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When customer service is just too good to be true

David Koch

by David Koch

30 Nov 05:50am

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Filed under: Business, Customer Service, Society

68 comments

People love to complain about the customer service we get here in Australia. In general though, I think it’s pretty good. Especially after spending time overseas where attending to a customer sometimes looks like it ranks below flirting with co-workers or reading the paper.

Customer service - everybody's doing it. Cartoon: Jon Kudelka

But do you reckon customer service is now going one step too far. To me, Aussie businesses are going to the extremes of refined customer service when all we really want is the elusive middle ground.

On one hand there is the long-winded and irritating, small-talk fuelled barrage of over-customer service. The one where the kid on the other end of the phone asks for your whole life story.

The one where the waitress hovers around your table like a hawk, ready to interrupt conversation and pounce on the loose crumb or the glass of water only three quarters full. Or just to check you’re Ok… again.

The one where you’re woken up mid-way through the flight by Captain NotGoingToRemember just to be told how high you’re flying, how fast you’re flying, and what his dog had for breakfast.

The other day my wife Libby was on the phone sorting out some problem with our internet. Sitting next to her, I overheard the problem get sorted out nice and quickly. Great. Then she was answering all sorts of questions about the weather, about her upcoming travel plans…

“Thanks for your…”

“I’ve been there 3 times. Thanks for your…”

“No it’s wet season so it won’t… Thanks…”

“No it’s not a long flight. I have to go.”

She got off the phone frustrated: “why does every one think they have to become your best friend?”

Because that’s what the kid, sitting in a call centre in any possible corner of the earth, has been told makes good customer service. But the paradox is that the customer knows instantly when they’re getting real service, and when they’re being fed fake interest just for the sake of it. It’s customer service overdose.

When it happens once it’s okay. But when everyone seems to have been to the same customer service seminar or read the same book it can be infuriating.

And then there’s the other extreme… where it’s assumed we’d prefer to just talk to a computer. Where any human contact is eliminated altogether in the name of ‘efficiency’.

These days you can have a whole night out without talking to a single person. You can order your taxi, your dinner, your movie tickets - all without the inconvenience of opening your mouth. Excellent.

Good customer service has been one of the cornerstones of modern business. Every business drums into their staff its value. Whole teams are dedicated to providing the customer with the best experience possible, hoping it’ll entice them to return.

But with so much effort poured into meeting every possible need, what’s lost is a normal, rational approach to a very simple practice. And it can often turn us away. Like the girlfriend who never stops calling (not that I really know what that’s like), sometimes the service needs to just chill out.

We don’t want all these fancy and false ‘strategies’, we just want real people who get the job done. Nothing more, nothing less.

Are you finding this happening a lot to you? Do you find it frustrating or a welcome approach?

Of course I can’t complain about the customer service we get without commenting on the customer etiquette we often lack.

After discussing this issue on Sunrise we got a whole lot of feedback from people working in customer service who wanted to vent their frustrations about us customers.

Apparently we’ve developed a double standard where it’s fine to complain about the service we get, while being the rude and obnoxious customer that we cringe at on TV.

No matter how many times you hear the old ‘the customer is always right’ mantra, its not always true. And the fact you’re a ‘paying customer’ is not an excuse to forget simple manners and respect.

That sort of superiority doesn’t wash with me.

Which is why I love that some cafes are now banning customers from talking on their mobiles in the queue, fed up with having to wait for someone to finish their phone call before ordering.

In the end we are Australian, and things would be very boring if we had nothing at all to complain about. The confusing extremes of customer service will always cop its fair share of abuse. But I hope we don’t forget that a good transaction is a two way street.

Join Kochie’s blog at www.kochie.com.au.

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68 comments

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    • acotrel says:

      05:53am | 30/11/10

      Should we really be surprised when some kid in a business abuses a customer?  After all he’s probably learnt his behaviour from his superiors in the company!  Many middle managers are arrorgant and self-serving.  It’s about time there was certification of managers?  After all every subservient robot must have some bullsh*t certificate 4 in some field of expertise (?)

      Reply

    • Jim says:

      07:38am | 30/11/10

      It’s always the bosses fault isn’t it acotrel….give us a break!

      Kid’s behaviours and attitudes these days have absolutely nothing at all to do with parents not being allowed to parent and teachers not being allowed to teach, do they? Nooooo.

    • Sarah says:

      10:03am | 30/11/10

      That would be a good point Jim, except it’s not exactly the kids who are making those decisions is it?

