I am getting ready to load up our family SUV with all of my families luggage, we will require for this upcoming weekend. It's our first family vacation, so to speak. We have incurred a lot of expenses this past year, so instead of taking a week to go somewhere really nice, we are heading to Branson, MO to go to Silver Dollar City. I took today off, to help get things in order for the trip. Which got me thinking about some things. Let me be more specific. What really got me thinking about things today, was standing at the counter of the photo department, picture studio, whatever you want to call it at JCPenney for around 20 minutes, before someone would help me. All I had to do was pick up some pictures of my son. We took him in for his first pictures, by himself only, a little over a week ago. Apparently there was only one person working, so since she was taking pictures back in the studio, no one was available to help me at the counter. Or, at least if there was anyone else working, I couldn't see them anywhere. Which standing around for 20 minutes wasn't as bad as the day we actually had the pictures taken, when we stood around for over half an hour (after arriving at our appointment time) waiting to get my son's picture taken. Which I don't know if any of you that are reading this have kids, but if you do, you may know just how impatient a 5 month old can be. There was a small window for him to be in a really good mood, alert, not hungry, ready to be a ham........and we missed it. I was extremely unhappy with the quality of the pictures, after we finally got them taken. So, disappointed that I actually opted for the lightest package, and made arrangements to have my son's picture taken another time, at another place.
Now, I can't give you a definitive answer, as far as why we had to wait so long, either time we went there. But, if I had to pinpoint it down to one thing......I would have to say, it was in general due to bad customer service. Yes, there were other people there that day we were getting the pictures taken. Yes, there was a group in the studio when I went to pick the pictures up. I get that they were doing the best they can, I do....and I appreciate that to a degree. But sometimes, your best just doesn't cut the mustard. The reality of this situation is, that this happens at almost any place anymore. How many times lately, have you gone to a restaurant and ordered some food, only to have it overcooked, undercooked, half cooked. And you know you have to eat it, because we have all seen the movie "Waiting". So, what does a person do. Log a complaint with the manager, just chalk it up to a bad experience and never go back? How can we make a stand against this overwhelming change in attitude towards customer service? I'll come back to this.....
Maybe that's why there has been a dramatic increase in online retail sales. People are getting tired of traveling somewhere, having a bad experience, and then traveling back home. Not only do you make an evening of going out to eat somewhere, or going shopping for a car, freezer, whatever.....but you also incur a fuel expense to do so. Whereas if you order something online, all you have to do is just pay for the shipping and it's arriving at your door in minutes, or days. You can print movie tickets online, order food, car shop....the online shopping experience has no prejudices these days. Everyone is eager to take your money, it doesn't matter the method. So maybe that's what happened to all the people who used to work at places, where their employers put an emphasis on good customer service. They are all working for Amazon, or Best Buy.com....in some warehouse trying to keep up with the orders that are flying in, from people who are just sick of dealing with the incompetence. What did you do, whenever you wanted to watch a movie from the comfort of your own home? You probably, just as I, made the trip to your local video store and rented it from there. How many video stores are in Joplin these days?
Back to that "How do we make a difference?" question. Truthfully, you can't. Not one of us can. You just have to bide your time and hope this is just a fad, and that a new Sam Walton is going to make an appearance real soon.
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