Is Customer Service a Thing of the Past?
The other day I needed to have an adjustment made to a purchase at Talbots, the women’s retail store. You know the one whose sales are legendary. The item in question was a denim blouse marked down from $75 to $50. When I got home, I realized it was the wrong size. A few days later I trudged back over to the westside—where Talbots’ sole remaining store in New York City is located—and returned it. The process was quick, courteous, and smooth. However, it was flawed. The sales lady entered the returned blouse at the discounted price but then, in a separate transaction, charged me the full amount for the exchanged item. This mistake went unnoticed until I got home after my hour and a half “excursion” across town. “No worries,” I thought to myself. I’ll just call Talbots’ customer service line.
Therein started my nightmare. Like many companies today who try to save money, true consumer service has taken a beating, at least that was my experience at Talbots. Once I eventually connected with the company by phone, I was forced to run through an endless gauntlet of interactive, robotic questions. Sadly, none of these were relevant to my specific situation. Sound familiar? Even after saying “Operator” repeatedly I was making little progress. Finally, a live agent came on the line. Eureka! A human being. But then I discovered that Talbots had no intention of solving my problem but rather, now that they had my attention were more interested in cross selling a new credit line service.
The battle of consumer service: Who’s on top?
After my situation was carefully explained, the representative replied in a tone of mild indifference, “You’re at the wrong department. You need to contact customer service.” Say what? I thought I WAS at customer service. Frustrated, I asked in desperation, “Can you please provide me with a direct number so that I can bypass all the pesty questions?” “Absolutely,” she promised in a now perky tone. However, the new number began with the same litany of questions as the first call did.
My blood was boiling by the time I finally reached a live representative. This second Talbots agent explained that she could not reverse the transaction and that it would be necessary to go back to the store for that. “Fat chance,” I thought to myself. At this juncture I turned from being patiently polite to downright outraged. I explained in a barely contained voice simmering with anger that I was not going to waste my time schlepping back across town but rather was planning to cut up my Talbots credit card. The representative was non-pulsed. Clearly, she couldn’t have cared less that her company was at risk of losing a loyal customer of many years. Instead, she enthusiastically tried to pitch me about their exciting new credit service. We had come full circle. The only thing missing was a follow-up survey to rate my level of customer satisfaction.
It only took four years to get service
I wondered if I were the only one dissatisfied by the dearth of reliable customer service, at least as my generation knows it. My New York pal Jan Hazard confirmed that I was not alone. She reminded me that she had been without gas for four years due to a construction fluke and some missing documents her apartment’s previous owners had failed to file with the city. Fortunately, Jan—who is the former food editor of Ladies Home Journal— knows a thing or two about cooking with various kitchen gadgets and thus was able to eat during this long hiatus. After four years of hiring expeditors and architects with connections, as well as threatening her board, Jan was still at square one. Her situation, as dire as it was, even became a running joke among her friends. Until one day, she received a survey from Con Edison. She went to town and told the company what she really thought about their lack of customer service. Within days, Con Edison called to make an appointment to turn on her gas.
In the genteel south, consumer service remains as bad as elsewhere in America
Maybe things are different down South where civility is more prevalent than up here in the North, I wondered? I asked my favorite southern gentleman, who lives in in Columbia, South Carolina, to weigh in on the topic. Given he resides in a small, closed community he requested that his name not be used. So, let’s invent a name for him as well as for his friends whose stories he recounted. While “Blaine” was mindful not to offend any of the locals, his response was emphatic. “Customer Service has died EVERYWHERE and here’s why: Millennials!!! They make up at least 35% of the today’s work force. And their moms are still doing their laundry and fixing them lunch. So, how can a baby like that give you any customer service??? No one trains them either and someone could if they were smart enough to do the job or recognized that it needs doing!”
Blaine went on to recount several incidents which has recently occurred in his town. “Here in the South the lack of customer service is coupled with an ignorance of the larger world beyond! Example: A hotel waiter here comes to a table he is serving at a rubber chicken dinner and asks my friend Archibald Pinkerton if he would like red or white wine (and there were two distinctively different wine glasses on the table) and he says, “I’ll have a little of both,” and the waiter pours together a little of each….. into the same wine glass!
“Another friend, Beau Carlisle, was seated at a dining room table at a swank private club. As he sits down to enjoy an evening meal with his wife, he asks a waiter for a scotch and water. The waiter points to an already filled water glass on the table and says: ‘Well, you already have the water!’”
Good consumer service is generated from the top
After Blaine’s mini rant, he admitted there was hope. He told me about a very expensive, trendy restaurant in Columbia where “they hire attractive people and make them SMILE all day long. They also make all of them greet you (almost as an old friend) each time they see you – when you enter, when they come to your table to serve you, when you get up to go to the bathroom, and when you get up to leave. If you ask for something they go personally and get it right, then (never saying ‘let me get your waiter’). The owner’s son always comes by your table and asks if everything is ok. If you tell him that you would like a little more water – he will go and get it and bring some back right then. It’s the way it should be. They are wildly successful, and it all comes from “the head” – the mother who trained both the sons as managers and their staff. The restaurant is slowly expanding with great results as people are starving for this kind of customer service.”
