I’m not sure if I’ve ever ranted about this or not, but the level of customer service that I receive when out and about has dropped to such a level that it makes me wonder if I should ever leave the house again. I think we’ve all had the rude customer service rep, the annoyed 7-11 cashier, or the incompetent DMV worker. But the things I’ve seen in my daily life makes me wonder why I’m out of a job and the rest of these people are working.
If you’ve ever had dinner with me, this won’t shock you. My bad service at restaurants is legendary. More than once I’ve had people forget I was at a table, or a hostess that wouldn’t acknowledge my presence. I’ve even had wait staff forget to bring me food.
A few years ago I decided to go out to eat. I went to an upscale restaurant recommended by some coworkers, hoping that I would get a good meal after a long work day. The hostess was so confused that I was alone and only wanted a table for one, it made me wonder if I should just go back home. She had to ask me three times if there was anyone else in my party. I finally told her that if someone came in and needed a table, I’d be happy to share. Obviously there was a rule that one person couldn’t eat alone.
Once I was seated it was a few minutes before the waitress came and took my order. I was looking forward to a steak that cost $55.00. At that price I was pretty sure I would enjoy whatever they brought me. However, after almost 45 minutes I still did not have my steak. I waited, and waited, and didn’t see my waitress until she showed up with the check. That’s right…I never saw my steak, but I saw the check. The waitress must have seen the confused look on my face, because she asked me if there was a problem with my meal. I responded by saying “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen it yet.”
Last month I had work done on my vehicle. I called Al Serra and asked them what it would cost to put a radiator in my truck. Given the cost of the radiator, the price of labor, and the fact that it would have taken me an entire weekend with a Chilton book and a possible divorce for me to do it myself, I decided that I would have the dealer put it in. After all, I love my wife.
I left the truck with them that morning, and picked it up that evening. When I got the truck home, I decided to lift the hood and see what my new radiator looked like. When I did, the shield over the radiator fell on the ground at my feet. I also decided to have my oil changed, so when I bent down to pick up the cover, I found that my truck was leaking oil profusely on the ground. Not only that, the skid shield was missing bolts, and hanging from the bottom of the truck. I called the dealer and told them I expected this type of service at a Walmart, but not a dealer. They offered to fix it, but I had already had one of their guys screw it up, I wasn’t going to have another one.
My last experience leans toward the criminal. I had refinanced my house. I signed paperwork, and agreed to terms for a loan that would allow me to refinance my house, and remodel my master bath. It was a pretty good deal. In fact, I was so happy with the deal I recommended others to use Countrywide. However, when it came time to sign the paperwork, the numbers were all changed. The deal was completely different. Then…when I walked out of the title company refusing the sign the papers, the loan officer called and threatened to sue me. Well, I said…sue me numb nut. That wasn’t the deal. I called all my friends and told them to drop the guy. FYI…I never got a call from any lawyer.
I’m not sure what’s going on in the world, but given the state of customer service, I’m thinking something needs to change. I really don’t know how people stay in business. There’s a lot of competition out there, but the competition seems to be who can provide the worst service available. When I remodeled my house the guy at the paint store saw me buy so much paint he wanted to know if I was a contractor. He told me he could set me up in business. Because as he said, if I decided to do it, I could beat 99.9% of the competition if I just showed up! That’s insane! Service is so bad out there that a colorblind guy can beat all the competition for painting a house? Seriously?
Did you know that physicians in the United States are not required to actually fix what is wrong with you? Wouldn’t you think that if you pay 10 grand for surgery that it should fix whatever is wrong? Also, if you die on the table it’s not their responsibility, it’s just the danger of letting them cut into you. If you think I’m kidding, then the next time you have surgery read the fine print. This is what service has become in this country. We’d like to have your business, but if you die while we’re working on you, it sucks to be you.
Rex