We live in an incredibly fast changing global world, many of the old rules no longer apply, however, many Fortune 100 Companies are exhibiting behaviour which defies logic.

Recently one huge multi-national announced they were removing all land lines from their offices as the under 30 never answer their phones, as well as removing voice-mail. Now one must communicate with them by email.

Clearly I am at a loss with this decision. So, if you wish to call this company, there is absolutely no way to call and find out who does what or how to reach them. The excuse is that they can be reached by email…..but WHO do you reach and how do you find them????
Are we expected to be perpetually on-line??
What happened to real people speaking to real people??
What if it is not a generic question??

Perhaps a more logical and intelligent move would be to teach phone etiquette to these arrogant people who do not think their phones are important enough to be answered. After all, unless I am mistaken, when one works for a company it is to provide a SERVICE……….

We continue to see companies outsourcing call centers to India, Puerto Rico, Mexico and various other countries claiming that it is more efficient…….for whom exactly???
Usually the poor caller finds themselves on hold for 20 minutes before being answered by someone with a thick accent reading from a script, and absolutely no technical competence whatsoever with the product. I have spoken about this before, but the practice continues……..and everyone complains…….
My personal solution??? Do not do business with this corporations, and in our case, we no longer refer them to our clients……
If my call and my time are of absolutely no value to these companies, why on earth should I give them my cash or my endorsement?

Without a doubt, the most incredible customer service continues to be from Apple, humans answer the phone, and spend the necessary time to resolve the problem in a clear and pleasant manner. Wow!! A recent visit to an Apple store about my new mini iPad resulted in 2 staff and a service call lasting 20 minutes, and the problem solved amidst much laughter. It was wonderful!

Then there is the huge retailer who doesn’t make any of their clothes larger than a size 10-12, or footwear in larger than a size 9. They are complaining that their business is not growing, yet the answer is right under their noses. The population are becoming larger, taller, and with this, they are losing as much as 40% potential growth in this market. They have also turned over 65% of their executives and staff in the last year. Everyone is to blame for the lack of growth…….but……..have they actually looked at they size of their potential clients and realized they are not only not serving them but offending them in the process?
I tried to make a few purchases, unsuccessfully I might add. I will never return to their stores.

I spoke to a Senior Vice President of that particular corporation on more than one occasion, unfortunately his area is not on the design side of the business. He also voiced his frustrations, and finally has decided to look for opportunities elsewhere…..lose, lose, lose. ….

Another high-end retailer constantly asks its clients for their email addresses so they can be sent promotions and event invitations. I have personally been asked no less than 25 times, they ask at the cash with each purchase, and as yet, nothing. Nada, niet. Nope. Nary an invite. I know many others who have voiced the same objections, and who are equally offended. Just how difficult is it to add a name to a list??
What have many of us done?? Sought out high end designer clothes and shoes elsewhere.

Or the grocery store with the surly cashiers who actually find it funny that clients wish to be served in English….simple solution, shop elsewhere. Unless it is a blizzard and I do not wish to drive more than 5 minutes, I will absolutely NOT go to their store, they have lost tens of thousands of dollars in business from me alone, and I have told many other friends where to shop for better prices and lovely service.

Target, Future Shop and many others are closing their doors, unfortunately no one seems to be educating the floor staff that the client is king. If someone has gone out of their way to come to your store to look at something, drop what you are doing and go serve them. Chatting about your date, your meal, or your boyfriend is not important. If the client comes to the store on more than one occasion and is not served politely, it is unlikely they will ever be back. They will go to the competition and if they are well served they are forever gone.

In my case, I travel several miles for groceries where I am served with smiling faces in English, get prices which are on average 50% lower, yes, really, free parking, and in one case, unlimited free plastic bags or small boxes to carry my merchandise. Who could ask for more??!!

Retailers and Restaurateurs bemoan the fact that their clients are not loyal, yet they never stop to consider that it is poor service or inferior merchandise driving them away. When portions are forever shrinking, the quality of the food is inferior , service is unpleasant and condescending, people will give the provider a couple of chances on the chances it is just an off night, then it is OVER. How many of us have frequented a restaurant, introduced our friends, hosted events, in my case LOTS and LOTS of events, having been the President of DPMA and hosting monthly lunches, huge Christmas parties, conferences,client lunches, birthday parties, then seen someone who is loud and pushy be offered complimentary drinks and appetizers, then order the cheapest meal on the menu, and seen this repeatedly? I no longer frequent ANY of these establishments, if you do not understand the value of my custom, or show any signs of appreciation, I will not be back.
I know at least 3 of these establishments have gone out of business, and I heard one other is probably on the way ….
The message to be learned?? You have to thank the huge client, and not reward the cheap noisy one.

So, is it that people like me are not loyal or is it that we are simply fed up of poor customer service??

Recently I have been cleaning up my huge desk drawer of the business cards I amassed all over the world, and yes, I have more than a huge drawer full. They are in business card holders arranged alphabetically, and are overflowing. I am absolutely gob-smacked at the number of huge corporations, restaurants and hotels which no longer exist. However, upon deeper reflection, the restaurant staff in many cases were arrogant, they made people wait unnecessarily, and had a process of seating the ‘beautiful’ people in the best tables while making others wait indeterminably. The problem more than ever, particularly in my industry which is high tech, the young male 30 year old teckie millionaires tend to be shy, dressed in jeans and sneakers, they are certainly not the ‘beautiful people’, but they can buy them all out before breakfast.

So they receive poor seats, even poorer service, and never go back. So the arrogant clip-board person at the door with the haughty attitude will become unemployed when the word gets around, but unfortunately all the other staff do too.

The concept of ‘Secret Shoppers” seems to be lost. It used to be that shops and restaurants would send poorly dressed people into their stores and restaurants to eat or make purchases and report back about the experience. This practice seems to be lost, and should seriously be re-instituted quickly by any establishment which is service oriented.

Yes, you have seen some of these issues discussed before, however it appears that as service declines, it is more important than ever to be vigilant.