I had a receptionist whose attitude toward customers depended on her mood. I didn't know it until she'd been with us about 6 months. I got a complaint from a customer and started listening in to her conversations. She seemed very pleasant to everyone until one day - she pretty much told a customer things were going to be done her way and no, she would not allow him to talk to a supervisor. A good talking to her did no good. She wasn't a receptionist any more.

The one you are talking to at the time takes priority. We spent millions to get people's attention. Once we got someone on the line we did everything we could to keep them, including making them feel like they are the most important person in the world. You do have to be honest and tell them if they are asking for something you just can't do. If they want something delivered tomorrow and you have the day scheduled full, you have to tell them so. The skill is in how you tell them.

Actual footage of my best attempt at customer service
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I struggle with it too. I try really hard to meet customer needs, and return calls in a timely manner. It can be a daunting task for a small business where one already feels overwhelmed on a daily basis.

well that's horrible who ever this guy was clearly does'nt want his company to make money if that's how he responds to people...!!:(

Sometimes it not about the money...ESPECIALLY if as a business owner you are given unsolicited advice from a customer

Customer service in the past was generally rated good if you were greeted face to face with a smile and a handshake . Eye to eye contact and an honest discussion of the task or situation at that moment . Fast forward to the last 10 - 15 years or so and EVERYONE wants/expects INSTANT gratification to whatever their situation or problem is . Not very easy to do on a regular basis for a small business owner . I think peoples expectations of it's all about me me me are unrealistic .

Having said that being ignored for a period of time ( 24 hrs ? or 48 hrs ? ) is not acceptable either mainly because there are so many options available to the consumer at their finger tips . So it's a balance between current workload , planned or expected growth vs. time spent on the phone or answering texts/emails .

Large corporations have a different issue ( too big to care ) or worse when you talk to a human they are halfway around the globe and named Bob :rolleyes: As a US citizen/consumer I like to talk with someone that has command of our language , I get peeved when that is not the case and I feel like their " customer service " is lacking .

Lastly hiring someone that is competent and gives a crap to answer phone calls or emails/texts for many is in the too hard pile . Just having a pulse or fogging a mirror isn't enough :D the person needs to care and be part of the solution to help make the business thrive . Not an easy task .

Here is a simple example of bad customer service vs. good customer service . My wife and I go out to dinner every Friday it is our date night :D , we have been married 41 years ! Anyway last Friday we went to one of the restaurants in our little town , there are no chain restaurants here just mom/pop type places which is fine . I order my normal brand of beer and a few minutes later it is delivered in a room temp bottle :( and a glass . I didn't notice that the glass wasn't chilled until after the waitress walked away . I poured the beer and started drinking it . On the next trip near our table I flagged her down and stated " my beer is not cold and neither is the glass " . She looked at me like I was talking in klingon !!!

I said I will go ahead and drink this but can the next one be cold AND a frosted mug ? No we don't do frosted mugs but I can put it in the fridge if you like :confused: I said yep that will have to work . My wife and I ordered our meals at that same time , my wife ordered something that came either in hot sauce or BBQ , she specifically said NO HOT SAUCE I WANT BBQ . Yep you guessed it when the meals came mine was right and hers had hot sauce on it ! :mad: So flagged the waitress again and she apologized and said she'd put a rush on the replacement order . Fifteen minutes later I had finished mine and we were STILL waiting on my wifes order . It finally was delivered but my wife was steaming !

So to me this was horrible customer service , keep in mind this place seats about 50 people and there was ONE other couple in the place . Maybe just a bad night , maybe a bad business model but to me and my wife it was bad customer service .