can you guys really look around at any grocery store and tell us you're getting the same level of service as you did 20 years ago?
(on average - not talking exceptions, we're talking about overall quality of service that you see places)
any gas station?
any movie theater?
any police man?
Think about any place you visit on a daily basis - the quality of employee and serivce you got 20 years ago, versus today.
private or public, it doesn't matter. Schools are just like everyone else. The guy at the gas station used to pump your gas and ask you if you needed anything. Today, you pump your own and the 1 dude working is texting his mistress while you wait in line for him to get to the counter.
Believe it or not, competition for business between service stations in my neighborhood is pretty high (so are the gas prices, unfortunately). I live in Oregon, so it goes without saying that I don't pump my own gas. Often if the station isn't full with customers, the attendant will offer to wash my window.
When I was a kid, I briefly worked at a Standard Oil gas station. We were trained to always check the air pressure, water, oil and clean the windows, but then we were also expected to sell oil to the customers and put it in. These days, folks are expected to check their own oil, buy it off the shelf and put it in the car. Cars also don't burn oil like they used to.
Customer service has changed a lot. It is not all the employees fault when it is under par. Some employers deal in volume and could care less about customer service, thus instructing their employees to process the customer as expediently as possible.
Have you noticed that Sears has no clerks aside from those who work in big ticket departments. If you want to pay for merchandize, you line up at one of a couple of check out stations, often manned by one cashier who barely speaks or understands English.
In contrast, I was shopping with a friend who was looking for a specific clothing item at J.C. Penny's and asked for assistance from a clerk who proceeded to almost run through the store pulling sweaters and tops of the racks. Within a few minutes, she came back to us with about a half dozen items she thought might work. Needless to say, I was impressed. Unfortunately, nothing was right for my friend so she ended up buying what she needed at Macy's.
Customer service is sometimes reciprocal. When my wife and I eat out, which is often, we don't hesitate to let servers know when we think they are doing a great job and not just by tipping them accordingly. Even in semi fast food restaurants like Shari's the staff treats us like we the king and queen or at least their good friends. Anna who works at Shari's sometimes sits down with us an chats while we decide what to order. At another restaurant, when our favorite server was leaving her job because she was moving, on her last day we took her a plant for her new home. Sadly, none of the other servers have lived up to the high standards she set.
