Whatever happened to Customer Service

Coming out of Sainsbury's this morning, I decided to get some keys cut. There's a special section there, which does shoe repairs one side, key cutting in the middle, and a laundry service at the end.

There's this big man standing behind the laundry section with the mobile stuck to his ear looking straight ahead over the counter to the shop floor. So I pull up and park my trolley this side of the counter in front of him. He ignores me Now he's not actually talking on that phone that's stuck to his ear, he's just standing there with it like that. I tried to get eye contact, and it's not as if I'm invisible or anything, and I never got the "sorry madam, I'll be with you in a moment, I'd just like to make this reeeeeeeally important call! nuffink! No eye contact, no nuffink. I stood there for about 30 seconds, turned the trolley around and stomped off, and as I glanced back, did he really care - nah!!!!

When I got outside to my car, I opened the back up, parked the trolley to unload all the shopping, and THERE, coming running across to me, is the nice, young FOREIGN guy who cleaned my car at Sainsbury's last week, and he could not speak a word of English, but by Christ did he know about customer service and courtesy, as he took every bag out of said trolley whilst I held it, smiling sweetly the whole of the time, while I chatted, smiled back and asked him if he was Polish (but he couldn't understand a word that I said), then he shut the back and took my trolley all the way back to the trolley park!!!!!

Is it because I'm a frail, old lady that he wanted to do this for me???? NO, it is because he was brought up correctly where manners are still important, he values his job, he's grateful for being in this country and having a roof over his head and being able to earn something!!!

Can somebody please enlighten me as to WHY a lot of our workers in retail seem to think they don't have to actually DEAL with their customers any more??? Cos I give up!!!

Rant over!

Don't get me started. The Tesco till staff are the worst in my book for rudeness its all since they put the machines for your card down the end of the belt they don't have to chat anymore except to each other.
In Sainsbury the other day an old chap in front of us with bad hands was trying to pack and get the carrier bags open in the end he had to ask the girl to open it for him she just sat there with a dumb look on her face.
I find the most helpful, polite and chatty are the staff in Lidl all foreign.

I think this is where the old corner shop comes into it's own. Ours are always pleased to see us and always ask how we are and chat while they pack our bags. We have lost all that with the big supermarkets your face means nothing to them, so they are just not interested.

Not everything here is GREAT but Customer Service is beyond comparable... You are not allowed to pack your own bags at the supermarket, that is their job, or the have a bag packer and it their job to pack your bags, they will even take it out to the car for you and pack your car! Not sure you can take them home and get them unpack it put it away and cook it for you too!!

But everyone is happy, chatty and takes great pride in their job and their work, YES that side of life is SO much better over here

Hi I think customer service has gone down the pan,like good manners, I was in a shop just browsing,and notice the shop assistant had a nice top,so went over and said I like your top thinking she would say oh there over there.She said "I quote you wont see me wearing any of this rubbish from this shop,I was complety stunned and she went off to her colleage,who started giggling.crystalgirl

Helen this is a SIGN! You have to cut down on your SHOPPING! It is raising your stress levels!

Are you sure the chap who returned your trolley didn't just want to keep the £1 coin? Hopefully it wasn't a trolley you had to pay for but much nicer to think that he's hoping you'll search him out again next time you want your car cleaned .... which I'm sure you will.

Remember the 'Secret Shopper' quote? ....... I would have just stood there and said directly at the fat chap in the key-cutting kiosk in a loud voice that he could hear "I'm afraid I'll have to report your total lack of acknowledgement and rudeness to me to head office and you'll be receiving a letter from them in due course. You weren't to know but I'm a secret shopper working on behalf of ........"

Whenever I can I do support the local High Street shops as the service is always better - it has to be or people would never go back.

I work in retail and I hate it, some people think they can talk to you like absolute shite! And I know why they do it, they do it because they know you have to take it unless you want to get in trouble.

I really hate bad customer service myself though, probably even more so because I work in retail. The place I work has multiple stores across the country, however no one, not even the customer service desk gets any training what so ever in customer service.

In a previous job I had the choice of doing an NVQ in customer service which I took. It taught you how to tell with all kinds of different types of people, to defuse situations and make your customers feel like they are important (which they are). It sounds simple but if staff are not being trained in the very basics and are let to their own devices, the result you end up with is less than satisfactory.

I do feel it is a mixture of companies failing to invest in the staff with training and also people seem to be so rude and intolerant of each other now, that a bad attitude seems the norm.

I will admit that if I get a rude and ill mannered customer I will only do bear minimum for them. However, I am always polite regardless.

Working in retail though, has really really made me dislike people. I will avoid them at all costs when I'm not at work.

Helena you are far more patient than I

Smiling sweetly I would have said something on the lines of 'excuse me are you working here, if so could I have some service please, if not can you please point me in the direction of someone who is. '

I must say Waitrose staff are exemplary , I guess I am luck in that they are my nearest supermarket (I don't count Morrisons which smells of rotting fish)

Are you sure the chap wasn't an illegal immigrant?

I had a bloke come to the door today with drive resurfacing leaflets in his hand. I smiled sweetly and said no thank you. He very grumpily said you haven't heard what I've got to say yet. So I said I don't need to because I can't afford it anyway. He turned and walked away!