Why is customer service so bad these days?

I've noticed that too but then majority of these people are not being paid good and they don't make any extra effort to be nice. I think the companies should give incentives or just pay enough so customers will get a good service from their end.

I have also noticed this. Some people won't even make eye contact with you when they are serving people. I love to have little chats while being served, or have a laugh about something and sometimes I still find some that are like that too. It's not hard to smile at someone and that is all it takes to feel like a wanted customer. If they are not happy with their job then they shouldn't be working there. There are some place I refuse to go to now because of bad customer service.

I have noticed that there are large number of people in jobs they don't enjoy who go through the day with no effort to make it enhjoyable at all. I worked in an office for 11 years and was always polite to workmates and the public. I also worked in pubs and chippies in the evenings andchoose how tired I was would listen to the customers and smile and laugh with them, it doesn't cost you anything if you have to be there anyway and it makes another persons day a little nicer too. I always think I couldbe the only human contact that person has had all day so it should be nice, shame people in the serrvice industry seem to thin a smile is salary related and they dont earn enough to be nice.

yes some sales clerks are very rude. some time ago I tried on some clothes and when I was done I decided I didn't want them and ask the dressing room attended where I could put them she said to put them back where I got them. Most places have a place to put them close to the dressing room. we were taught that the customer is very important and is always right. Our pay check depended on this idea. I always say "Have a nice day" to them even when they are rude. Some of them do go out of their way to be helpful. Ilike to let the managers know who they are too.

preach it ! i feel the same way you do. I will say this, i notice the problem alot more from younger people working customer service jobs. I make it a point to go through the supermarket check out and go to an older person's checkout. i find they are always more polite and seem to give a hoot about the customer.Customer service now a days seems to be saved for when a customer has a major complaint. if they would deal with customers properly in the first place, maybe there wouldnt be so many complaints.

I work with the public and I give what I get. I start out nice with a "May I help you?" or whatever. If the person responds in a decent manner then I go along in a nice polite manner and we have a nice transaction. Even if the person is just indifferent or ignores me I still say please, thank you, have a nice day, whatever. I will bend over backwards to help people who are treating me in a decent fashion and I've had many pleasant coversations with complete strangers while waiting on them. But if the person responds to my nice greeting with something nasty or rude then it is OVER. I will wait on them but there are no pleasantries. No thanks or have a nice day. I am SICK of people being nasty to me for no good reason when all I said is "may I help you" when they stepped up to the counter. But I NEVER start off as the unpleasant one.

Well, to me, since I work in Customer Service, it can go both ways, and you never know who was their last Customer. Were they someone that was Rude and unapreciative and demanding or were they Friendly, Happy go Lucky, and this is the way the person really is around others? I have learned a lot of things in my profession over the yrs. and I feel unless you have walked in someone elses shoes you need to be there in order to judge and make a right decision, and remember we all have a Bad day also from time to time, and maybe you just caught someone on one of theirs?

I don't think it's just customer service, it's just basic employee's, they talk about the most personal stuff while they are helping you. I don't think that People understand that without the Customer they wouldnt have a job. I have heard so many thing's standing in line ordering food while the employee's talk to each other and then when you get the food your thinking what you can't talk and "chew gum" the (expression we use)at the same time, we took the food back up there and got the manager but the employee's were rude to him, he had to make our food for us. Just not the quality anymore. Wish I could change it as well. Good Discussion

SIMPLE. people seem to not have the time anymore to teach their kids respect or common courtesy. a few days ago i went to cash a check at wal-mart, the associate that was cashing my check was also talking to another assoc. when they finished their convo, she started counting out my money, the other assoc. said well i'll see you later,and said her name, i turned because the name sounded exactly like mine. so i asked her what her name was. she looked at me for about two seconds, said nothing and then handed me my money and said next. now i was taught from a little boy to never raise or put my hands on a women, but lawd knows i could of slapped the hell out of this lady. PLEASE teach your kids common courtsey, respect, edicate, or jus plain manners people.

Greedy companies expecting one single person to do the work of two or three people and only pay them an average wage. Why pay the wage for two or three people when we can get away with paying for only one! Companies dont treat their own people well, so the employees dont seem to care much anymore. Have you ever heard of the old saying "the fish stinks from the head down" The quality in just about everything has been lost these days due to corporate greed.

i also support.our customers should be treated like kings. people also should be made to undergo trainig on customer services

I don't think so... customer service is a great help from who are neeeded for, some one still needs help and service. Maybe for you, coustomer service is not helping to you at all.

I totally agree with you, unfortunately too often these days you're served by kids who haven't been trained in customer service, but it still happens with the older members too! I have walked of stores more than once because of bad customer service, once leaving a whole trolley full of foods at the till because staff were too busy talking than to serve me!

