What has happened to customer service?

[dogememe]

I have worked at 4 different auto parts stores in 3 different counties across 6 years for a major US retail auto parts chain. I can tell you that about 1/2 of our employees are completely useless. Why? Well, when you pay minimum wage, you get minimum worker. Duh. Sadly expenses are so high that even though the actual margin on an individual item is usually decent if you simply compare how much we paid for the item to how much we sold it for, after everything is accounted for, margins are slim. I have looked at the P&L for all of the stores I've ever worked at. It's INSANE to me how little is left

As a publically traded company there is no way corporate would increase wages to get better employees because it would just cost too much money. Everyone says they'd spend a little extra to get better customer service but that's just talk, not reality. Pretty much all the auto parts come from the same few factories and so it's an identical product. The only difference is the color of the box, the experience you have buying it, and the asking price. And in reality, nobody is willing to pay $150 for a water pump you could get for $100 one block down the street at the competitor even if you have to wait an extra two minutes because the counter employee is watching a movie on their phone in the bathroom.

Someone mentioned Crutchfield. That is an amazing example of a business that does customer service right. However, they are a private company so they can run their business how they please vs having to run it to maximize stock price... oh and they operate mainly online and don't have the overhead of 6000 retail stores. Sure, there is overhead of shipping each order to the customer but commercial large account shipping rates are WAAAAAY better than what a random person would pay walking into the UPS store for example.

Oh, and I thought this was funny. While we're on the topic of Crutchfield, look what the difference is in car audio when you have to subsidize the cost of 6000 retail stores with your purchase. And yes, that "Jensen" head unit is identical to the "Dual" head unit, I know the page on the right is missing the pocket thing, but it was out of stock so I couldn't add it to the cart, and the Posi-Products thingies are WORLDS better than butt connectors but O' doesn't sell them. Anyway, nobody in their right mind would pick the right option over the left option. Unless you need it NOW but come on, you need brakes, you need a battery, you don't need a radio.

 

[jeepman3071]

I don't know how NAPA operates, but even back when I worked at Dunkin in high school (~2006) there was very little incentive to do above the bare minimum to keep your job. The employment model these companies use is to have the cheapest minimum wage employees they can for as long as possible. This usually meant high school students, temporary college students who went home for the summer, parents who worked a few hours while their kids were at school, etc. They were never meant to be careers. Now you have a large group of people where this IS their career, and they have very few options. The problem is, the model of having a revolving door of cheap minimum wage employees still stands.

I have a best friend I met all those years ago working at Dunkin. He went into the military, works hard now, etc, but back then he was a goof off. Always showed up late, never did what he was supposed to, and was always on his phone. We worked there about the same amount of time (3 years basically). I was the opposite, always tried to learn more things and went above and beyond.

We both started around the same time making $8/hour. When he left he was making $9. I was making $9.15 because I was a shift leader. I had put in 100x the work he did, and I'm not sure it was really worth it. Raising the minimum wage won't change anything, but any good company should have incentives that encourage employees to move up. Sure the ones who don't want to move up will stay at the bottom, but you will retain good employees instead of them leaving to work elsewhere.

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

One can only agree 100%, or less. One can increase something 110%. But not give 110% effort. Things can only be 100% at most. At least in the universe we currently occupy.

"You will give 110%."
"That's impossible. No one can give more than 100%. By definition that is the most anyone can give."

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I have (and others have said the same) gone to CFA just for the customer service.

That's pretty much why 90% of people go to CFA. Although I see that trend changing if not immediately, soon. CFA is suffering from the same issues most retailers are - lack of quality labor pool. I see drive-thru lines at CFA getting longer and people spending more time in them. I live in CFA mecca. There's literally one every mile. I have seen a drastic change in service quality/time/etc at most all CFAs around me (they are operated by multiple different operators).

Also - CFA is in the early stages of being owned under the 3rd Generation of Cathys. I believe the success rate of any company, World-Wide, since the beginning of time, under a 3rd Generation is less than 5%. Time will tell.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

The situation has zero to do with wages paid.

