Really.
You'd go into a store or some other place of business, and even if the employee on the front line didn't really mean it, he acted as if he was happy you took your business there.
Now, business transactuins are made without eye contact, without the usual pleasantries that us older folks remember. Even in a brick-and-mortar store (a new term since the Internet; there was a time when all stores were that kind), business is being done without everyone being there -- mentally, that is. You'd have to separate them from their cell phones first.
A fellow Lowcountry blogger came across this sign the other day, which shows how cell phones have changed the way we approach business:
Think about it. Today's technology allows you to do two things at once -- go through the checkout line at the grocery store, while talking to your Mom in Green Bay. However, the ability to actually do those two things well, let's not discuss that part.
I'd grown accustomed to this phenomenon, or at least as much as I choose to. I watched cell phones become more ubiquitous during my years driving a cab. Many of my customers would have their phone conversations the whole trip, and sometimes it was difficult catching their attention long enough to get basic information -- like a destination -- from the customer. I'm not interrupting anything important, am I? This was especially laughable when I had a full load of three or four passengers, each with their own cell phone, and each with their own conversation going. The back seat would sound like a phone bank.
There would be times where a passenger would ask me something and I'd answe, before glancing in the rearview mirror and seeing that the customer's got his phone in his ear again.
But that's never been something that would get me upset. But my all-time pet peeve is when I go into a store -- any store, but usually a fast food place or convenience store -- and can not pry the cashier from the cell phone. Often the transaction will be completed with no eye contact. The cashier would hold out his or her hand -- pay me! -- and give me my change. And it's so tempting to reach over and snatch that cell phone -- "you'll get this back at the end of the semester."
Now, this is a bunch of crap. This is my time; I'm paying for it. I'd take my business elsewhere, but the cashier at the next store is also on the phone -- probably talking to the first cashier. It's that prevalent. Where is the store manager during all this? Doesn't matter. I've never seen an employee ordered to put down the cell phone, never seen one reprimanded. It doesn't matter if the supervisor is standing right there, either.
OK. I know that convenience stores and fast-food places don't pay their help all that well, but the employee is showing total contempt for the gig by staying glued to the cell phone. Meanwhile, the supervisor is showing similar contempt -- or advanced wussiness -- by allowing this to happen.
Back in my taxi-driving days, I got a lot of phone calls myself. If I was with a customer, I'd tell the caller that I'd get back to him as soon as I'm done with the passenger. That's simple enough, and most of my cell phone use was for business anyway. I think I even did this same thing to my own mother once, and she was calling from California. She certainly understood, as she taught me phone etiquette.
In truth, cell phones didn't kill customer service. I trace the demise in part to your big-box stores, where the customer would rather pay low prices than get personalized service. Have you ever tried to get knowledgeable help from an "associate" at a WalMart or one of those other giant stores? Forget it.
So the elements for diminished customer service have been there for a while; but reports of the death of customer service were spread by phone.
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