I've travelled the world and experienced customer service in more countries than I can count. There's been very good and very bad experiences, and some regular down the middle service also. It's the sub-standard customer service I don't respond well to though, and I don't get it considering that the staff is there to represent a business, and the customers pay the wages.
I've not always spoken the language of whatever country I'm in very well; I learn some before I go but I'm not as good at speaking languages like Italian, German and French for instance, as I am with English - This has resulted in ultra-bad service, and ultra-good, depending on the person providing the service. I sort of understand, it's more difficult for staff to deal with a person that doesn't speak the language well.
But here in Australia language isn't a barrier...however it seems customer service is down the fucken toilet nonetheless.
That's my breakfast from a couple days ago in the photo. Do you see anything wrong with it? That's right, there's no butter on the toast. I know, first-world problems right? Well, I've done my bit for this country and I think deserve buttered fucken toast, especially when that's what I've paid for. It's not too much to ask.
This was at a café I don't normally go to, I was over the other side of the city for an early meeting, so when I saw there was no butter I looked around to see if that was the same for others...Nope, they had butter.
I could see it was in those little individual-serve containers with the tear off lid though, so I thought they'd just forgotten to put mine on the plate. I called a waitress over, she'd brought my breakfast plate in the first place. She looked like a thunder storm took up residence upon her face and refused to budge. The she-storm ambled over with a barely-hidden look of disdain and disinterest upon her thunder-storm face and looked at me with a thundery look of thunderous thunder...I smiled slightly in a bid to reduce her thunderish ire somewhat then asked for a couple of those butter things. I said all the right words, please and thank you, of course. Without a word she turned and walked off. Hmm...ok, I was not filled with confidence.
I figured (hoped) she'd be a minute or so I waited.
Three minutes later...nothing.
Five minutes later...nothing.
Almost ten minutes later...no butter.
In the meantime she'd served a couple other tables had a couple conversations with another waitress and did some standing around. What the bloody fuck? #WTBF
I started to wonder if she didn't like brownish people. Ok, I'm just kidding, I didn't think that, I never default to that old chestnut, I just think she was an asshole.
By then, my breakfast wasn't in good shape meaning it had cooled off and the toast was somewhat hard...I ate it though (butterless), I don't like to waste food, besides, I figured I'd need my sustenance for when I shanked her in the neck with the butter knife I never got to use with the butter walked out never to return.
I'll not be going back there, ever. I'd paid $24 Australian dollars for a small coffee and the food on the plate and didn't get any butter. I'd gotten a bit of attitude from the waitress though, however could have done without that. Fuckers.
I don't know what it's like in your country, but here in Australia customer service used to mean something. People cared about their jobs, wanted to do it well, respected that they were paid to do so, and certainly respected the customer. Sure, there were exceptions of course, but it was rare to come across terrible service. These days it's flipped on it's head; terrible service is about all there is. I wonder if that's because the rise of online shopping where customer service is an algorithm or some such computer fuckassery.
We don't tip in Australia, it's not an expectation. The thing is though, that a casual employee at a café earns $30/hour. That's $20.30USD, £16.50GBP or €19.20EU per hour. I'm writing this in a café owned by a friend and that's what she pays.
These people are typically given a minimum of 25 hours a week equating to $750/week (AUD), less tax. That's a lot of money to carry plates, wipe tables and bring coffee right? My point is, they are paid very well, need no real skills and, due to the hours, have the ability to study or even hold a second job. I guess maybe the high hourly rate means they don't feel they need to provide good service, as they don't rely on tips to augment their income. Who knows. My friend is often tearing her hair out over this issue and staffing-issues is of great concern.
I blame the individual, although the manager or owner has to take some responsibility for it also. I guess though, with so few people wanting to work these days (since the pandemic thing and all the government money that got handed out) it's so difficult to find staff that they take what they can get. I don't know if that's it, but I know for sure that customer service here is utterly disgusting, and not just in cafés, but everywhere.
How do things stand with customer service in your area? I know there is some really great operators out there, but there's a lot of bad ones too; do you have a customer service story to share, good or bad?
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
Any images in this post are my own