    • Max Vaunted says:

      10:26am | 30/11/10

      Actually acotrel, it’s entirely the fault of the feral gummint, probly Little Johnny Howard in fact.

    • Overit says:

      06:30am | 30/11/10

      This article reminds me why I prefer to fly Qantas over Virgin.

      On Qantas, I am greeted with a polite “Welcome aboard, Ms X, furthest aisle please”. The safety demonstration is efficient, I am served my food/drinks in an unobtrusive way, the hosties smile in a warm way without trying to be my best mate. I am left in peace.

      Different story at Virgin. Hostie screams “Hi, [mispronounces my name] its GREAT to have you here, don’t steal your hubby’s seat, hahahahaha”. For god’s sake, I know my first name is different (and no, its not due to the whacked out spelling) but if you can’t pronounce it, don’t try. Then we have the safety demonstration that is more like playschool. This flight is an “experience” apparently. Hosties roam the aisles playing “fun” games and revving up the alerady hypo children. I recall once a Virgin hostie making a crazy napkin hat for the food service. When the beer I paid for still had not arrived 10 minutes later, I received “aw, sorry about that love!”. I replied “maybe if you quit the antics you would actually be able to do your job properly”.

      Flying is not an “experience” to me, or many others. Its just the fastest way to get from A to B, and I fly more often than I catch a bus or train. I like the customer service to be unobtrusive, to leave me in peace to enjoy a little bit of quiet time.

      Reply

    • steve parker says:

      07:28am | 30/11/10

      That wasn’t my experience last Saturday week on the evening flight from Sydney to Melbourne. The Qantas hosties looked tired, worn out [dare I say old and grumpy] and were quite rude and snappy to the elderly gentleman sitting next to me who was struggling prior to take off to turn of his new piece of electronic phone equipment. Its okay to keep the older hosties flying as long as their age and fitness, at the end of what is probably quite a demanding day, can enable them to be courteous.. I too prefer to be left alone on planes - but when interaction between staff and customer happens I would prefer it to be civil and polite.

    • Jim says:

      07:43am | 30/11/10

      On a slight tangent…don’t you hate it when people chatter all the way through the safety demonstration?!

    • GetReal says:

      08:16am | 30/11/10

      @Overit - You are sad and boring; I fly both Virgin and Qantas and the difference is chalk and cheese. Qantas staff are more concerened about themselves and dont give a RA about the passenger; whereas the Virgin staff make a boring mundane job of getting from point A to B more interesting and lively. Perhaps you might be an introvert and shun public and social interaction and live your life on FB unlike the others who actually enjoy meeting and interacting with people.

    • Kate says:

      08:51am | 30/11/10

      I actually find the Virgin staff to be more attentive and friendly, which is a good thing, especially if you’re a nervous flyer.

      Yes, the over-the-top jokes in the safety demonstration get a bit tired once you’ve heard them ten times. But some people get really stressed out by flying and don’t like hearing about what to do in the event of a horrible crash. Lightening the mood a bit can help.

    • Overit says:

      10:08am | 30/11/10

      @GetReal - sad and boring? Try damn busy and/or tired. I’m usually travelling for business, so tapping away on my laptop to madly finish my day job. The journey from A to B is part of the mobile office. Would you like your workplace to be full of fun & lively clowns?  I’m all for social interaction, but in a place that’s not being used as a workplace. Ask my barrista, apartment conceirge and barman, I’m always up for a natter and the neighbourhood goss - hardly a sign that I’m introverted. I guess I’m really complaining about the fact that the Virgin hosties don’t seem to understand that not everyone wants to join their “fun” games.

    • grumpy old man says:

      02:36pm | 30/11/10

      with you Overit,
      when I fly ( which I avoid as much as possible, its so damn time consuming) , I just want to get on, sit down, go to sleep, wake up, get off and go about my life. I neither want, or appreciate some forced entertainment. Its really no different than getting a bus or a train, just painfully more drawn out.

    • David Havyatt says:

      06:41am | 30/11/10

      Regarding the broadband call.  I’ve observed the opposite from the call centre end - the agent who sits silentl;y while they call up the customer’s account records and conducts the first tests.  The customer can’t see what the agent is doing - and the long silence leaves the customer confused as to whether the agent is even still there.

      Making conversation while things are being done is a way around that.  But the conversation can and should be first directed to the task at hand.  Start with “I’ll just call up your account details, this can take some time.”  Then maybe “While that’s loading do you mind if I ask how the weather is where you are right now?”

      There is a happy medium.

