What Happened to Good Customer Service?

Last night I worked late, nothing new really, and stopped at Wendy’s in Tamarack Village. I ordered a large chili and a side salad when the young man at the window stated the cost of my order.

Excuse me. Could you add a Mixed Berry Iced Tea to the order?

Yes, he added the tea to the order, then asked if I would be wanting anything else? No, that completes my order. And, thank you for assuming that I wanted Ranch Dressing on my side salad. Maybe, I would have liked to have had a vinaigrette due to my diet.

Then I thought to myself about last week when I stopped at the Holiday gas station on Radio and Tamarack Road. It was around 9 a.m. in the morning and I was returning my child home since he was sick. We purchased a lot of beverages and he grabbed two breakfast sandwiches while I grabbed something to eat at work. The man at the register asked at “Will that be all?”

Didn’t I purchase enough?

He turned red-faced and said, yes you did. I asked him what happened to up selling? Instead of asking your customers “Will that be all," you should be asking them “Would you like to take advantage of our special but one, get one on the Mars products?”

Back when I was in sales, whether it was working in fast food to leasing an apartment, we were always trained to up sell.

Let us not mention over-the-phone customer service. Between trying to push the correct buttons to get the appropriate help or getting a person who understands what you are saying is almost impossible. 

Remember the days when you could pick up the phone, dial the number, and you actually had a live, human voice on the other end of the line?  Now that was excellent customer service.

Let’s make this a fun day. Please share your customer service experience.