rude customer service (Portland: employment, college, tax)

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Oh my goodness. Exactly. Customers are terrible. It's impossible to be resilient all the time...

And to OP, sometimes I get so many bad customers in a day that I can't help but be patronizing or phony or just downright laconic, and perhaps even "rude" when my patience has finally run out and I get tired of being mistreated. It's one's job as a public servant to serve customers, not to be abused by them. And I, for one, do appreciate the customers (like yourself perhaps) who treat me like a human being instead of their personal servant.

And yes, I am poor and hate my job (some days), and literally cannot afford college (10 credits at PCC for ~$1000? I'm no trust fund baby here...), and I cannot afford to really do too much else that's fun. Personally I think I'm pretty friendly to customers despite it all. My story here isn't remarkably uncommon either, which is very unfortunate for the masses of young customer service associates out there serving you. I'm sure many have a story like that behind the poor service they give you. It's tough getting your hours cut at a poorly paying job, juggling schedules with a 2nd job perhaps, plus school, and then on top of it having people use you like toilet paper... Not everyone is good at putting on a happy, friendly face throughout all of this.

True, over the last few years hours have been cut and cut and cut some more. Where we used to have 5 employees we now have 3 covering the same shifts. Instead of getting 40 hrs a week employees are lucky to get 32. Pay increases aren't keeping up with the raises in insurance premiums ( for those lucky enough to still qualify for insurance). There's no more overlap in shifts to cover all the little behind the scenes tasks such as stocking the shelves, cleaning the restrooms, etc. So yes the employees you encounter nowadays are more stressed, frustrated, worried about losing their jobs as pathetic as those jobs might be, and probably not inclined to be as cheerful as they once were.

[Mikeisnottoast]

Well, as one of these 'rude twenty somethings' I feel the need to chime in. It's honestly not elitism or deliberate rudeness. It's mostly an apathy thing. I hate my job, I get paid peanuts and am often asked to bust my ass for them. I get paid to ring up your purchase, all that extra 'how are you!?' and 'have a fab day!' bull is fake and worthless anyway, and I'm not getting paid enough to put on a monkey show for you. You paid for your purchase, and got your change, do you really need me to smile big at you? I think it's so weird that older people have such a hang up on stuff like that. It really doesn't bother me when I go into a store and the clerk doesn't smile or make formalities. In fact, I find it down right annoying if I get more than a "Hey what do you need?" from him. The worst is when an old person is in front of you in line, and then the clerk is old, and they have to chit chat about the god damned weather which slows the whole process down to a crawl! I just wanna ring my stuff up and be on my way, and the way I see it, I'm doing you a service by allowing you to do the same.

So, now I'll hijack this thread, why do you older people seem to want to speak and pretend to be friendly with the people who ring you up? Why does it bother you when they're not interested? Seriously, I get you out of line in like two seconds, why is it that when you ring me up you feel the need to try and act like we know eachother?


Sorry for the rant, but this is one of those generation gaps that really gets to me.

[Minervah]

I have a theory that salespeople and customer service people are as nice to the customers as their employers are to them. For example Trader Joe's has nice, helpful people working there. They seem to be treated well and like their jobs. Other places, not so much. I can't give an example of the latter because I haven't run across a rude sales person in quite a while.

I have been in customer service in one form or another for 40 years. A lot of my attitude not only reflects how I am treated by my employer but also by how the customer treats me. Working as a health insurance claims examiner in the past, I have heard everything from swearing to threats. These are not happy customers. It's a turn-off for any customer service person to have someone start the phone conversation with a nasty comment or demand. But in that business it was something that happened pretty often so we tried to be as nice and polite as possible.

There is also the fact that someone working long hours for low wages isn't going to be the happiest sales clerk in town especially when customers treat them like servants.


If a store clerk wants to chat a bit I will respond but I don't begin a conversation because I know they are busy and have a schedule to keep. I can remember when I was in my 20's waaaay back I used to go to restaurants with some friends who were really rude and bossy to the waitstaff. They weren't much nicer to store personnel either. It just made them feel like big shots to behave like that. I finally quit going shopping or two restaurants with them.

I don't believe it's an age issue. Some people have empathy and good manners and some don't.

[jjpop]

I'm a fortysomething, so maybe I'm one of the older people. I don't want gushing or personal questions. I don't want a monkey show. I find that more annoying than the downright rude cashier.

One time I went into a Safeway in a rural town and the cashier felt the need to comment on just about every single thing I purchased. She topped it off with ringing up an eggplant and saying, "I've never had one of these before, but they sure look pretty!" It wasn't good customer service--she was making me feel self conscious about what I was buying. Fortunately I wasn't buying something really personal that time (read: condoms).

I prefer a disinterested cashier who will get me in and out fast. I don't need a personal connection, but I also don't want to have to wait for the cashier to finish their conversation with the next cashier over before they acknowledge my presence.

[Sprightly]

Mikeisnottoast, in your rant I think you reveal the heart of the matter. Maybe it's generational. In the time period that I was in customer service, it was not seen as a "monkey show" to smile, say thank you, have a nice day, respond if the customer makes some small talk - it was seen as essential good manners. Less than that was considered generally, not just by the employer, as deliberate rudeness. There was a certain level of social manners which didn't mean you wanted to be best friends with the person, but just represented respect for the other person and they (hopefully) responded in kind. So those old people that want to "pretend to be friendly" are actually showing you respect as one human to another, that's all it is about.