      Reply

    • Shifter says:

      02:12pm | 30/11/10

      David, that’s probably from a lack of skill on the CSR’s part. I did that same job, and you developed the ability to keep the talking going on relevant subject matter (unless diverted by the customer) whilst doing necessary checks and tests that don’t require customer input.

      The phrasing of “While that’s loading do you mind if I ask how the weather is where you are right now?” seems a little forced. I’d usually tell them what the tests were aiming to achieve and go into as little or as much detail as was deemed necessary.

    • Pete says:

      07:13am | 30/11/10

      I was in Prague a few years ago, standing in queue to buy a train ticket at the only attended window, the girl closes the sales point walks across the concourse, buys one flower from the florist, goes back to the sales point makes a cup tea sits back at the sales point has three sips and opens the sales point acts as if it’s all normal, which it must have been because the natives didnt complain and all the while my wife and I look on in disbelief

      australian customer service? looks pretty good to me

      Reply

    • Mary says:

      07:23am | 30/11/10

      I appreciate this more than anyone…
      However, I work in a call centre, and let me tell you…
      When you have a 50 year old on the phone chucking a tantie, like they’re a two year old, providing good customer service takes a back seat to wanting to grab them by the throat and give them a good slap. You have no idea how hard it is to deal with people like that day in, day out….
      You want good customer service, then try being nice too!!!

      Reply

    • grumpy old man says:

      02:20pm | 30/11/10

      Mary,
      I’m one of those 50 year olds, and if you continue to talk to me like I’m a child, don’t address the issue that I rang for, and assume that you have the right to call me by my first name, continually put me on hold, say stupid and provocative things like “thats our policy “then you should expect me to ‘have a tantie ‘as you put it. have you forgotten that its the money that myself and thousands of others pay to your company that pay your wages?
      Oh, and by the way, I built and ran Call Centres for a while, so I have some idea what I am talking about. Whilst I don’t envy you your job, and I know you have to deal with difficult people at times, the reality is that your job requires that you deal with the good the bad and the decidedly ugly, and its your job to make us all happy. Remember, you are providing us with a service that we pay for, not the other way around. It may be difficult at times, and seem unfair that you have to be nice to us old farts, but thats what you’re paid for.

    • Chris L says:

      06:40pm | 30/11/10

      I disagree Grumpy. While a level of agression might be understandable with a customer who has a serious issue to work out, especially if they’ve had to call multiple times, the fact is the vast majority of rude people have no reason to be that way.

      I’ve worked in a call centre and found that any give day you will be screamed at several times by different people with the most ridiculously minor issues. Even after sorting out what the customer wants they would often continue to berate you even if (and this happened often) the problem was caused by the customer.

      This is why I will never again work for a call centre. You end up with such a low opinion of the general populace that you forget there is any intelligent life out there.

    • grumpy old man says:

      07:44am | 30/11/10

      on the odd occasion when I have absolutely no choice but to call a companies call centre ( usually with gritted teeth, a cup of coffee and a good book!), I make sure that I have the details of every dealing I have had with them, every single number that endevours to rule my life and plenty of time!.
      It’s seldom a pleasant experience and I feel for the poor individual who has to take my call. this is because by the time I get to them, I have had to deal with an irritating menu of options, non of which appear appropriate, I have been put on hold for at least 15 minutes, with frequent reminders that ’ your call is important to us “( then just bloody answer it!) and “we are experiencing high levels of calls at the moment “( then get some damned staff) and that my call will be recorded for training purposes ( training whom, I ask myself, me or the service rep!).
      When I get through, prove who I am , invariably to be transferred to someone else ( so I can sit in a queue again! ) who once again asks me to prove who I am. And then to be released to the world again with the admonishment “have a good day”.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      07:45am | 30/11/10

      Spot on about rude customers, Kochie.

      I agree, I don’t like over-the-top customer service either - must be a new thing because that’s not something I was taught to do when I first started working in customer service. Most of us are aware that the customer knows we’re just there to solve their problem or help them find something, and that we’re not really interested in their life story.

      However, customers who talk on the phone while being served (especially during a transaction where you’re required to ask questions of them) is my pet hate. It’s so rude and unnecessary.
      Not to mention the ones who might have had a crappy day and see it as an excuse to abuse customer service staff, or generally act as though we’re doing these jobs because we’re not very intelligent.

