Stewing Over Awful Customer Service

I’ve been stewing over awful customer service for a couple of months. I know. This is how it is now. Get over it, right? I can’t. I own an independent business. I don’t understand how big corporations stay in business.

How do the people at the top sleep at night? How can employees on the front lines bear to go to work? Do managers really think they’re managing anything?

I’m not alone. If you’ve flown lately, if you’ve ordered anything from a big box store lately, if you’ve done business with any company with a widely recognized logo lately, you know what I’m talking about.

I was completely dumbfounded while flying recently (stay with me; this is a new one). My flight was delayed after I checked in and I would not leave in time to catch my connecting flight at the next airport. After much “persuasion” they booked us on a flight the next morning, requiring us to stay overnight in a hotel. The airline was supposed to cover the room costs because of the issue; when we went to get the voucher, they called the manager and we were told they wouldn’t cover it. The runaround I experienced was ridiculous.

Why on earth these airlines don’t have policies that allow frontline employees to graciously acknowledge a problem, OWN IT on behalf of the company, and have the power to make it right, on the spot, is beyond me.

Imagine what the world would be like if that were the case. Would you fly more? I bet. I know I would!

Why is it so hard for the big dogs to understand how service affects their bottom line?

While I’m ranting, I’m going to go ahead and throw an unnamed big-box store under the bus (or inspire them to make sweeping changes, depending on how you want to look at this). My son recently had to order something from a box store. The item was their own brand. They were out of stock. It’s been almost three months and the item is not in yet.

Really? You’re going to sell something branded to your store chain, run out, and not be able to restock it for months? Excuse me, but what is going on?

Is service really dead? No. I know it’s not. You know it’s not. You probably want a sweeping shift in awful customer service just like I do.

Are we helpless? No. It just feels that way. More of us need to speak up more often. We need to let these companies know why we won’t be paying for their services (services, ha!) or buying their products (because we can find another one before they figure out where theirs are).

In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what I do: TAKING CARE OF MY CUSTOMERS, making it right when things go wrong, and growing my bottom line with quality products and stellar service. Jeez. It’s really NOT that hard.