On a scale from one to high street bakery, how poor has the customer service you’ve received lately been? I don’t know what’s going on in London right now but you struggle to find any remotely happy or helpful people in most of the chains these days.
I started this week with that comment because there are particular places that seem to take the biscuit. I wonder: do they send their staff to some sort of academy for the most uninterested and unengaging people on the planet? “Do you want your store to be hated by locals? Do you want to ensure not one customer leaves your establishment satisfied today? Enrol in the University for Shit Attitudes now.”
I was one of these places — and there are far too many — there just the other week and a staff member asked me if “that latte” was mine. I politely said yes. She came round two more times and on both occasions I said yes. She proceeded to scoff, eye-roll and walk away twice. I asked the manager what was going on with her, who I have a good rapport with and he told me to just leave it.
What do you mean just leave it? All I want to know if why she thinks it’s acceptable to roll her eyes and walk away like that. He didn’t want to even discuss it. First world problems, I know! If that happened to me though, it happened to a dozen other people that day. And possibly put a damper on their day.
In this environment where everyone is fighting to survive you’d think business would be going the extra mile
What I’m getting at here is that this is happening everywhere. I don’t know if it’s the stresses of living people are experiencing at the moment, or they’re just not getting paid enough, but this is happening everywhere. I was in a big high street fashion chain the other day buying socks and the person scanning at the till missed a pair of socks, which I also didn’t notice.
The bleepers went off on the way out and I was virtually held up. They acted like I had just robbed their grandmothers’ handbags!
I’m not being funny but, I feel like I look presentable at the worst of times. What the hell do you think I’m about to do? Then we’re kept waiting there like criminals while they are talking to each other in another language giving us daggers despite it clearly being their f***ing mistake.
If we are all just going through the motions at the moment, shouldn’t we at least try be a bit more compassionate? Especially when it’s our job? I could go on about how some “major coffee retailer” staff are so unwelcoming and this retailer and that retailer, but I feel like I’ve slagged off enough people for now.
When you look at brands that have grown organically and maintained their customer base, you can kind of see why they’re thriving in this economy. In this diminishing environment where everyone’s fighting to survive you’d think businesses would be going the extra mile to try and sustain a level that can guarantee them a future. No wonder high streets are experiencing closure after closure.
This is a great opportunity to come full circle and just spend a little bit more time finding local businesses to support. The amount of passionate business owners (and workers) out there that provide great service and better products than most chains is crazy.
Surely we’re not still buying drinks from places because we like holding their cups or clothes from a store so we can carry their bags around town are we? I feel like that fad’s been dead for years.
Small business is the way to go. They add uniqueness to our high streets, they provided excellent, curated products and value to our neighbourhoods. And they don’t break the bank in the process!
When we have days like today, don’t we all just want to go out and enjoy our neighbourhoods in all their glory? Let’s make them thrive again. Support local business… with a smile on your face. See you next Wednesday.
Track of the week: The Truth — Saison