      Reply

    • Phil. says:

      07:47am | 30/11/10

      Yeah, fine, ban me from talking on my mobile while in the queue. Fact is I wont be in the queue. Stand in queue-give order-pay money-go stand in queue to wait for dyslexic, underage ” Barista” named Tarquin who the sign on the front of the coffee machine informs has a favourite drink he would like to make me. Double skinny soy latte mochachino with caramel creme shot. to finally get to my long black then so mispronounce my name it’s not recognizable. Phil is too complicated so I used to just say Sam. Now I have found a cafe where I order as I go in and sit at a table/read paper or God forbid talk on mobile (quietly) use laptop, or just stare at the bloody queue over at the coffee stall. Girl brings coffe which I get to drink before I pay…therefore having some recourse if it turns out to be polluted with some Tarquin’s idea of what makes coffee better..Mum is right it’s nice to sit down and have a cuppa when your out. She can’t understand why people are so fond of eating and drinking on the hoof. Never saw it when we were kids.

      Reply

    • Heather says:

      08:09am | 30/11/10

      I loathe salespeople who call me by my name every sentence, as in Heather, this is a really good deal, Heather, you can see the benefits, etc etc… It is really really irritating, and makes me LESS likely to buy.  Also, IT helpdesk people who treat me like a moron; I wouldn’t put up with the annoyance of phoning you if I hadn’t already gone through the obvious.

      Reply

    • IT slave says:

      10:32am | 30/11/10

      You are treated like this heather because us IT workers don’t like to ASSUME, you know make an ASS of U and ME!  And unfortunately a lot of people and you sound like one, think they know what they are doing which often is far from the truth.

    • Pat says:

      11:01am | 30/11/10

      i am an IT helpdesk person and it is our job to be methodical or else we’d never solve anything.. just guessing does not cut it.

      and yes you’d be surprised how often “have you checked the cable / restarted the computer” actually fixes things and the number of people who have not tried it before calling… they FAR outweigh those who have already checked.

      I bet you also go to the doctors complete with your own self diagnosis and tell them not to check your blood pressure as it’s too “obvious” being a standard test and all that!

    • heather says:

      11:52am | 30/11/10

      IT Slave, I am <confession> an IT person myself, though not in a support role, and I do know what I am doing. Further, I also ask people, have you turned it off and on again, because most of them are like the apocryphal WordPerfect helpdesk caller.  However, I’m talking about when I phone say, my ISP, software support etc, and I always give, upfront, technical details of what I have done, and the result/error codes etc…and I *still* get simplistic advice which repeats what I have already done, and when I ask a more technical question, very often, the so-called support person has no idea what I am talking about! The last time I phoned Bigpuddle, the helpdesk person had never heard of basic diagnostics like tracert and flushing dns…

    • Edward James says:

      08:17am | 30/11/10

      There you go again David Koch writing about respect. Yet you and your side kick attacked me on National TV without even checking the facts. Yeah big joke have a laugh at someone stand up almost alone for ten years fighting for due process.  Have a look at these full page ads
      http://bit.ly/EJ_PNewsAds
      Link to political attack ads
      which is what I am reduced to. Then ask yourself what you would do if people tried to get away with standing over your father and then lying about. Gosford City Council enjoys the support of main stream media, if you took the trouble to read my ads like others do you will see that for yourself. You have nothing to loose. It is up to you to respect your self. Edward James 0243419140

      Reply

    • Anthony Meaney says:

      03:56pm | 30/11/10

      When Australians who have fought for their country have less rights than other Australians,then we have a big problem in Australia.

      My father,who fought at El Alemein and in New Guinea, was denied natural justice by having less rights of appeal versus the developer new door.

      Thanks very little to the Greiner government and the NSW Dept of Planning.

      More power to you, Ed James

    • Mark Mallone says:

      07:58pm | 27/01/11

      A lot more power to Ed James and one hell of a lot less to main stream media that has lost it’s way on what viewers and readers want and need to see.

      And that is, the uncensored truth. More people with Ed’s courage to standup and expose incompetent, corrupt and completely dishonest local councils and government officials,

    • Lauren says:

      08:19am | 30/11/10

      I refuse to serve customers on their mobile phones.

      It’s just down right offensive and rude, and pointing and grunting at the bread and rolls you want drives me insane.

      But my favourite ones are the ones who love to go overboard on the tastings on offer, taking more than a sample, shovelling it into their gobs and then proceeding to tell me with their mouth full of food what they want, whilst I wipe away the spit and excess crumbs that have landed on my face.

      If I greet a customer and they completely ignore me, then I just don’t say anything and just hand to them what they want with nothing more than a “thankyou”. Stuff ‘em.

      On the other hand, I agree being badgered by customer service can be annoying. Especially clothes shopping, where once you walk into a store every single one of them has to ask you how you are, and if you need any help, about once every two minutes. Yes, I’m good thanks, no I’m just browsing at the moment, thankyou, no I don’t want to try that on thanks, yes it is still raining outside - oh my god shut up!

