Customer Service is Dead / People are Rude

[rayraycanuck]

I agree with that about some CS Supervisors and Managers.Some, they already come to you with a predetermined response and a confrontational attitude before you even speak.

There are a lot of super ones out there but those people are in the wrong career. On the other hand a lot of customers think by kicking and screaming they will get their way.

Like you guys were saying it is hit and miss from both sides.

[c_mcarthur]

Two way street? If you are saying customers can be rude, yes, of course. But if you are saying CS workers are allowed to be rude if they get rude customers, then I do not agree. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Of course customers can be rude...but no one is paying them to do a job during the interaction. Even if a customer becomes difficult, you don't start calling them names or reciprocate in anyway (that is how the situation can escalate) , you treat them the way your company wants you to handle the difficult situations as you are representing them (I doubt that involves cut eye, condescending remarks, rude tone, scream matches, swear words, puffing of the chest, etc. etc.) If you don't agree with how your company wants you to treat customers, then it is time for you to talk with your manager to see if things can change, or find another job. I knew before working at my second customer service job that I would have to handle difficult customers, I accepted that, It was the bad part of the job...every job usually has a bad part.


However, my rant was not addressing rude customers, it was addressing CS workers who are rude to customers at the START of an interaction. (the CS worker is either sick of the job as a whole and doesn't want to do it, or they are treating every customer with dirt because of the one customer who pissed them off ---neither is a reason to behave rudely at your job, or a reason to not do the simplest tasks that your job requires you to do).

There is a sense of entitlement that people have now a days, where people think they should be able to treat customers any way they want because they don't get "paid enough", or that they should get paid more if the employer wants you to be nice to every customer.....nooooo, that isn't how it works... by accepting the job offer you are accepting the job duties of the job, you don't get to pick and choose. If you feel that it is not paying enough, then look else where or upgrade your skills so that you can make the big bucks that you deserve. If I had my way, everyone would be millionaires, but that's not reality, life is not easy nor is it fair all of the time (that is another discussion that I will not entertain. I am talking about how it is now, not "how things should be"). Notice in my Mdonald's scenario I mentioned easy tasks such as greeting the customer and smiling, these are EASY tasks that can be completed at the START of an interaction (the customer hasn't had a chance to be rude to you, so you have no excuse to SMILE or say HELLO), if people find this difficult to do, then they should learn how to do it...imagine you are taking a selfie (whatever works for you) at the very least you should say Hello if you don't want to smile...OR, find a job that doesn't require it.


I worked at McDonalds ! Hungry AND rude customers is what I got (I believe that is the worst kind), and guess what? I was still able to say Hello to each customer and do the duties of my job. I was grateful that I had a job and I was getting paid $6.50 per hr. I didn't cut corners, I did what I thought was expected from the job, and to me that wasn't asking too much from me. Did I hate the rude customers? Of course, but I didn't provoke them, I would triple check that I did the order correctly and made sure I did my job so they couldn't complain about me. And I was extra extra nice to the customers who were pleasant to me.


Again, I am not saying a CS worker should love the customer who is verbally or physically abusive. I am pointing out that CS workers don't bother to do the simplest tasks of their job, the last time I checked, It was easier for me to say Hello or smile to a customer, than it was to take their order, so that is why I did it with every customer. Part of my job was to greet the customer... and if you think your employer is asking too much for you to smile, at least say "Hello" to the customer, because they you can say you at least greeted them.


The basics of customer service is what I am asking for (e.g. greeting, helping me get an answer). I know it is possible because some CS workers are able to give me that. Recently I have started to fill out surveys on these workers to commend them for providing me with service...yes, I am impressed now a days when someone says Hello with a smile, or even just hello.

I am not saying that the CS rep ``has the right`` to be a jerk to the customer just because the customer is being rude.
What`s bothering me if your categorization that ALL CS reps are lazy and don`t bother doing their job.
In your statement you flip flop between ''every employee is lazy, but then again not everyone is..''

perhaps you`ve had a couple bad employees in a row that`s put you in that black and white mind frame but on behalf of every other CS rep I`m here to educate you.
WE ARE HUMAN. You have absolutely no idea what is going on in someone's head to put them in the mind frame that they are in. They could have lost a family member, be going through a divorce, find out they're failing school, etc , etc, the list goes on.
That being said of course we encourage other CS reps to leave their problems at home, but really sometimes your personal life does affect your professional life and i'm sure that is not JUST limited to CS workers.
Of course we should not ''take it out'' on the customer I wholeheartedly agree.

