[unsubscribed], at 9:28am 28th Jan 2009, wrote:

Couldn't agree more, Mike.

ericka kemp, at 7:13pm 29th Jan 2009, wrote:

I feel the above comments are not only frustrating but not always the case. They are a sweeping generalisation for an industry that is being battered and bruised like the rest of the country at the moment! I work in a high end retail store and pride myself in trying to do the best i can for all the customers that require my help. At the moment though this is proving so difficult as hours have been slashed almost in half and although we will not have redundencies due to us all owning the buisness this is proving to be a very hard climate to work in for everyone. Not only does this frustrate people like myself who pride them selves in doing a good job but is down right unrealistic when managers think we can wave a magic wand and all should be achieved. I accept also this is changing the way customers feel as things are not getting done as quick and served as efficiently as would have happened say 12 months ago, but i emplore you to have just a little patience for the workers who generally are trying their best for you under tremendous pressure.

[unsubscribed], at 9:42am 30th Jan 2009, wrote:

Quite frankly, customer service was not much better 12 months ago than it is today.

Maverell, at 7:07am 31st Jan 2009, wrote:

All managers, in all areas of work are pressurising their staff to do more in the time available. These expectations are normally unrealistic and therefore something gives.

However, I agree that in some shops and restaurants, service is appalling. What really gets at me is the staff chatting away on their mobile phones or to a colleague while they are serving you.

Only yesterday I went up to a young female checkout operator to pay. She said a few words and I thought they were directed at me. I did not hear properly and asked her to repeat what she said. She said something else, and only then did I realise she was talking on a handsfree mobile telephone and not to me !!

pauline mcgaughey, at 6:19pm 3rd Feb 2009, wrote:

wages dont equal what we are being asked to do

william ware, at 6:29pm 4th Feb 2009, wrote:

i think the customers should improve the way they speak to the staff in these stores.

i overheard one customer and the way she spoke to the staff member left nothing to the imagination, she was so rude.its not the staffs fault that they are sold out of things.also customers need to learn that if their is a queue they cant jump it.

Mrs Mary Valentine, at 7:19pm 6th Feb 2009, wrote:

I learnt many years ago that to get good service you must be a good customer.

Therefore, when I am shopping what ever store I may be in I always greet the assistant with a smile and address them by their name if they wear a name badge. I try to make a friendly comment and this always results in my getting good service.

If you want excellent service when eating out make friends with your waiter/waitress and give them a tip at the start, not when your leaving. This always gets me good service.

Try it for yourself and see.

martyn kemp, at 4:49pm 8th Feb 2009, wrote:

it's nice to see that for once it's not just the cashier, waitress, er or store assistant that need to make te effort. The above comment by Mary shows that if you make the effort too things are going to go the way you want 90% of the time. Have you ever tried to be rude to someone who is kind, conciderate and polite. It's very hard to do!

Michael Andrews, at 11:59am 10th Feb 2009, wrote:

In response to Ericka.

I know it is not always the case, in rare instances i meet customer service staff who are polite, helpful and informative. Unfortunately, it IS a rare occurence. when i am on the recieving end of good customer service i get excited and feel that i am in a small way important to the retailer. In fact I recently purchased an expensive item purely because i was treated with respect even though i could have bought it elsewhere cheaper, that is the power of good customer service. A lot of people cannot afford to go to high end retailers so we are left to fend for ourselves. Customer service is a state of mind,a philosophy. customers do get angry but is mainly born out of frustration because they have not been called back, the item is out of stock, they cannot be told when it will be in stock, etc. Its not just face to face Customer service thats a problem. banks dont open on saturdays, in my opinion a huge insult to working customers. Luch time is a nightmare, the staff go for lunch the same time as the rest of us which causes chaos, why no staggered breaks? I have change dbanks to the Halifax for these very reasons. Given the current situation in the financial world i dont suppose it will change but the point is poor customer service is planned for. I usually try to put a small amount of humour into my blog but my sense of humour has been stripped from along with my dignity after shopping at ASDA.