      Reply

    • commonsensegirlonline says:

      08:23am | 30/11/10

      So mobile phones are only being banned “in some cafes”?  I wish they were banned in all stores and shopping centres not only because it’s so terribly rude to be chatting whilst waiting in line to be served, but because people chatting or texting on their mobiles while walking around are an absolute menace to the rest of us.  I am so sick and tired of people heading straight for me looking down at their mobile instead of where they are walking. But I know that whinge is off-topic.  I dislike intensely the “pretend friendliness” of either store staff or call centre staff.  There most definitely is a happy medium where one is looking for fast efficient service to solve a problem or to be left in peace to consider a purchase with helpful staff nearby if required.  The ones who really get me annoyed are those staff who appear to ignore you on purpose - why they have decided to become store assistants beats me! Some of our major stores have so few staff, the only end result is poor customer service anyway.

      Reply

    • BobbyDan says:

      08:26am | 30/11/10

      Smiles work as does a friendly greeting, walk in with agro and your body language will say the same thing.
      The object of your focus, (be it a human or an animal) will be to go into defence mode. That is why dogs bite and humans throw punches.

      Reply

    • Les says:

      08:56am | 30/11/10

      The worst customer service is when you’re hounded by a sales assistant. For some deranged reason they think they are helping. It doesn’t matter what the product is, it’s always the wrong approach. Drives me out of a store faster than anything else.

      Reply

    • Gidgee says:

      09:24am | 30/11/10

      I can still recall the poor bastard in the dock of a Court in the USA (where else?) having his sentence to death being televised.
      The judge, very friendly like, told the soon-to-die fellow that he had conducted himself well throughout the trial but “unfortunately, I have to sentence you to death”....
      To which the fellow replied “thank you your Honour”..
      Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!

      Reply

    • BT says:

      01:01pm | 30/11/10

      You should read Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison - especially the part on The Carceral. It’s a fascinating book - a life changer.

    • Syl says:

      09:39am | 30/11/10

      I think everyone should work a year in retail just to see what it’s like.  I have worked in retail all my life and the arrogance, rudeness and ignorance of a LOT of customers is disgusting.

      People think that because you are serving them it gives them the right to treat you like a second class citizen and you have to stand there and take it with a smile.

      Working as an IT salesman and technician I have to deal with ignorant people who have a friend/neighbour/relative who is an EXPERT at computers and clearly knows sooo much more than me, with my lowly 6 years experience and IT diplomas.  And when you try to explain that the information they have been given is wrong, suddenly Im a bastard salesman trying to rip them off.

      The one I love the most are the people who just ignore you or dismiss you offhand.  Walk up to someone and say “Hi, how are you?” and they either ignore you completely (then ask you a question 30 seconds later like its my priveledge to be speaking to them) or they say “No thanks IM fine”.....  My question wasnt how can I help you, I said hello, nothing more, its called being friendly.

      Sorry, this is a bit of a rant but a LOT of customers need to think before they have a go at the person serving them.  Not every salesman is a bastard, most just want to help you out and do the right thing, this is how u get repeat customers.  There are, of course, a few who are in it to rip you off, but you can smell insincere bullshit a mile off, save the abuse for those wankers.

      Reply

    • Sick of the whingers says:

      03:10pm | 30/11/10

      Couldn’t agree more!

      I like to remember when I have an issue and have to call a call centre or the like for help fixing my problem, what it’s like to be in their shoes.  I work in I guess you could call ‘customer service’ myself and am confronted with absolutely arrogant and rude people calling me up every day to abuse the crap out of me because they’re angry about something.
      Remeber - the person who happens to anser the phone is more than likely NOT the person who pushed a button/made an error/sent you a letter that you are angry about, PERSONALLY.. they are are representative of the company yes, but they personally do not have a vendetta against you and it more than likely wasn’t their personal fault.. so LAY OFF!!!
      You’ll definately get MUCH further and helped with your issue with a smile and friendly service if you are friendly in the beginning, explain your problem rationally and stay calm!

    • Bruce says:

      09:51am | 30/11/10

      I find the real problem is, how do you define what “good customer service” is. I suppose its different things to different people. I do not mind waiting a few minutes in a bank queue. When I get to the teller, customer service office, who ever, I just want to the issues I want looked after attended to, not addition sales pitches, or fake greetings or smiles, annoyes me no end. If they have some new product or service then give me a broucher, I will read it later. However, I believe in general, customer service is much better now than is was in the past. I hate the expressions “service was better in the good old days”  or “old fashion service”  WTF that means, please define !! Most customer service people now are better trained and knowledgeable, but just do not “PUSH IT”.