I pride myself on my CS skills and guess what? I actually love my job... perhaps i'm one of the small percent that you actually seem to think you encounter that 'actually give good customer service.''
Have I had bad days? Yup! Have I given customers attitude? Maybe!
If someone is being verbally abusive to my staff, I've asked them to leave.
The customer has absolutely NO RIGHT to treat CS reps like scum on their shoe because they work CS.

There is a sense of entitlement that people have now a days, where people think they should be able to treat CS reps any way they want because they work CS!

Working CS is not any lower than any other job in the world.
In my experience, some people seem to think that CS workers are ''beneath them'' and need to bend over backwards to their every demand with smile on their face.
That these types of jobs are for people who don't have an education, no desire to get ''higher paying jobs'', etc etc.
Just a tidbit? about 75% of the CS workers I know, including management have College/University Degrees.

I'm sorry that you've found in your shopping experiences that not everyone is chipper and cheery and pleasant, but I challenge you to visit anyone else at any other job in the world, and see if they're happy and helpful 365 days a year.

[sampler]

I am not saying that the CS rep ``has the right`` to be a jerk to the customer just because the customer is being rude.
What`s bothering me if your categorization that ALL CS reps are lazy and don`t bother doing their job.
In your statement you flip flop between ''every employee is lazy, but then again not everyone is..''

perhaps you`ve had a couple bad employees in a row that`s put you in that black and white mind frame but on behalf of every other CS rep I`m here to educate you.
WE ARE HUMAN. You have absolutely no idea what is going on in someone's head to put them in the mind frame that they are in. They could have lost a family member, be going through a divorce, find out they're failing school, etc , etc, the list goes on.
That being said of course we encourage other CS reps to leave their problems at home, but really sometimes your personal life does affect your professional life and i'm sure that is not JUST limited to CS workers.
Of course we should not ''take it out'' on the customer I wholeheartedly agree.

I pride myself on my CS skills and guess what? I actually love my job... perhaps i'm one of the small percent that you actually seem to think you encounter that 'actually give good customer service.''
Have I had bad days? Yup! Have I given customers attitude? Maybe!
If someone is being verbally abusive to my staff, I've asked them to leave.
The customer has absolutely NO RIGHT to treat CS reps like scum on their shoe because they work CS.

There is a sense of entitlement that people have now a days, where people think they should be able to treat CS reps any way they want because they work CS!

Working CS is not any lower than any other job in the world.
In my experience, some people seem to think that CS workers are ''beneath them'' and need to bend over backwards to their every demand with smile on their face.
That these types of jobs are for people who don't have an education, no desire to get ''higher paying jobs'', etc etc.
Just a tidbit? about 75% of the CS workers I know, including management have College/University Degrees.

I'm sorry that you've found in your shopping experiences that not everyone is chipper and cheery and pleasant, but I challenge you to visit anyone else at any other job in the world, and see if they're happy and helpful 365 days a year.

It is obvious that you are taking this personally , you need to stop and actually read my post to see what I am saying.

I never said every CS worker is rude...but I will say it is rare for me to find someone who can say Hello when I check out. The purpose of this forum is to Rant is it not? That is why I am ranting about the service that I am getting now a days.

The real problem is when society thinks it is asking far too much for someone to say "hello" to a customer when they are paid to do so...when people like you make excuses for why this person can't do this simple task. Why are you treating this like I am asking for a special request? If you can't perform your job, call in sick or quit. If I ran a business I would want my employee to do the job that I pay them to do. There is absolutely no excuse for not saying "Hello".

I worked in CS and I said Hello to every customer, it can be done. saying Hello was second nature for me because my job was repetitive. At my current job I still have a customer that I service and I am able to say HELLO. Hello is the easiest part of my job. Heck I say hello to anyone who enters the elevator in my condo, it is easy for me to say hello. Saying hello does not require you to be happy, it requires your manners and your mouth.

[rayraycanuck]