I spent most of my teen years growing up in a tourism hotspot in South Australia. When the population would go from 12,000 to 40,000 overnight when it was holiday time, so I’m no slouch to what it’s like when it comes to customer service. It shouldn’t be any different no matter where you are right?
Wrong.
I moved from the country into the city roughly 18 months ago, and it seems no matter where I go customer service sucks. Rarely will you find a place where they treat everyone equally. Lets put an example I’ve had recently.
I went into Officeworks in Adelaide to look at a printer, just a cheap one for printing documents and invoices. I found the printers and spent maybe 2 minutes looking at them and found one in my price range. I waited 20 minutes before someone asked if I wanted any help. No, I dont want help, I’m going to stare at the printers for a few hours then might go home. Of course I do! But, once I had been served I’m told that they are out of stock. Now how hard is it to put a sign on the printer to say it’s out of stock so I didn’t waste 20 minutes waiting around to be served, I could have just walked out and gone elsewhere. Also, I’m the customer. You chase after me if you want to make a sale, I’m not chasing after you.
Now, theres once place in particular I like going once a week for lunch. Subway, but not just any Subway. Theres one in the City Cross Arcade in the centre of Adelaide where they address every person that comes in there as Sir or Miss. That shows you where I got my blog title from, just because someone isn’t wearing a suit doesn’t mean you should address them any differently than the lawyer in front of you in a $1000 suit. With this day and age people are making millions with the internet at their fingertips, and the dude standing behind the lawyer in the Chuck Taylors, torn jeans and tshirt may be a web 2.0 millionaire, but he doesn’t have to dress like someone who’s worth millions.
I’ve also noticed when you go somewhere and start looking for something and want some help, it’s like everyone avoids you and everyone else in the place. You’re there to provide customer service so do your damn job!
I guess this is a notice out there to all the employers and managers to train your staff, because that extra effort will make your customers remember the experience and come back again as a regular customer. How do I know this? Because I go elsewhere for my printer supplies now.
Search
Social Bookmarking
Add the RSS feed to your Reader
Or sign up and receive the feed via email.
hi,
Service in Adelaide is crap! And what you have talked about, not getting help from any sales staff is true, but not the norm. You were lucky, in that you actually got someone after 20 minutes, usually even after a hour no one comes by. I dono what it is , either the elitist attitude in Adelaide, or the fact that these teens working for slave rates dont have to social skills, or done give a rats ass, or both. And their managers dont give a rats either since Adelaide is a dead dump any ways and people have no real alternative except to go else where where the service will be even craper chances are! Oh and the only thing worse then no service after 20 minutes, is the shop assistant that smothers you’re the instant you walk in the door and follows you like a bad smell until you leave, GET LOST!
Have you also noticed that the city X subway staff now great everyone with Hello or how is it going , that walks past, ? Customer or not, how freaking annoying!