      Reply

    • GlendaSings says:

      09:59am | 30/11/10

      In defence of using my mobile phone - there are times when I’ve waited politely in a queue for several minutes NOT using my phone, when at the last minute I’ve had my phone ring and it’s one of my kids or my boss and I simply have to take the call. However, I DO always ask them to hold on for a moment and quickly apologise to the girl behind the checkout. And ask my caller to hold again while I pay, and apologise again. If I’m ordering food I’ll drop back a space and let the person behind me go ahead.

      There are always going to be times when you can’t just hang up, but I think that acknowledging to the person behind the counter that it’s not ideal with a quick “I’m so sorry, that was my daughter, she’s missed the bus” or something like that can make a big difference.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      10:18am | 30/11/10

      Yep, that is the polite way to do it, and most sales assistants don’t mind that.

      I don’t mind if it’s clearly an urgent call - but having to wait for some customer to finish telling her friend about her fully sick weekend adventures while they hold up a massive queue is just plain rude.

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      10:09am | 30/11/10

      Whether or not we get good service is almost entirely down to Management.It is Management’s responsibility to choose staff who are cheerful, interested, present well & give a Genuine Impression of being keen to provide the best service possible. It is Management’s job to continually monitor their staff to ensure they are persforming to the expected standard. In out loacl Coles Supermarket with one exception the staff are fantastic. The one who is not is Rude, Knows nothing about the products (F&V) she is in charge of. Nor does she care. If you are in her way she simply pushes past without an “excuse me”. the Result: We don’t buy any F&V from Coles Bridgewater SA.
      I think it was Sidney Myer, or it may have been his son Sir Norman who said that Staff can only be Happy, Productive & provide the best possible Service (hence their old motto: “For Value & Friendly Service”) IF the Management treat those working for them are treated with respect, are made to feel wanted & important in the scheme of things. Reg Ansett had the same attitude. Unfortunately this has largely gone by the board now. You know instantly if you are going to get Good, Friendly Service as soon as you enter a store. You have only to look around you at the faces of the staff.
      On the other side Customers can be the most abusive, rude & obnoxious people around. How some staff don’t lean across the counter & give these people a good hard slap is a miracle. Yes, many of us hate that meaningless question “How are you today”& to a large extent, in Coles & Myer in particular, this has disappeared. If a customer is up her/him-self & treats the shop assistant like dirt then they can expect nothing more than very basic service. A smile, a friendly “hullo”, “Good Morning"etc can go along way to making that check-out operator feel their job is worthwhile & they will bend over backwards to help you.
      That old saying “What goes around comes around” is so true & we, the customers, have got to treat those serving us with respect & friendliness - no I don’t mean ghastly, false gushy bullshit, The assistants don’t set the prices. Management does. If we have a beef about the price of things then we should take it up with Management not the staff on the floor. To pass a comment such as “that is very expensive” is fine but don’t abuse the assistant they have no control over that aspect of shopping!
      May be I’m weird but I love shopping & to have a bit of friendly craik with the person serving me makes both of us feel good!

      Reply

    • NEFFA says:

      02:00pm | 30/11/10

      “Whether or not we get good service is almost entirely down to Management.It is Management’s responsibility to choose staff who are cheerful, interested, present well & give a Genuine Impression of being keen to provide the best service possible.”

      totally agree,

      ” It is Management’s job to continually monitor their staff to ensure they are persforming to the expected standard. “

      totally disagree.

      Management should hire good staff and then trust them to do their job. Half of the problems people are carrying on about here are caused by micro-managers who can’t let go.

      i work in a call centre, and i have heard it all. how are you supposed to be able to give good customer service when you are reading from a script? mmm really personal.

      and the constant use of the customers name? just makes you sound like a fruit.

      get good reliable staff and leave them be.

    • Troy says:

      10:11am | 30/11/10

      “People think that because you are serving them it gives them the right to treat you like a second class citizen and you have to stand there and take it with a smile.”  Actually, Syl, that is precisely their right and precisely what you have to do.  If you do not understand that by now you are in the wrong business.

      Reply

    • Syl says:

      10:59am | 30/11/10

      Uh Troy, no it isnt.

      Nowhere in my job description or contract does it state receptacle for customer abuse.  Im a person the same as you are, yet standing on the other side of a counter makes me less than you?? How do you figure?

