Customer Service Gone Mad

Customer services are a vital component to any company’s survival but has it reached a level of complete absurdity with the services they offer? With new shopping centres opening all the time, the UK’s shopping circuit is becoming more and more like America’s all the time but it seems that this is not necessarily a bad thing as this also means there are elements of their customer services dripping into our society and if America does anything well, it’s customer service.

Contemporary shopping centres or ‘malls’ if you are using American terminology are being built with more than just shopping in mind. It’s all about the whole experience and therefore they come with cinemas, food courts and crèches incorporated – the final element is brilliant for those with busy schedules who need to try clothes on or buy bulky items and therefore would be most useful to be child-free! There is a new service being incorporated though wherein the customer service assistants go above and beyond the usual call of duty.

Some things are purely common sense, things like gift cards for the shopping centre generally as opposed to specific shops, thus allowing customers options which is the crux of the reason for so many of these shopping centres sprouting up. They also offer many services that are necessary and useful – crèches, wheelchair hire and ‘fun’ pushchair hire to keep the kids entertained while you’re out looking for that perfect new interview outfit. However, the point of this article is to debate whether they also offer services for the sake of it. Do shoppers really need, or indeed want, the ability to browse the shops on a store-provided tablet? Or to drop their mobile phone off in a secure locker that allows you to charge the phone while you shop? Unlikely that these are needed. Admittedly it is frustrating when mobile phones lose their battery power and the owners are left with a feeling synonymous with that of losing a limb, but it is not a vital component to the experience.

As for the customer services department offering a collection of tablets that allow customers to browse the internet, including which shops have which offers available is surely a step too far. Isn’t the point of shopping in a shopping centre to navigate the businesses in some sort of order and find out what is available and where? Offering customers the ability to visit the customer services department and browse the shops virtually, defeats the object of building a shopping centre.

The other services generally provided are general visitor information including travel information – useful but surely if customers have managed to arrive at the destination they have a plan for getting home again – ‘shop and drop’ which allows customers to deposit their purchases and collect them later – granted very useful if you decide to visit the cinema or food court and finally free Wi-Fi, only necessary for those using their fingers as opposed to feet to shop.

The world has gone mad. Internet mad no less.

For more information on customer services or just the mad, mad world we live in have a look at our blog posts. Or, if you want to jump on the band wagon and have a tablet as well, contact Samsung and speak to their helpful and friendly customer services department.

Customer Service in Department Stores

Department stores have a different aura around them to normal shops. The format has outlasted everything else on the high street and they are synonymous with quality as well as quantity. In period dramas it is department stores that noble ladies and gentlemen enter when they require new outfits. The service that we know as being delivered in such establishments is of the absolute highest quality and is tailored to each individual. The question is: how much has this changed?
Go onto any high street in the UK and you will find at least two department stores all offering similar if not exactly the same range of products and all of them are busy. It always used to be that when customer entered a department store – particularly the high end ones – there would be a man at the door waiting to open it for you and greet you pleasantly. Then each department would be manned by customer service assistants willing to spend hours if necessary providing all the service you require to make the correct choice.

Contemporary society has brought about a demand for excessive choice, hundreds of options at the touch of a button and the ability to serve ourselves to ensure the most efficient service possible. Speed is everything in this society and sometimes that comes at the cost of good service. So, contemporary department stores and their service is also available online and the delivery of the items is then firmly in the hands of logistics companies and there is an option to pay more for quicker service.
The experience of shopping in a physical department store though is different, in theory more successful and certainly more of an experience. The various departments are still manned by employees but these departments are different now. Generally you’ll find: cosmetics, menswear, ladieswear, childrenswear, homeware and then a host of branded shops that can be found elsewhere on the high street within that shop. This means that while they are all populated by employees it is not done in quite the same way as it used to be; customers cannot drop anchor in one department and find everything they need. Also the payment system discourages any personal service as all items can be paid for at once or separately and most often in whichever department they reach last. The treatment that ensured personal service also demanded tailored bills that added to the experience.

In this sense, the service offered has changed drastically and there is now an emphasis on speed and total profits but it cannot be said that this is driven by customers or companies, it is by both. The high street has developed and is becoming ever-more estranged from the concept of providing a service because it is demanded.

Thank you for taking an interest in this article. We have many more articles on our homepage that discuss similar topics. There are many department stores in contemporary society and if you desire more information on any of the stores contact them directly. Click Here for all the contact details, including those for John Lewis.

Should the UK be taking customer service tips from the US?

It is a renowned fact that the United State of America know what they’re doing when it comes to customer service; they are famous for the McDonald’s saying ‘would you like fries with that?’. Offering the customer an extra product or service to enhance their experience is the best way to ensure the company deliver the best service possible, and to keep the customers coming back.

So, if we in the UK are so dissatisfied with the service we receive should we be taking tips from our friends on the other side of the Atlantic? Or does it rub against the British grain of personal space? You walk into a shop in America and you will be greeted, not just with a regular run of the mill ‘hello’ but with the start of a conversation; ‘Hello, how are you today?’ and believe me, they want an answer. This changes the whole shopping experience, the server is there to assist you in any way that they can and they’re eager to as well, it’s not just a generic act that forms part of their job description.

