[Kate!]

What are your thoughts on good old customer service skills. Good, bad or indifferent. Does the UK need to pull its socks up? I would say an emphatic yes. There are exceptions of course, I'm not tarring ALL businesses with the same brush but the vast majority aren't as good as they should be and some are abysmal.

Share your experiences and opinions below?

Mine -

Supermarket checkout operators - pig ignorant in tescos. Put all the stuff through the till, whilst carrying on a convo with the operator on the next till, don't make eye contact and then hold out their hand for the money while I'm doing my own packing. Shove your change in your hand without a word to you, still chatting away. Grrrrrr.

Local shops. Newsagents etc. Same treatment really. Also they answer their mobile phones while serving and carry on personal convos, barely acknowledging me.

Bus Drivers. Omg don't even get me started on this. I'm convinced being a grumpy nasty bastard is in the job description. Evil.

I'll end on a positive note however and say that Iceland, Marks and Spencers and the nationwide Building Society can't be faulted. All credit to them.

[Black Dagger]

N'aww, my bus drivers I get are always like me, I always get a 'hello, thank you and a smile'

I do my own check-out as well, so never have any bother, they smile if I have a problem with an item and quickly sort it though.

[Pyramid*]

Overall: in a vast majority of services - needs a good shake up.

[Jords]

4/10 - some places its good, but others its really quite appauling.

[Vanessa]

I do my shopping in Asda. I love it! They're friendly and they pack your food if you want.

[Mrluvaluva]

It all depends on the person you get I think. The service in one store can be completely different to the service in another of the same company.

I think one of the main areas that could do with an overhaul is the call centres. The amount of times I have called companies (say Sky for eg) to go through the whole rigmorol of "pressing 1 for customer services", then getting through to someone who needs to "pass you over to another department", then getting left on hold (or even cut off) and spending ages on the phone trying to sort a problem out, and hopefully getting through to someone you can understand. Most of these places take their cue from a read script, but occasionally you are lucky, and can find someone who knows what they are talking about.

Calls should be simple, quick, and staff should be correctly trained in these circumstances.

[Ammi]

..tbh I'm usually too busy packing my groceries to notice whether they're smiling at me or not..they do always ask if I want help but I prefer to do it myself
..I can't remember the last time I was on a bus and everyone at the local shop knows me so they're always friendly

..I guess the call centres can sometimes be frustrating if you have a query about anything..but I've never had much problem with 'face to face' customer services....and I think they can have to suffer a lot of rudeness from some customers too which must be hard for them..they don't always get treated very respectfully

[Niall]

I wouldn't really know. I hate confrontation and causing a fuss in shops because I find it really embarrassing. My Mum is the kind of person to argue over the tiniest discrepancy she has with a shop so that's probably why.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by mrluvaluva

it all depends on the person you get i think. The service in one store can be completely different to the service in another of the same company.

I think one of the main areas that could do with an overhaul is the call centres. The amount of times i have called companies (say sky for eg) to go through the whole rigmorol of "pressing 1 for customer services", then getting through to someone who needs to "pass you over to another department", then getting left on hold (or even cut off) and spending ages on the phone trying to sort a problem out, and hopefully getting through to someone you can understand. Most of these places take their cue from a read script, but occasionally you are lucky, and can find someone who knows what they are talking about.

Calls should be simple, quick, and staff should be correctly trained in these circumstances.

this^

[Kate!]

I'd quite like to be a mystery shopper and get paid for trying out stores and services and reporting back on how good or bad they were.

[Smithy]

Does calling a company for help count? coz if it does it's ****ing terrible, everywhere is outsourced to India or Bangladesh or somewhere and they can't understand me

[GypsyGoth]

Anytime I've needed help getting a train or something, they've been more than helpful.

[Ninastar]

I think it's terrible.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by *Kate*

What are your thoughts on good old customer service skills. Good, bad or indifferent. Does the UK need to pull its socks up? I would say an emphatic yes. There are exceptions of course, I'm not tarring ALL businesses with the same brush but the vast majority aren't as good as they should be and some are abysmal.

Share your experiences and opinions below?

Mine -

Supermarket checkout operators - pig ignorant in tescos. Put all the stuff through the till, whilst carrying on a convo with the operator on the next till, don't make eye contact and then hold out their hand for the money while I'm doing my own packing. Shove your change in your hand without a word to you, still chatting away. Grrrrrr.

Local shops. Newsagents etc. Same treatment really. Also they answer their mobile phones while serving and carry on personal convos, barely acknowledging me.

Bus Drivers. Omg don't even get me started on this. I'm convinced being a grumpy nasty bastard is in the job description. Evil.

I'll end on a positive note however and say that Iceland, Marks and Spencers and the nationwide Building Society can't be faulted. All credit to them.

Agree with bus drivers! they are awful, and I have to be a git and point it out if its really bad customer service in a shop, there are loads of people who need a job you surly twonk! ...jog on!

[joeysteele]

Sadly,I think many staff are discouraged from getting into too much conversation by their bosses with customers.

I was in my local ASDA, I couldn't find something so asked a floor assistant as to it and they took me to it.
Thanking him,he then asked if I needed help with anything else to which I said no.
As I walked off, I thought I would get another of the items so went back to the aisle and he was getting a dressing down for spending too much time on a customer by a supervisor.

I did go up to her,(theSupervisor), and say,I thought she was wrong and that I would like to inform the Manager, she said the manager wasn't available.
I did ring and had my complaint noted. The manager said he would look into the matter and get back to me, he hasn't as yet.