      My JOB is to offer them the best solution for their needs.  And I am bloody good at what I do.  I have many customers who come back to see ME because they know I give good customer service and make sure that their needs are met.  These people treat me like a human being and are not rude for the sake of being rude.  If you don’t want my advice or just want to browse, fine, say so, Ill leave you alone, its NOT an excuse to be rude or abusive.

      Why do you think you have the right to be an asshole?  Why do you think that because you are buying something it automatically elevates you above those serving you?  I dont come in to your job and abuse you, why do you think you should be able to.

      Heres a thought…..
      “don’t be an asshole.”
      Its something too many people forget.

    • Troy says:

      11:51am | 30/11/10

      “My JOB is to offer them the best solution for their needs.”  no, that is only a component of your job.  The core of your job is to ensure that everyone who comes into your store goes away happy.  First step, don’t take things personally (or be too sensitive!).  People can be in bad moods, or they’ve had bad experiences in the past etc.  You can turn them around.  At the end of the day, you are being paid to make customers happy on behalf of your employer - you are not being paid merely to give advice when customers say ‘pretty please’.

    • Syl says:

      02:00pm | 30/11/10

      Your kidding right?
      Im not asking for everyone to say “pretty please”
      Im asking for people to use manners, is it THAT much to ask for?

      So you think it is OK for someone to walk in and abuse a salesman for no good reason? 

      It is quite hard not to take things personally when people are hurling personal abuse at you because A)  They have no idea what they want, B) I cannot read minds or C) They are having a bad day. 

      It is NOT ok to abuse people for no reason in general, yet you seem to think it is ok to abuse me because I am trying to help you make a decision on a purchase. HUH??

      Ill say it again

      DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE

      It really isnt that bad a motto to live by, why are you against it?

    • Troy says:

      02:32pm | 30/11/10

      Syl, people disagreeing with your IT prowess is “hurling abuse”?  Customers not wanting to talk with you in the first instance of your greeting them is “hurling abuse”?  Certainly no need to call them “assholes”.  Remember: you are being PAID.  You have to accept that the customers won’t gift you their business.  And sometimes they won’t be angels.  It is your job to figure out how to make them happy and sell your product to them.  Full stop.

    • Syl says:

      04:26pm | 30/11/10

      No Troy

      Being called a useless, clueless C*** is abuse.  And that has happened.

      Being told that I am a f***ing asshole because I cannot defy the laws of physics is abuse.

      I never stated that being ignored is abuse, but it is rude.  Nor did I say that disagreeing with me is abuse.  ABUSING me through personal attacks is abuse.  There is a difference, why cant you see it?

      But I guess thats OK, cuz Im being “paid”

      Please…...

    • mikeymike says:

      04:41pm | 30/11/10

      “The core of your job is to ensure that everyone who comes into your store goes away happy.”
      How is that possible?  How is Syl going to be personally responsible for the feelings of another person?  Someone walks into the store grumpy and by having an IT discussion with them, maybe sell them a piece of kit, Syl is going to make them happy?
      That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard today.
      And equating technical disagreement with abuse is not the same thing.  Syl was talking about someone coming in to the store with a bad attitude and taking it out on the staff.  I’ve had bad days where I’ve needed to get served at a store and when the sales assistant asks me how I am, I’m honest: “I’m having a bad day.”  What’s so bad about that?  I’m not abusive, they know not to turn on the charm, I can still say please and thank you; everybody wins. 
      Why you would want to treat sales staff like a receptacle for your abuse is beyond me.  Surely you wouldn’t do that in a restaurant - these people have access to your food.  Just because sales staff have no recourse for revenge they are a walking target?  There’s a word for that: bully.  You’re just a petty schoolyard bully, a weakling who only picks fights he knows he can’t lose.

    • GB says:

      10:43am | 30/11/10

      Used to hate it when working in hospitality and people would come up to the bar chatting on a phone and try and order drinks at the same time. They would always take longer than normal to serve, mostly because they’d stuff up what they wanted because they were distracted. Then of course that was my fault…

      On the flip side I hate over familiar sales girls who call you “babe” “hun” or “darl”. Leave those for your actual friends.

      Reply

    • Chris L says:

      06:57pm | 30/11/10

      The girl who makes my coffee in the morning calls me “darl”. It starts my day with a cheap thrill grin

    • acotrel says:

      04:10am | 01/12/10

      I really like it when the salesgirls call me ‘babe’, ‘hun’ or ‘darl’.  It makes me believe I’m in with a chance.  I’m 69 years old, and it really brightens up my day!

