Who Killed Canadian Customer Service?
July 29th, 2008 by David Babin
Is it too much to ask for a little customer service? For the past few years I was under the impression that it was Calgary’s booming oil town economy that has kept me from receiving my fair share of service. I have patiently lived with the fact that I must go into The Home Depot to receive a wrong answer, not an “I’m not sure?”, but a wrong answer. Maybe I’m just crazy, but I find it extremely frustrating buying something that I know I will be returning on my next visit.
And when did our Canadian culture decide that we must go through a thirty minute circle of single digit frustration before talking to a person who doesn’t even care what I have to say. I guess there is always the wonderful option of standing in line for an hour to talk to someone who can’t operate their computer because it is completely new to them.
I know there is something going wrong when I get this compelling feeling to write a letter of gratitude to anyone who offers me a glimpse of emotion towards their job.
I guess it is not all bad. It certainly gives people with motivation and a positive attitude the opportunity to do whatever they would like. This continuously frustrating way of life has given me (one of the people who still cares) a chance to go to work everyday and do something I enjoy.
Sincerely,
A Canadian who still cares
July 30th, 2008 at 4:43 am
After my recent experiences with Toys R Us (crib box was blatantly covered in oil yet the employee refused to admit that it was wet at all despite glaring evidence) and Best Buy (sold me the wrong deck mounting kit, had no sales reps on the floor, only grumpy installers), I too am feeling the customer service pinch in Canada.
I do feel, however, that once (if?) we are properly staffed again at some point, at least some business models seem to be leaning back towards a more customer service oriented plan as opposed to the heavily prevalent sales oriented approach in the 80s and 90s…