Dee, at 9:10am 11th Feb 2009, wrote:

I am also very friendly and polite to the assistants, and usually get a positive response from them. However, I do not use their names. Years ago when I was working in a shop I used to cringe when someone used my name -- it's a bit too personal from a stranger. I don't see the need for name badges really, it's just a shame people don't really have that option. The customers aren't walking around introducing themselves by name!

I generally think that customer service has gone downhill nowadays, but believe this could be linked to the fact that children are typically brought up now to learn less respect for people, so this shows through in their jobs in later life. I'm in my mid-20's, but I was raised to respect others, which is something I took with me to my shop jobs as a teenager, but it is sometimes extremely hard to maintain when someone is screaming in your face!!

marie padgett, at 6:40pm 12th Feb 2009, wrote:

I recentley shopped in WH Smiths and I won't be going back. First I was pestered by 2 people just at the door- one for a power company and the other a charity.

Then I couldn't find anyone at the games/DVD desk at the back to get a game I wanted to buy from the drawer(they just put the box out). Finally found someone at the other end of the store who messed about and served someone else. When I complained the bloke couldn't be bothered.

The front desk allways has a huge que-yet there's only 2 people to serve the whole store. They need more staff. I won't be shopping there again.

As for Woolworths- I hardley went in there anyway. Again there wasn't enough staff. Last time I went in was for a DS and I left and went to the games shop instead!

I'm allways polite- the staff aren't allways though!

Staff at the shoe shop are great although it gets buisy they see that you are waiting to be served and let you know they've seen you. I allways shop there now.

morriarty, at 10:01am 20th Feb 2009, wrote:

Here's hoping that the credit crunch sorts out those companies who have good customer service from the rest. For my part I am going to put my business with companies who have good service, like John Lewis, and avoid those who have poor service standards. The difficulty is in working out who gives good service when you are dealing with them for the first time. I bought a sofa on-line, and was appalled by their complete lack of concern when there was a problem with the delivery. Maybe surveys like this could identify companies with poor service records, then I could avoid them like the plague.

Michael Andrews, at 10:12am 23rd Feb 2009, wrote:

Thats a good idea, do a survey and publish it. The society for customer service will have something i am sure. However, that is not the entire solution. i went into Curries a few months ago to buy a PS3 amd peripharals. the assistant was very helpful and appeared to know what he was talking about. I asked them to do a price match with woolies who offered PS3 with a HDMI lead and a game. They did but explained that the HDMI cable being offered by woolies was practically useless so i should upgrade to £54 model which i did, i later found it to be totally useless advise as the difference in qualities was undetectable. I used a £5 HDMI lead and swapped them to see exactly what the difference was. At first i was over the moon with my purchase but when i found out that i had been parted from my cash unneccasarily it left me a sour taste.

shenghua, at 3:39am 12th Mar 2009, wrote:

I thought you are right.

Julie Hardie, at 1:20pm 4th May 2009, wrote:

I work in reatail and go out of my way to give the best customer service i can, unfortunately there are customers who are rude and abusive, and although i will serve them to a fair standard, I will not go the extra mile for them like I would with any other customer, its such a shame that many customers dont realise that if they are friendly and respectfull we will halp in anyway possible and even bend the rules to sort out any problems. I've been verbally abused many times by customers who want to return an item abd have NO proof of purchase, do they not realise that we have a job to do!!!

liyang, at 3:24pm 13th May 2009, wrote:

I thought you are right.

i agree you!

Michael Andrews, at 7:29am 15th May 2009, wrote:

Having started this thread a few months ago i am glad so many feel the same way (and so many dont) since this started I have noticed that, slowly but surely, retailers and other service industries are reverting to the old ways and recognising the value excellent customer service can bring. All except the airline industry that is and the people who run airports. i travel on a weekly basis and suffer the abuse from check in staff, body searches, being made to walk across the apron in the pouring rain, sitting on the plane for hours due to some reason never explained and not even being offered a drink, my bags have been stolen, i have been refused boarding because of an eror made by the airline and never recieve apologies. I have paid extra for the so called "gold service" and still been treated like a leper. I have tried complaining but customer service email addresses are non existent but the phone numbers are clear but at premium rates so the airlines plan to make money from my misery. I have given up my job so i dont have to travel anymore and suffer at the hands of these people. a bit extreme i know but it is better than breaking down under the mental torture.

