Too Much Customer Service Killing Customer-Care?

Too much customer service; can kill customer-care.

There's the story about about a hostess of a restaurant at a hotel greeting her customer warmly, showed him to his table, and the waitress came over right away for a drink order.  So far so good. The manager stopped on over and asked if everything was satisfactory. “Sure, I suppose… “ But in truth the fellah wasn’t quite sure because he just arrived.  The gentleman decided he was ready to order; and the hostess came back over to see how everything was ok.  “Ummm…great… but you DID only speak with me just three minutes ago, he thought.  The waitress came back with bread and drinks and asked him if he needed anything else while the gentleman waited for his food.

No,  he replied.  He was fine.  A few minutes later she came back with the food.  3-4 minutes later the hostess came back again and asked him how the dinner was.  Then, the waitress came back to check to see if he wanted anything else.  Yes! Perhaps now he would enjoy five minutes of uninterrupted peace and quiet. But no; the busboy began to clear his table as he put the last bite in.

After dinner, out in the lobby, the hostess approached him again and asked him how dinner was.  He thought… “Really!?”
In the hotel room late that night, he heard something being pushed under his door. He assumed it was the bill.  He ignored it.  The next morning he discovered it was a note from the hotel restaurant thanking him for eating at their restaurant.
He called it customer service on steroids - the bad kind.

Service Overkill
I think exceptional service is great.  But, overwhelming presence, hovering while someone is shopping, overselling, not being able to finish a conversation without being interrupted -- becomes uncomfortable attentiveness from which the customer wants to either engage as in shark vs. shark OR run! Most of us are not retail sharks that LOVE to engage. It is such a welcome change NOT to be bothered at a clothing store from which every item you try on, you hear, “OHHHH; that looks LOVELY!!!! Just gorgeous!!! LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE it!” Save it!

G. I. Joes
Since my husband is part of the US military, our family went wherever the orders told us to - Germany, Georgia, Kuwait and Puerto Rico.  The time always came for us to journey to dealerships for vehicles soon after arriving to those locations.

Nun, Oxen, Saint - I’m none of them at the used car lot...
I would love to say that I have developed the discipline of nun, the strength of ox, the grace of a saint, but my head is usually screaming, “get me outta here” at dealerships.  It’s agony while it’s happening. Where the salesman of old just happens to be like some boon companion of old who tries sooo hard, and has the willingness to throw in all of the goods, services, extras, and gadgets on that first meeting.  And then the bait and switch would come with the, “well, we‘ll go talk it over with my manager.” And of course there was a hitch or they just couldn’t get what they kept you on the line for 2 hours for. Tragic…  The salesman would put on his best grimace as if the man keepin’ everybody down was that dratted manager. And maybe by this time you’re so fed up that you’ll buckle and go all-in to meet their mark just to make the “poor“ salesman feel a bit more consoled after that dirty aold manager snatched success from both our fingertips..  

G.I’s vs. Sharks
 In some military towns in the South, it had been advisable for military folk to cover their heads - shaved heads denote gullible souls to the sharks.   For me, my fear was that I would unload or explode as I attempted to be just as hard nosed as the sharks; without knowing wholesale costs or Kelly Blue Book or even recommended air pressure in that tire I kicked. Me sore toe!

But, if they catch me on my other personality; they may see the guilt of the Irish vs. the fighting Irish [and you can call the team that all day long without insulting me or my heritage for heaven’s sake].  But if the sales guy throws in some talk about “suffering”; the faltering economy, the price of gas and declining real estate prices; and I’ll be reminded once again of the Irish capacity for stoic suffering.   The principal emotion where they get me is guilt.  I’ve it in-bred from centuries of the clergy havin‘ us line up in confession.   “Ahhhhk; poor Paddy the used car lotman here is just tryin’ to earn a shillin’ for his starvin’ family and so’s I best buy the soddin’ car off ‘em just to keep outta da purgatory an’ all, ye know like?”

Back at it again…
So now, we are back again after a tour of duty from overseas and our vehicle is taking far too long to arrive from PR.  Off to AutoNation Ford in White Bear Lake for us, and I’m equipped with a lukewarm to cold enthusiasm. The name sounds like something from Terminator IV. Maybe this lot is owned by Skynet? I hoped my husband was well equipped with a sharp mind & a determination to avoid all the pitfalls of old. He had all the printouts and data aplenty. We won’t get fooled again!!

From AutoNation With Love
But hold the phone. We experienced exceptional customer service without the sales person promising the sun, moon and stars. We came interested in one truck and one truck only. They said that it was spoken for and BOOM we were out the door; when allll of a sudden… “But wait!” They noted that the person that put it on hold had put no money down… So let’s open up some dialogue here.  Our saleslady was not suffocating and she was not gushy.  They gave us value for money and she was supported by her colleagues (I saw no manager with a single cobweb bulb, casting shadows around his office).  The colleagues worked as a team and supported one another.  Gone were the time wasters, the back and forth with the anonymous bad guy within [that was actually the flipside of the same rusty coin]. Deal was done in less than 70 minutes.

Body Language of Customers 
Clearly someone has been paying attention to the body language of potential customers and it is paying off. We can shout down the ills of capitalism, but in this case [as in most] competition forces the best ideas to be marched out to the front, while the greedy or ill conceived ideas fall behind. Now sure, it took the internet to bring all of the “hidden manager” prices to the forefront; but here we are. No more secrets and no more hurry up and wait at the used car lot with Lenny and Fast Eddie. It is a new age of Jennifer and Malcom. Jennifer Cline that is. She was a topper.