This attitude works for the company because the customer is more inclined to spend more but indeed spend in the first place. It also means the customer leaves with a greater sense of satisfaction. It sounds far-fetched perhaps but this is largely down to basic psychology; human interaction is stimulating and pleasurable and therefore we thrive on it, being able to communicate with another person and discuss our purchases is one of the reasons people shop in groups – so if you can get that service without having to take a friend with you, that’s good customer service right? So, the UK have a very different attitude towards shopping. You hear the phrase ‘I don’t want a pushy salesperson trying to make conversation with me’ and see a succinct example of why the American form of customer service wouldn’t work. The two cultures are so similar and yet so different when it comes to privacy, the UK want to be able to pick and choose when they receive customer service and when they don’t but when they do want it, it has to be good.

It’s an interesting debate and probably much more revealing to each cultures most basic traits than either would like to admit but for the time being it’s best to conclude that there is little that can be done for the UK’s dissatisfaction until, much like a petulant five year old, they decide that they want to receive a different level of service.

For more details on anything relating to customer services, including the contact details for all the major companies, visit www.customerservicescontact.co.uk.

Does Paying More Ensure You Receive Better Service?

There has always been stigma around the wealthier members of society receiving better service because they have more disposable income to be used as, shall we say an incentive, for servers. It’s a solid theory: earnings are directly proportionate to performance but the question is, is this still a factor in modern life?
As society develops and there somehow manages to be an ever-growing demand for customer service of some description there also becomes an ever contradictory state where the service we receive is not delivered by a human and therefore the quality of service cannot be altered. Logistics play a prominent role in society and the most you get is the chance to pay more for your online order to be delivered faster – this is what customer service has become. The option to use your disposable income in order to receive a higher level of service is no longer a proportionate thing, it is rigid and the company sets the parameters both for what the customer can request and what the company can deliver.

Furthermore, this used to be a perquisite of having a large amount of disposable income but companies have realised that there is a niche in the market and they can offer the services as opposed to the customer requesting them. This alters the dynamic of the client-company relationship and encourages clients to spend their money on additional services that are supposed to make your visit more enjoyable but when it’s available to anyone and everyone is it really a perk? And is it really better service? If the option is there already then there is no brain power used by the server to make the service better; they are already trained in the system of how to deliver the level of service demanded by the company.

To add insult to injury, these additional services are normally in establishments such as hotels or B&Bs and therefore the ‘additional’ services are things such as turn-down service, or worse, breakfast. The charges for these are often not extortionate in order to entice customers but they are services that are not bonuses for the customer as much as they are ways for the company to eek a little more money out of each customer.

Even if you do find yourself in the fortunate situation of being able to use cash to improve the service you receive you may find that the attempt gets you nowhere. The futile attitude that so many people feel with regards to employment means that if one person does not deliver good service and is removed from that position, there are ten more people waiting to try their hand at the same job.

For more articles on similar topics, visit our Ezine page.

Why is it so hard to find Quality Customer Service?

In this day and age, with so many company chains on our high street and the internet customer service would be excellent - create a basic structure to follow, train all of your staff with the same structure, wind them up and watch them go, yes? No.

Customer service is somewhat of a buzzword these days but not for the right reasons. Everywhere you go you receive service of some description but the number of customers who leave dissatisfied is astonishing. As a company who pride themselves on knowing what they mean when they say 'good customer service' there is something of a stigma when we venture out of the office. I for one am particular about the level of service I receive - and I don't hold my tongue if I do get poor service.

The places you traditionally expect to receive good customer services, particularly in this economical climate, is restaurants, cafes, bars and so forth but they are not necessarily known for offering quality customer service. Now, there are three simple reasons why I think there is a general dissatisfaction with customer services. Firstly, there are more channels for voicing complaints and this then creates somewhat of a fever amongst people, particularly if they notice large numbers of people complaining about the same place. Secondly, there is an abundance of options. If you do not particularly like one place, there will be another almost exactly like that has the potential to deliver better service. Thirdly, disposability. There is no need to train to a high standard in any job because there is always the opportunity to retrain and always someone else who can do the job.

The presence of social media in contemporary society and the need to instantly report on events, particularly exceptionally good or bad ones, is rife. This creates both an exaggeration of events in order to make them more appealing to your friends or followers because ultimately what everyone is trying to do is gain acknowledgement. This also creates a type of buzz if several people experience similar problems. This can work well if you receive good feedback, but if it's poor...

The number of restaurants, bars, cafes and so on that are at available to be visited means there is no need to tolerate poor service. There will be another option around the corner who are willing to have a stab at doing a better job.

Finally, although the current economic climate indicates that there is a problem in the job market this has more to do with the vast number of people applying for very few jobs. This means that if there is one person unwilling to conform to company standards and deliver high quality customer service, there is another 10 people willing to do the job well. Or at least try, and after all, that is all we ask.

For more discussions on similar topics please subscribe to our Ezine page.