Maybe because of the customers themselves. You would NOT believe the extreme sense of entitlement customers can project. Customers expect courtesy without extending any of their own. They go through checkout lines yacking on their cell phones and casually toss the money at the cashier and don't even bother with a simple hello. I've seen customers -- as a customer myself -- make a POINT of leaving their dining area in utter shambles, and I've witnessed people encouraging their children to go ahead and make messes. It's not their house, why bother, right? I could go on. Plus, have you spent 8+ hours on your feet, lifting things, stooping and crouching, and dealing with screaming children, impatient, snippy housewives, and men old enough to be your father trying to hit on you before? Try it for a couple weeks (it'll be good for humility, hmm?) and see how quick and ready you are with perky smiles and chipper greetings by the end of your shift, or after getting screamed at by an irate customer because you're following corporate policy and you're cursed with a spineless manager who hates confrontation and caves in and breaks policy just to shut that customer up and get them out of the store.

It all comes down to the staff that these companies hire. It just seems like they are in such a hurry to hire just anyone off the street, that when you do need some service, that the employees are not qualified to do so, and then they probably get frustrated and become very rude with the customers. I'll see this all the time at places like Wal-Mart where really no one can help me out.

I worked in sales for 17 months and recently got out of it. I gave my best everyday and would be nice to each and every customer even if they werent nice back. I got sick of the rude customers(not all of them were rude). People would leave the clothes they tried on on the floor of the dressing room as it were their own room or something. They would pile expensive dresses on the floor and walk out. These were $150+ dresses too. Enough was enough so I quit.

This is not true at all. You might have just based this opinion on your experiences where bad customer service was given. I have worked as a Customer Service Representative before and its really part of our daily metric on how well we treat our customers.It is a must for Customer Service Reps to try to be as accomodating and as helpful to their customers. Or else we are on the wrong line of Business.

Well I am sales assistance I deal with alot of people, I am customer support! And I am not rude either. So when you say customer service is bad maybe you should think about that question first. Its all in the Co. It comes from higher up. Management dont care then the workers dont care! Co that care about customer's MAKE sure that sales assistance have Good customer service Customer Service # 1

i feel for you. as an ordinary person, we expect good customer service when we go out somewhere. Other people said that we should understand that their job is not easy. For me, they need to do their job at their best. i work as a customer service representative and i know that it's not an easy job but im giving my best to provide good customer service because when im not at the office i am a customer and i also expect quality service myself.

I find your question very interesting, please allow me to respond: You state that people are rude, that they don't assist, that they don't say "thank you", "please", "excuse me". You state that companies should train more on customer service. Please allow me to respond from my experience from working as a cashier and at a call center. First, when I worked as a cashier I did say "thank you", "excuse me", "pardon me", and "please". I remember there were our bosses who would yell at us for taking too long serving the customers. You know it does take about 45 seconds or so longer to say those thinks to make the experience more welcoming. Well, some people stopped doing that (not me). Second, there are some customers that yell at the worker about a problem that we cannot solve. For example, yelling at the cashier about the store being dirty, the store being out of X, etc. These things frustrate the customer and the worker. The customer should know that he/sh should address the manager or customer service and not the cashier. Each store is different, but the store I worked at wouldn't even let us remove things from orders without having a manager or assistant manager from the Customer Service over ride. Therefore, any adjustments or switching discounts has to be done at customer service. Third, this experienced happened recently. This woman called our call center and was yelling at me for the whole call about something totally different than what we do! First, she had Bank of American Credit Watch. They reported to her if there are any changed on her credit report. Our company reported a collection account on her credit report. She screamed at me, and wouldn't let me explain that a) no we didn't charge her credit card. We cannot charge a card unless the customer gives the billing department that information. B) She more likely than not subscribed to a Credit Monitoring Watch that monitors her credit report, and c) that she had an outstanding balance. I tried to explain, "Ma'am, did you try to contact Bank of American about your Credit monitoring watch?" and "Ma'am that is showing that you have a past due balance with X and that we don't charge your credit card unless you gave authorization." She still screamed at me, acting like it was my fault. I'm really confused why a customer would sign up for a product (Credit Monitoring) when the customer obviously doesn't know what it is and is thinking that companies are charging her credit card. Forth, the above leads me into this point. Some people "just don't give a f***" because people instead of being kind, but firm, about the situation, immediately start yelling and angry. How does that solve anything? Then people start not to care, and then you have bosses that say "speed it up you're taking 45 seconds too long saying 'please and thank you.' " Therefore, I would suggest to put your complaint in writing to the company because they will never know if you don't tell them. Any feedback will provide them to change what they are doing. You can provide clear names (employee, manager) in your complaint/praise to describe what has happened. Peace and God Bless Pablo