Natalie, at 4:28pm 20th May 2009, wrote:

I have recently had a bad experience with the customer service the phone company Orange. i called up and asked them to do a simple thing on my phone. i spent the next 4 hours being cut off and i spoke to about 20 different people. finally i got through again and ask to be put straight through to a supervisor who done it straigh away. the people at orange do not know what they are doing so they cut you off for someone else to deal with you but they all have the same idea and then you end up nowhere. i think Orange has got the worst customer service.

Mary Chennell, at 2:47pm 28th May 2009, wrote:

If you think Orange is bad, try 3 (formerly 03 but for some reason they couldn't cope with the extra numeral).

I took our a six-month contract with them which included a new phone, which expired in February. Two weeks after the comencement of the contract, the phone was stolen. When I phoned to tell them, giving the Police reference number as proof, they couldn't have cared less, but I was informed I would have to carry on paying for the full six months anyway.

I did this - I had after all signed a contract - but every month since February I have received a bill from them for further service. I have ignored these, since my contract finished in February. Now I get a debt collection agency trying to get the momey out of me! When I phoned 3 to complain, they said I should have given one month's notice of cancellation, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS JUST A SIX-MONTH CONTRACT and therefore I should carry on paying for a service I haven't had for the last nine months! Can you credit it?

simon francis wilds, at 9:05pm 7th Jun 2009, wrote:

bhs every time you go in there they want you to have a credit points card i wont have one i like to pay as i go not on credit and get told dont you want to save money and get more points the shop is so hot no air conrude staff takes so long to get served

simon francis wilds, at 9:16pm 7th Jun 2009, wrote:

marks and spencers there stock is allways very low and there stock comes in very late on the days i shop tuesdays thursday and saturday i shop in m and s at 9.30 and lorrys late poor slection of low fat meals count on us this is happening a lot more now you have to que for so long you miss yor bus home only 3 tils open by the time thy have ask you if you want cash back wont to open an acccount credit card ect it takes to long its not the staffs fault its management

Michael Andrews, at 10:13am 11th Jun 2009, wrote:

good customer service starts at the top thats true. Always check out the contacts on the website. if you can easily contact sales but not customer service avoid them like the plague. I have recently tried to purchase tickets from Ticketmaster. i entered all my personal and credit card details but at the final confirmation screen i got an error message. this meant that i did not get tickets (nor did i get charged)but ticketmaster had all my details. There is no way to contact ticketmaster by email. it asks you to use FAQ's then email but this doesnt work. all phones are automated and you cant complain. Out of sheer frustration i went back into my personal detail and changed them to donal duck etc. serves them right. anyone else had problems with ticketmaster?

Kimouy, at 4:28am 14th Jun 2009, wrote:

customer service has awfully been letting down people these days

the main reason why i dont like customer service is that they take to long to respond and you can be put on hold fr over 20mins and also when you are on hold they play some weird like music

customer servise use to be great in the old times and nowadays people are to lazy to do there job properly or they are to busy ...

kasey, at 10:40pm 17th Jun 2009, wrote:

yes i agree it deos take some doing to get a kind costomer service operater as most of them wake up go to work and count down the hours till they have to go home i got on a bus the other day and i asked for my ticket he printed it out and asked me for the money there was hello sir how are you doing today that will be £3.50 thanks for your service and have a good day . no i got none of that and i find this happens alot nowadays no manners and its not the youth ov today because im only 28 and the driver must have been in his 40s i just think that a lot ov the people working dont want to be there so they take it out on the customers...

micheal, at 10:03am 26th Jun 2009, wrote:

All managers, in all areas of work are pressurising their staff to do more in the time available. These expectations are normally unrealistic and therefore something gives.

holly johnson, at 6:03pm 11th Jul 2009, wrote:

completely agree

hayley, at 1:43pm 17th Jul 2009, wrote:

well , i think that it is just really rude the way customers get treated badley and deserve to be treated better. it is un fair to be walking through the shop and having people talk to you rudley and out of the blue aswell !!! especially after a long day at work

Alexis Crew, at 11:34pm 25th Jul 2009, wrote:

I work in retail and I always speak courtiously to all the customers that I serve. Regardless off what their enquiry is I find it impossible to respond to them with anything other than a smile and a helpful tone.