Over the last month I have been working in third world and developing nations. I have to eat out every meal, have to buy needs from stores, have to have someone else wash my clothes.

Not once have I had a bad interaction with a person at any type of business, not once. The workers at these businesses work 12 plus hours a day, a minimum of six days per week. These workers may make about $3 a day (yes DAY).

This issue with customer service in the USA is not about wages paid.

What's missing in those 3rd world countries that isn't in the US?



W E L F A R E


That's what.

 

[brianl703]

W E L F A R E

The dream in some places: Medicaid and an opioid prescription (preferably dilaudid).

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Ordered my first suspenders from the Suspender Store. Arrived on time and were satisfactory. Second week of use, one of the spring clips broke, and suspender kept coming loose from belt loop. Contacted the store and received message that the style I ordered was not in stock. Vendor then refunded purchase price and told me to keep the item. I'll probably order another pair when they are again in stock. Not all vendors are *@^%$&@s.

 

[Toy4x4]

My 17-year-old has worked a couple of jobs now as a busboy and at the local ski mountain. When we've visited the restaurants he's worked in the managers have come out several times to tell us how nice he is and how he always works hard. After the 4th or 5th time being told this I asked him later what was his secret? Why does he get all this praise? He said every other kid his age sits in the corner not making eye contact and trying to do the least work possible. He said he finds that really boring and would rather be on his feet moving and talking to people. He also said he works because that's what they pay me to do. The kid probably busses 75% of the tables for the same pay but he'd rather be moving than sitting. Ok...the servers tip him more because they realize they can't seat another person until the table is clean and he's Johnny on the Spot. His words, not mine, "Kids are lazy these days and take no pride in their work."

Kudos to your son for being ahead of the game and realizing what a job is and what he has to do! The MAIN problem is management, though. "You got time to lean, you got time to clean!" should be used every time on these slackers until they get the message or they rage quit because they just want the pay without doing a job. Nowadays, its generally option two.

Me: 36 years in hospitality on the front lines (busser, waiter, valet, now bellman) with 12 at a 5 star and now 24 at a 4 star. At 18 starting at the 5 star place, it was made very clear that: these are our standards, this is what you HAVE to do. PERIOD. Management was on your case like stink on ** if you started to stray. In the last 15+ years there has been a decline in discipline, responsibility, and accountability. We, who are part of the older and better trained, shake our heads and try to lower our blood pressure due to what goes on now. Conversations with guests, verbiage used, being late, calling off for "x" reason, cell phone use, eating snacks in guest's view, leaning and lounging, not being alert and actually caring about the guest in front of you...the list goes on. Our concerns fall on deaf ears when brought up. We actually had one-on-one meetings with our manager about a month ago. He told me to be completely honest and say whatever I felt needed to be said no matter how harsh. I brought up a few big topics that concern our dept. Outcome: one email: listed a reminder of hotel policy on showing up late and in uniform ready to go by start time at your dept. Nothing changed, was ignored. Second email two weeks later: reiterating first email. A bit of change, but mostly ignored. In fact, yesterday, a problem coworker walked into our dept, half out of uniform, RIGHT by the exec who oversees the WHOLE rooms division...nothing. Wash, rinse, repeat.

In a nutshell: uncaring and lazy, paycheck collecting managers create employees of the same caliber.

 

[jeepman3071]

My 17-year-old has worked a couple of jobs now as a busboy and at the local ski mountain. When we've visited the restaurants he's worked in the managers have come out several times to tell us how nice he is and how he always works hard. After the 4th or 5th time being told this I asked him later what was his secret? Why does he get all this praise? He said every other kid his age sits in the corner not making eye contact and trying to do the least work possible. He said he finds that really boring and would rather be on his feet moving and talking to people. He also said he works because that's what they pay me to do. The kid probably busses 75% of the tables for the same pay but he'd rather be moving than sitting. Ok...the servers tip him more because they realize they can't seat another person until the table is clean and he's Johnny on the Spot. His words, not mine, "Kids are lazy these days and take no pride in their work."

That's awesome, and with that kind of work ethic he will have no issues getting rewarding employment. I wouldn't be where I am today without my work ethic. The problem is trying to avoid getting burned out in today's work climate, because he will suddenly find some employers will just rely on him for everything.