Maybe twenty years down the line times have changed? I also see a trend from your post and others that customers are really treating clerks badly. That didn't happen too often - though it did happen - when I did the job. Just because it's someone's job to serve another in some way does not in any way put them beneath them or as less value as a human being, in no way at all. People who take advantage of the fact that someone is just doing their job are pretty disgusting to me.

[figmalt]

I was never chatty as a cashier, but I think I met most of Sprightly's suggestions for good customer service. I was fast, efficient, and friendly. I always said 'have a nice day' and 'thank you.' I still say thank you to cashiers, servers, gas attendants, etc. because they are serving me as well. Like others have mentioned, I worked long hours, but not enough to be full time. Businesses schedule the bare minimum staff to keep the establishment going. That means, oftentimes, your breaks and lunches are late or cut short, there are never enough people to keep customers moving through as fast as they'd like, and those people who actually do show up on time everyday are taken advantage of by the employer. Oh, and the pay stinks.

For me, it reached a point that I didn't like the person I had become. I had no patience, a very thin skin, and I couldn't keep my frustration and anger in check. Finally, just after Christmas one year I told my boss that I appreciated all they had done for me and I would finish my shift, but that I wouldn't be back the next day. I've never not given my full two week's notice, but I was done. The next several years I worked in a professional office doing business-to-business sales and customer service, and it was a world of difference. I realized that you could find fulfillment in customer service when people treated you like an actual person and a professional. I don't think I could ever go back to retail, and I admire those people who can do it without going crazy.

[Bluesmama]

I have heard a few complaints about poor all-around service "here" (mostly from transplants).

Me, I'm always groaning about customer service, be it rudeness, ever-increasing "mistakes" from fast-food windows, or lack of training in specialty stores like Radio Shack. But I don't know that it's necessarily a "Portland thing". I go to California often, and can honestly say that I have never noticed it to be any worse than here.

But better training can be enforced. As one poster noted, Trader Joe's excels in customer service. At Safeway (the one here in Hillsboro, anyway), it is not unusual to be offered assistance at least twice by employees. It may be a bit over-the-top, but I much prefer over-kill in etiquette than a surly attitude. And it proves that responsible management can succeed in establishing good customer service; however, once the rules are laid out on the table, the rest is up to new hires. Too many people out there searching for work who'd be happy to comply. I can see where a business could benefit from stressing good service during hard economic times.

On the other side of the coin, though, I have said for a long time that the ultimate "job from Hell" has GOT to be retail sales during the holiday season. Ugh!

[DubbleT]

Trader Joes is something of an exception, and of course as a consumer you pay a bit more for that too.
"In a world rocked by layoffs, cutbacks, corporate scandals, and labor unrest--particularly in retailing--Trader Joe’s has long adhered to the philosophy that happy employees make for happy customers. Happy customers spend more and visit the store more frequently. This attitude is rare in the retail industry at large, where employees are often seen as expendable."
Fostering a Loyal Workforce at Trader Joe's | workforce.com

Notice the article points out that Trader Joe's still "offers a wage and benefits package typically more competitive than the average retailer."
The resulting customer service level is not just the product of better training or better management styles, although that does play a part I'm sure. The higher level of customer service comes from adequate wages for the work performed, and being valued by the company you work for. It's a far cry from the approach taken by places like Wal-mart, which probably ranks at the top of everyone's list for poor customer service.

If more companies would take a lesson from Trader Joes I think you'd see the level of service improve.

[brbie419]

I have been in customer service for ten years and I have to agree with a lot of posts here that customers can be crazy and rude. I have also noticed a general lack of respect from staff when I am out shopping or whatever. I just try to be polite and say thank you and I don't personally want a conversation with anyone but I like it when people are just friendly. If you smile either as a customer or staff, it tends to put people at ease. I know from a lot of people/friends/family that staff are treated so badly by management, that it is all they can do to keep it together when a customer is having a problem. I hope I can find a place where people are treated well both staff and customers and I am glad to see Trader Joes doing just that.

[roneb]

Originally Posted by Mikeisnottoast

... I get paid to ring up your purchase, all that extra 'how are you!?' and 'have a fab day!' bull is fake and worthless anyway, and I'm not getting paid enough to put on a monkey show for you. You paid for your purchase, and got your change, do you really need me to smile big at you? I think it's so weird that older people have such a hang up on stuff like that. It really doesn't bother me when I go into a store and the clerk doesn't smile or make formalities. In fact, I find it down right annoying if I get more than a "Hey what do you need?" from him. The worst is when an old person is in front of you in line, and then the clerk is old, and they have to chit chat about the god damned weather which slows the whole process down to a crawl! I just wanna ring my stuff up and be on my way, and the way I see it, I'm doing you a service by allowing you to do the same.

So, now I'll hijack this thread, why do you older people seem to want to speak and pretend to be friendly with the people who ring you up? Why does it bother you when they're not interested? Seriously, I get you out of line in like two seconds, why is it that when you ring me up you feel the need to try and act like we know eachother?


Sorry for the rant, but this is one of those generation gaps that really gets to me.

I guess it really is a generational thing. Why do we old people do all the smiling and chit chat? It isn't fake or worthless, it is being polite! Did you ever stop to consider that the person isn't trying to "put on a monkey show," but it sincerely trying to be nice? It is all part of the attitude toward life that you CHOOSE to have and the way you CHOOSE to interact with people. The more people CHOOSE to be polite and friendly with one another, the better the world becomes. This is something that seems to be wholely lost on the younger generations, many of whom (and I'm sure I'll catch heat for this) are just too damn self-absorbed!

And yes, I agree that having a conversation longer than a few seconds with someone as you ring them up IS rude if there are people waiting in line. But that is entirely different than being polite and friendly as you ring someone up.