Admittedly, not everyone who works in my store is so keen to communicate well with customers, but rarely is there an occaision when a member of staff is abrasive or un willing to perform their duties for we are all put under tremendous pressure and reminded daily that we are to put service first.

Customers have to begin to understand that there are certain things that are out of the control of the sales assistants and even sometimes the managers. Stock availability for instance is entirely dependant on the supplier and unless the general public requires us to physically make the product for them ourselves then sadly they must accept that they just can't have it. There is no conspiracy occuring whereby staff intentionally keep the stock away from the shop floor.

A lot of disputes in our store revolve around people wanting refunds without proof of purchase. I have personally been on the recieving end of absolutely appauling amounts of abuse from such people, and never once have I responded by giving abuse back. A trait for which I have never been praised for. Anyone who has ever worked in retail will know that it is a common theme to be rarely praised and constantly and unfairly criticised by customers and management alike.

kerry, at 8:16pm 28th Jul 2009, wrote:

i was standing in a supermarket the other day for atleast 15 minutes before any one severved me, the service was poor

Andrew, at 1:11am 30th Jul 2009, wrote:

I work the shop floor at my local supermarket and i have to say i do my ut-most to give each customer the best service possible however if a product is out of stock or because of sale because it was merely a promotional product there is nothing we can do our promotion plans get sent to us from a head office. Just yesterday i was in work a customer asked if we had a certain bread in stock (that being my department) i went out to the warehouse to check and we were out of stock, upon telling the customer he began to swear at me sayin its always out of stock when he comes in here. He then said he was going to telephone the head office and complain. Customers need to understand that all stock issues these days are controlled by computer so we have no control over the stock we have in we just put it on the shelves. lol :D

Ella, at 3:05am 6th Aug 2009, wrote:

Hence customer service is poor in big stores.

Stores need to know what customers expect. Cstomers neither need not want to know about downsides of the decisions around central buying and computerised systems

Not the fault of the staff they are just paid a low wage by the company to shift the stuff head office wants you to buy.

Jenny, at 10:42am 6th Aug 2009, wrote:

It's ot just in store it's also over the phone that customer service can be difficult. I find it highly frustrating wen you are chatting to someone who appears to be listening, but still 2/3 weeks later I am still waiting to receive my cheque from BT! This is after they had originally told me they would put it into my account an when I phoned nothing had been done about it!

Emma Bradley, at 6:15pm 4th Sep 2009, wrote:

The points you have made are not always true because although the shelves might be empty is because they have good deals or maybe that product is popular. I work in an office and I sell products to people and i deal with customers every day and i try my hardest to help. When you talk about them not being able to help is proberley because they cant change any thing. If toddler and disabled parking was the same as the normal parking then every thing would be different the point is so that parents can open the door more for the children and disabled people have more room and not so far to walk. Most of the time when I speak to customers they are rude and think they know every thing but at the end of the day when you mouth off or when you think you are right but dont have all the facts. People who work in the retail sector they deal with people like that every day and yet they still do what they did in the first place again.

If it bothers you that much then dont go shopping or get a lift.

laura summers, at 3:03pm 17th Sep 2009, wrote:

I went to WHSmiths and was arrested for lewd conduct. All i did was say 'cor look at those melons' referring to Nuts magazine. The assistant thought i was referring to him (because he was a bit fat). BAstards.

steven martin, at 2:07pm 28th Sep 2009, wrote:

hi mike i am new to this site and have just read your comments about cust services in supermarkets regarding the parking situations that go on at most supermarket car parks with regard to disabled and mother toddler parking and it not being policed by the stores .well there is a reason for this in most stores they dont accually own the parking the parking is still owned by the local councils and it is now ileagle for supermarkets to do anything to people abusing these places . so like all driving offences it is up to local councils to do somthing about it but they chose not to whitch is why the stores get the blame not really fair is it but at the end of the day it should be up to the drivers themselves not to abuse this but they choose just to park where they want because they like most drivers are impaitient and lazy