What happened to Customer Service?

This is a blog I've been intending to write for about 2 years, and I'm not kidding. Some friends of ours from Kansas City came to visit during Spring Break in March 2006 and we got into a pretty spirited conversation about the deterioration of customer service as a whole. Well, it hasn't gotten any better and I'm fired up enough now to write about it. Someone give us a break. When did eye rolling, finger shaking, murmuring under the breath, and blowing off a customer become acceptable? It didn't and that's what I am so upset about. If you are reading this and do not know who I am you may wonder why I am qualified to write about such a thing. Well, my 24 years in this business working my way up from an hourly crew employee to a senior executive with a major company in the fast casual segment of the restaurant business qualifies me. I am tired of poor customer service as I'm sure that anyone who's reading this is. Just today I went to get my wife an Iced Tea from McDonald's in Cedar Park and they no longer carry fresh lemon. What? How can it be possible that the largest food service company on the planet no longer carries fresh lemons for Iced Tea in the middle of the hottest summer Central Texas has seen in 154 years? Really? Is it possible? Yep, it is possible and it's happening. And with no apologies or explanations by the way. The list goes on and on. Ever see Lethal Weapon 2 and Joe Pesci's theory on what happens when you go through a Drive Thru? He's right. Don't go through a Drive Thru under any circumstances. You will be missing something and if you catch it you will get an attitude from the person at the window before you get it.

So how do we fix this? What are we going to do in order to feel like when we hand over our hard earned money for services that it is appreciated? I would say loud and clear in this blog that it starts with hiring the right people first and removing low performers. This cannot be overstated. Mediocrity in any service field is unacceptable yet people hire mediocre (or worse) people everyday and put them in positions where they will interact face to face with paying customers. The worst part of it is that many of these "employees" could care less about the company they work for which is why it is up to us as employers of great companies to make sure we hire only the best people for any positions. Even more importantly than that it is incumbent on us to develop the great people that are already working in an organization and help them further their career goals. There are so many outstanding people working in companies today that largely go ignored and undeveloped. Instead companies will allow people to stay in position based on seniority, politics, etc. who are uninspiring, unenlightened, and unwilling to change with the times.

Until other companies in every area of the service industry make changes in the way they hire, train, and develop people Customer Service will continue to decline and customers who care will begin to care much less. Thankfully the company I work for has figured this out and they are a leader in developing great people and foster an environment where top performers can excel. Hopefully other companies will do a gut check and get on this bandwagon.