    • jason says:

      10:52am | 30/11/10

      Great article, I love actually shopping.. but I just am put off by it when I walk into a store and I am like attacked by some woman who semi flirts with me and would tell me I look wonderful in a potatoe sack.

      Its horrible and your right its overdone.. the best customer service is a smile, and a friendly please and thank you.. and the odd… nice weather isnt it? If the customer wants to engage any more than this than they will other wise just stop it! your embarrasing your staff and your clients.

      And to jim who wrote above that its the young people todays fault what a load of rubbish they’re forced to talk like this by their bosses.. you know people your age.

      Reply

    • Shawn says:

      11:09am | 30/11/10

      I bought a hanburger yesterday, and the women behind the counter would not stop asking me questions. I thought I was being interorgated by the CIA.
      It was all, Would you like tomato sauce on this? Would you like a bag to put it in?
      I thought it would never end. Eventually I went home and ate the hamburger whilst I watched the television

      Reply

    • Jeanne Ferrer says:

      11:50am | 30/11/10

      Must be a malaise peculiar to Sydney Kochie Boy.  Here in Melbourne we are met by rude check out chicks and guys only because the previous 100 customers have been down right sh1ts to them.  So, count your “friendly” blessings and quit whining.  And don’t compare overseas customer service with Australia’s.  Totally irrelevant.  We should not attempt to be brilliant at customer service by comparison. We should be BRILLIANT full stop!

      Reply

    • jane wallace says:

      11:57am | 30/11/10

      customer service in australia is located in India.
      nobody needs service as there is none to give.
      everybody learns to do without.
      the rich must learn more simply so the poor can simply live.
      thats what defines what it means to be green and labor.

      Reply

    • bec says:

      11:57am | 30/11/10

      My favourite customer service moment didn’t involve the person serving me. We were in line at that sushi court in David Jones. A woman didn’t know where the line was and walked right in front of me in line. When I politely pointed it out (being on a lunch break and running slightly late and all), she hurled her sushi against the wall and walked off glaring. She didn’t speak once.

      I tipped the girl at the counter because I felt bad for setting off this nutbar. Interesting day.

      Reply

    • Troy says:

      02:15pm | 30/11/10

      I guess she felt she got a raw deal.

    • jane wallace says:

      12:00pm | 30/11/10

      customer service is either located in India or provided by Indians in australia.
      When in India, do as Indians do. When in Australia, do Indians do.
      once cricket is on,customer service in over until stumps.

      Reply

    • Aussie says:

      12:11pm | 30/11/10

      yeah I get similar feelings when I watch Sunrise. nothing but over the top sap

      Reply

    • Melrusk says:

      02:19pm | 30/11/10

      AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa(take a breath)HaaaaaaaaaaaAHA ( insert thigh slap here)  wink

    • AliceC says:

      02:42pm | 30/11/10

      LMAO!

    • Adrian says:

      06:24pm | 30/11/10

      Comment of the day by far

    • Helen says:

      12:26pm | 30/11/10

      Why should we have to queue in cafes anyway?  Bring back table service.  I for one would be happy to pay a bit extra for it.

      Reply

    • Farrah says:

      01:30pm | 30/11/10

      Kochie, it’s incredible to me that you judge Australian customer service as “pretty good” compared to “overseas” (which is a pretty broad description of everywhere else in the world). I lived in Japan for three years and the customer service was always wonderful - it puts Australia to shame.
      Furthermore, your reference to call centre operators as “kids” is highly patronising.

      Reply

    • Kylie says:

      01:35pm | 30/11/10

      People that work in gyms have to be the worst when it comes to over the top customer service, its always so ungenuine!

      Reply

    • Ross says:

      01:45pm | 30/11/10

      Iwould be a lot more peed off if the buffoon serving me took four minute break every five minutes like the staff on Sunrise

      Reply

    • Catching up says:

      03:40pm | 30/11/10

      I just wish they would answer my question instad of folowing a script.  Sometimes it would be lovely if when ask to speak to someone higher, they at least give me a number or email address to make contact later.

      Reply

    • Chris L says:

      07:06pm | 30/11/10

      The staff get “counselled” when they deviate from the script, and management won’t take calls from the customer. If you think you’ve been put through to a manager it’s probably just another call centre operator.

    • David Wise says:

      04:42pm | 30/11/10

      Smart business people recognise two things 1. That they can’t please everyone and not everyone is meant to be their customer 2. If their staff are good at what they do then they deserve to be able to serve who value that.
      The RIGHT customer is always right.

      Reply
 
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