provider, local restaurant) were to spend money on additional staff, additional training, localized non-outsourced community based technical support etc. then that would hurt the bottom line of these companies.
It also doesn't help we're in a prolonged recession with low wages and inflation. Even good business owners with strong ethical principals may not be able to pay employees what they need to live decent lives or hire more staff to meet the demand during peak business hours.
I fear this trend will only get worse if Canadians elect the Conservative party because they are the "battle for the bottom" party, they are the hyper-capitalist free market champions. Expect corporate greed to run amok during their time in power. Its all about cutting costs... and the customers and employees are the ones who suffer, while the shareholders reap the benefits.
9 Comments
Post a Comment2019
Apr 24, 2024 at 11:17am
No-one gave a duck before the pandemic and they sure as hell don't now!
Yes
Apr 24, 2024 at 2:51pm
Just today:
- Major grocery chain shorted me 7 items or $50 worth of food on my grocery delivery. I ordered the delivery driver to come back and return the tip for products not received.
- Aesthetician tried to charge me $100 on service redo that SHE messed up on. After the grocery thing in the morning, I was completely fed up with another pathetic customer service incident.
What's next ?
Apr 24, 2024 at 3:46pm
Will they use our frustrations with their infrastructure failings to justify putting brain chips in everyone? Phugg That!
Agreed
Apr 24, 2024 at 8:59pm
I remember taking a SuperHost course as a teenager. Customer service was so important back in the 20th.
Now it’s all “meh”.
No kidding
Apr 25, 2024 at 3:19am
There are still some businesses that take customer service seriously, and there are some amazing people who excel at it. I think the best customer service tends to be more common with people you’re talking to on the phone, although the process you have to go through to actually reach them sometimes can be ridiculous. The worst customer service, in my opinion, is in stores. Particularly places like the big grocery chains like Safeway. Having some cashier stand there chewing gum and staring at me struggling to put my groceries in bags as fast as I can in an area not designed for this, makes me want to slap them silly. Like their job is so hard and they can’t be bothered to lift a finger to assist and they literally just stand there watching. I’m a senior and old enough to have done that exact job when I was young, before there were computer cash registers and we had to remember every code and price, enter it in manually and make change by doing the math, AND pack bags. So the whining from these people about how hard done by they are and how “the public” is so awful really doesn’t impress me. They believe that because they’re not making as much money as they want, they’re entitled to do the absolute bare minimum, or as if they’re doing you a favour just by allowing you to pay for your stuff. Ever since Covid gave them an excuse to not pack bags, the stores have just carried on with it even though the excuse is no longer valid.
Lower Your Bar
Apr 25, 2024 at 8:27am
You are asking far too much of them. Isn't it enough that they try to make change? Give them some credit... they get that right at least 50% of the time. Well, except for the rounding up or down now that we don't have pennies. But that's - you know - HARD.
@No kidding
Apr 26, 2024 at 11:53am
My experience overall has been good, even with chain stores, cashiers more than happy to help me pack my bags or do it for me. I find the best service is from mom & pops, local outlets that feed a family or two through employment. Nurture these people, they often end up giving me better deals or value add freebies. Why? Because they truly appreciate my business particularly throughout the lock down.
Anonymous
Apr 28, 2024 at 9:47am
It's extra insulting now that everything costs a million bucks and Still poor service. What are we paying for exactly?
A free market society trends this way
Apr 30, 2024 at 4:11pm
I think the decline in customer service speed and quality is a reflection of a free market society's trend towards the "battle for the bottom".
The ideology is "the lowest cost of production with the highest possible profits"... its no longer about creating good jobs and training folks adequately... and if its digital or over the phone it is most often outsourced to cheap labour in other countries.
Consider that if a company (grocery store, internet provider, local restaurant) were to spend money on additional staff, additional training, localized non-outsourced community based technical support etc. then that would hurt the bottom line of these companies.
It also doesn't help we're in a prolonged recession with low wages and inflation. Even good business owners with strong ethical principals may not be able to pay employees what they need to live decent lives or hire more staff to meet the demand during peak business hours.
I fear this trend will only get worse if Canadians elect the Conservative party because they are the "battle for the bottom" party, they are the hyper-capitalist free market champions. Expect corporate greed to run amok during their time in power. Its all about cutting costs... and the customers and employees are the ones who suffer, while the shareholders reap the benefits.
Join the Discussion