Is Customer Service a Thing of the Past

So bear with me. I typically don’t make posts like this, as a matter of fact, I don’t think in all the years I’ve been on social media that I’ve ever made a post like this, but I’m looking for some feedback/answers, if there are any, and there’s no question that this is an issue that affects everyone.

Could somebody, anybody, please tell me what in heaven’s name has happened to a little thing we use to call “Customer Service”? I am absolutely shocked that a ton of the businesses out there are actually still in business given how horrendous their “customer service” is, especially when you consider the statistics and overall “cost” of bad customer service.

Now I’ve seen numerous reposts of Richard Branson’s quote (paraphrased) “Customers don’t come first, employees come first, because if you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of your customers”, which leads me to one of two conclusions – 1) There are a ton of companies/organizations out there that aren’t taking very good care of their employees, or 2) Richard Branson’s quote may work well within his own organizations but it’s not transferable to the business-population as a whole.

I have had three separate instances in the past 48 hours that have left me more than stunned at the lack of quality, professionalism, and respect for the customer. One had to do with a cheap, online garbage gadget seller who refused to give me a $20 refund for a piece of junk that didn’t work (I take some ownership because I should know that you get what you pay for so when you buy junk cheap guess what you get? Cheap junk – lesson learned). In addition to a lousy product they threw in horrific customer service as an added bonus. Next was an online personal development group – who shall remain nameless. And third a bank – who must assume that they’re the ones with leverage since they have your money and love making you take/use services even if you don’t want them. Guess they’ve never heard of “closing your accounts and going to another bank”.

I’m sure that pretty much everyone will assure me that their companies all provide top notch, quality customer service, and I know for a fact that some do, and hope that the rest of you do as well, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that every single one of you also have multiple horror stories about “customer service” that wanted to make you do more than scream.

So my question again is, what the heck has happened? Is all the technology and social media making us incapable of interacting with others (e.g. customers)? Is everything so automated (I virtually fall off my chair when I call a company and actually get a person to answer the phone) that we’re quickly forgetting how to treat customers like people instead of just another “transaction”? Have we become so hung up on quantity that we’ve all but forgotten about, and given up on, quality? Do we view the quick buck as more important than a happy, satisfied repeat customer? Has it become easier for dissatisfied customers to “jump ship” than to hold these crappy companies accountable? What?

I may be in the minority, but I will gladly pay more for a quality product that is backed up with quality service because I know that in the long run quality anything beats quantity every time – a lesson a bunch of companies out there would do well to learn.