Maneuvering today’s world of service without technology
My friend Joan Ross recounted a story she had heard about an elderly lady who flummoxed an entire bank in upstate New York. Let’s call the lady Mildred. Mildred was having issues dealing with one of her bank statements received in the mail. Just as most people of her generation would have reasoned, she decided the most expeditious way to get action was to go in person to her branch. The Millennial-aged banker assigned to Mildred off-handedly asked for her account number and password. Within our technology-driven world, naturally the young banker assumed the easiest solution would be found using a computer. When Mildred replied that she did not have a password as she did not have a computer, the banker was incredulous. The banker was so confounded that she brought in her manager, a gentleman a few years older than she, to figure out what to do next. He, too, was stumped. They had never met anyone before at the bank who did not own a computer. Mildred was starting to lose patience with these “young’uns.” So, she indignantly told them, with a slight twinkle in her eye, “While I may not own a computer, you can rest assured that I do have running water and a toilet in my home.” This broke the tension in the office with everyone dissolving in laughter. Eventually, the two bankers were able to find a solution to Mildred’s satisfaction. So, perhaps consumer service is not entirely dead in America.
How does Europe’s consumer service compare to ours?
What about in other countries, say France, for example? When I was living there back in the 70’s, it was non-existent. According to a post by Laetitia Vitaud, France’s customer service is evolving out of necessity. She explained that historically customer service was reserved for either the noble or the rich and usually concentrated within the luxury goods sector. This makes sense if you think of those days where the nobility was coddled by their loyal servants. Vitaud claims that “thanks to the digital revolution in order to survive today you must provide service to everyone simultaneously and at the same quality level.”
This new direction was confirmed by an American friend who lives in France, Victor Taylor, former sommelier/hospitality guru turned winemaker and owner of Domaine Serre Besson winery. As Victor explains it, “Actually the state of French service has drastically improved over the years. The younger French have traveled and experienced a more modern and pleasant sense of service and truly aim to please. You quite often receive a smile or pleasant response, right out of the starting gates, quelle surprise! Of course, you still, rarely now, run across a cul de cheval, but that is sadly more of an international problem,” suggesting that this is not just a French issue.
Looking at consumer service through the lens of a younger generation
In writing this post, I discovered that one’s attitude about the state of customer service has a great deal to do with how old you are. My trainer, Jennifer Spina, who is old enough to be my daughter, told me she doesn’t like to speak online with a customer service person. “I can’t stand being put on hold. I’d rather go online to the store’s customer service section on their website, quickly select what I need from a series of questions, click on the right box, then immediately resolve my issue. Plus, this way I can also take a screen shot to verify the transaction.” For Jennifer, being able to use technology is the most efficient path to good customer service.
Another mid-thirty gentleman, Jeremiah Callaghan, was eager to give me a lesson on what customer service looks like today from his perspective. As a brand manager for Boots, a large international health and beauty company, his vision is global and of the moment. “I don’t think customer service is dead. Rather it is evolving. Today there is an expectation of responsibility on both sides of the transaction. Just because you have the money as the customer doesn’t guarantee you ultimate power. After all, I have the goods and services you are seeking so in a way, I have the upper hand. I will do my best to accommodate you but in return, you need to be reasonable and not abusive as a customer.”
How to maximize getting what you want
Today while listening to NPR radio, I came across a “Life Kit” pod cast episode which showcased recommendations on maximizing your customer service experience, especially over the phone. The goal of these tips was to learn how to create less of a tug-of-war and more of a collaborative exchange between the two parties. (Here’s the link: Overcome customer service anxiety and get what you want : Life Kit : NPR.)
In a nutshell, the segment recommends that consumers take this approach:
· Separate the person from the problem: Establish quickly that the representative is not responsible for what happened to you.
· Show vulnerability: Be sure the representative knows they are dealing with another person not an advisory.
· Make "caretaking" statements: For example, say something such as "I appreciate you being patient with me as we figure this thing out together."
· Make the representative your ally: Simply ask, "what would you do in my situation?
· Don't lie: Be true to who you are while also being respectful. And whatever you do, avoid screaming.
If these conflict resolution tactics sound conciliatory, they are. Why? Because these tips come from Craig dos Santos, a consultant who specializes in negotiation. This is yet another reflection of today’s new approach to customer service. What department store mogul Harry Gordon Selfridge said in the early 1900s— “The customer is always right”—is now considered outdated. Company employees are no longer encouraged to make decisions to benefit the customer in the hopes of building loyalty and trust. Instead, they are taught this customer-centric ideology discourages exceptional customer service. Instead, companies now recognized that you can’t please everyone all the time. So, why even try? This means now it is perfectly acceptable for the customer to be wrong, and you shouldn’t fret about it either as a business owner. Instead of targeting millions of customers, it is better to focus on thousands of true fans.