While I agree a good number of assistants are rather rude and even ignorant at times, maybe sometimes the problem lies with their training and that they are told not to engage too much in conversation with the customers.

Contacting a company by phone is shocking now, all this press this that and the other then once you get the one that says press 0 for to speak to an advisor or customer services,when you do you are then told all advisors are busy so please ring back later or you are left there for ages.
That needs sorting bigtime, it is really annoying.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by joeysteele

Sadly,I think many staff are discouraged from getting into too much conversation by their bosses with customers.

I was in my local ASDA, I couldn't find something so asked a floor assistant as to it and they took me to it.
Thanking him,he then asked if I needed help with anything else to which I said no.
As I walked off, I thought I would get another of the items so went back to the aisle and he was getting a dressing down for spending too much time on a customer by a supervisor.

I did go up to her,(theSupervisor), and say,I thought she was wrong and that I would like to inform the Manager, she said the manager wasn't available.
I did ring and had my complaint noted. The manager said he would look into the matter and get back to me, he hasn't as yet.

While I agree a good number of assistants are rather rude and even ignorant at times, maybe sometimes the problem lies with their training and that they are told not to engage too much in conversation with the customers.

Contacting a company by phone is shocking now, all this press this that and the other then once you get the one that says press 0 for to speak to an advisor or customer services,when you do you are then told all advisors are busy so please ring back later or you are left there for ages.
That needs sorting bigtime, it is really annoying.

Well done joey! good for you, I have done that before took a sales assistants name and Emailed the store to thank them for helpful service.
It is important to give positive feedback.
I would have been tempted to complain about the supervisor, not a good image to berate staff on the shop floor in earshot of customers about being TOO helpful...Not sure how that helps the company image ...haha

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by kizzy

Well done joey! good for you, I have done that before took a sales assistants name and Emailed the store to thank them for helpful service.
It is important to give positive feedback.
I would have been tempted to complain about the supervisor, not a good image to berate staff on the shop floor in earshot of customers about being TOO helpful...Not sure how that helps the company image ...haha

Absolutely and it was about the Supervisor that I rang and complained about, she is a rather unpleasant and bossy person in the store anyway,I have noticed her being really awful with a few staff.

When I rang the Manager,I obviously commended the assistant for the help I got,then made my complaint against the Supervisor, sadly I fear the moment you say you are Student,the weight of what you are saying diminishes with some people and I am sure this Supervisor has a low view of Students too.

Anyway this was only about 10 days ago so I I will se what the Manager says once he decides to get back to me,it will likely be a letter anyway.

[Patrick]

All I know is, O2 actually charge you money to call their customer service.
They put you on hold for ages, then give you sh*t advice and yeah just take credit off of you because THEY aren't doing their job right, IMO it's a complete disgrace.

Bus men are complete rude bastards, not sure what their problem is - I mean they have a fairly easy job IMO. Drive from place to place all day, not that ******ing bad - but they act like they have the worst job out there.
The other day I was running for the bus, it drove away - so I like gave the bus man the finger.. but then he stopped to let me on, so I felt bad. Then afterwards I got another bus, and the busman was like shouting at me for holding my day ticket the wrong way around.. so some busmen can be really lovely lads, others are bastards who need shot in the ear.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by joeysteele

Absolutely and it was about the Supervisor that I rang and complained about, she is a rather unpleasant and bossy person in the store anyway,I have noticed her being really awful with a few staff.

When I rang the Manager,I obviously commended the assistant for the help I got,then made my complaint against the Supervisor, sadly I fear the moment you say you are Student,the weight of what you are saying diminishes with some people and I am sure this Supervisor has a low view of Students too.

Anyway this was only about 10 days ago so I I will se what the Manager says once he decides to get back to me,it will likely be a letter anyway.

It shouldn't matter what you do you are a customer the same as everyone else, your money spends the same as everyone elses...
They tend to do that in supermarkets, give some a badge saying 'supervisor' or 'teamleader' and the power goes to their head and they stomp about like a tin god.

[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by joeysteele

Absolutely and it was about the Supervisor that I rang and complained about, she is a rather unpleasant and bossy person in the store anyway,I have noticed her being really awful with a few staff.

When I rang the Manager,I obviously commended the assistant for the help I got,then made my complaint against the Supervisor, sadly I fear the moment you say you are Student,the weight of what you are saying diminishes with some people and I am sure this Supervisor has a low view of Students too.

Anyway this was only about 10 days ago so I I will se what the Manager says once he decides to get back to me,it will likely be a letter anyway.

Picking up on the good service side - It is something that I do also do - if I have received good service (ie; and I mean good - not 'what should be normal service') - I always follow it up in writing if possible.

There is nothing quite like a letter of thanks / commendation from a customer to make the previous 6 months of ups and downs, to really boost the morale. It's even better when a Company recognises an employee when they do go that bit further. It's one of the ways to get the best out of your staff too, being thanked by the boss is one thing, but being given awards that aren't handed out willy nilly and given a financial reward too - really does make a difference to a persons morale.

[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by kizzy

It shouldn't matter what you do you are a customer the same as everyone else, your money spends the same as everyone elses...
They tend to do that in supermarkets, give some a badge saying 'supervisor' or 'teamleader' and the power goes to their head and they stomp about like a tin god.

How right you are there Kizzy. There is nothing worse than power going to someone's head - and it's the fast way to lose all respect for the position they hold.