 

[jeepman3071]

In a nutshell: uncaring and lazy, paycheck collecting managers create employees of the same caliber.

There is a lot of truth to this statement. I've worked for some really great managers, who did their best to help me succeed, and others who couldn't care less about their job or responsibilities to their employees.

 

[ATex7239]

Here is another 'back in my day'...

I see this all the time...the workers sitting/standing out in the store front taking their breaks...smoking/eating/etc. But here is the thing...it is an image issue. Having workers or anyone for that matter sitting out in front of the store...smoking/eating/etc....does not project a positive 'image' of the store. While you may or may not agree and certainly people have the right to be where they want to be as long as they don't break any law (but does it break ant-loitering rules???)...

Long ago, when I worked at a store call Eckerd Drugs (now Rite Aid), we were told the rules up front...one of which basically stated that you are not to take your breaks out in the front of the store...take it in the break room or go out back behind the store. I also remember back in those days...break or not, customers did come first. But also, if we did work on breaks, we would be compensated later...leave early or take a longer break later...

Don't know...maybe we've moved from being a pack or colony to being grasshoppers...

Fair enough. I don’t think those working through breaks and getting taken care of later on the backside situations happen much anymore. But maybe they do.

In regards to the smoking and loitering situation, property rights and the free market still apply. If the business has an issue with it they can address it with employees. It’s their property after all. My company doesn’t allow tobacco on the property and we must adhere to the policy or risk action. And if customers don’t like how a business is run they can opt to spend their money elsewhere. The OP didn’t have stay and give that business money if he disagreed with the way things are being managed.

 

[Ausfahrt]

What happened to customer service?

The same thing that happened to brick & mortar stores. We don't want to pay for it and you could make the same argument about shrinking airline seat sizes. We only want the cheapest price.

Using Best Buy as a showroom and then buying the latest bling-thing for a few dollars less online is only perpetuating it.

 

[skyactiv]

I remember going to auto parts stores before most people had the internet. You’d walk up to the counter and the employees would make you wait at the counter while they answered the phone for the guy wanting to know the price and availability of parts. It seemed Napa was the worst offender as people back then regarded Napa as being better quality and would always call them last in case they had a decent price.

 

[dishdude]

Napa has always been like this, they cater to repair shops and want nothing to do with retail counter sales.

 

[ATex7239]

This sums up my overseas experiences as well. The best customer service I have received has been on the other side of the Pacific. It didn’t matter if it was a major hotel chain or a small cafe somewhere.

Same here but that is the view point of being a visitor in another country. Our experiences may have differed quite a bit as a local.

 

[PimTac]

Same here but that is the view point of being a visitor in another country. Our experiences may have differed quite a bit as a local.

That’s possible. Places like hotels would have a mix of foreign and local customers. It seemed that everyone was treated well.

 

[Pew]

We both started around the same time making $8/hour. When he left he was making $9. I was making $9.15 because I was a shift leader. I had put in 100x the work he did, and I'm not sure it was really worth it. Raising the minimum wage won't change anything, but any good company should have incentives that encourage employees to move up. Sure the ones who don't want to move up will stay at the bottom, but you will retain good employees instead of them leaving to work elsewhere.

Very very true. Most customer service/relation jobs are low paying jobs; which attract inexperienced or bad workers. Shift managers and trainers would get a measly raise that was clearly not worth the time or work put into it. When I was a waiter, trainers would get a whole $0.50/hour extra to train but that wasn't worth the extra effort and time that it took to train somebody and wait on your tables. Waiters would normally lose out on this deal. The result, most of the good waiters did not train because it's not worth their time.

The good workers eventually went off to better jobs which were normally not customer-facing jobs. The bad ones...well... let's just say I respect all jobs and workers but I don't expect a NAPA cashier to give me the same attention and treatment as our AutoCAD vendor for work. As long as I don't have a problem and I get whatever I need in an orderly fashion, I could care less; it takes more effort to be mad than to not care.

What's missing in those 3rd world countries that isn't in the US?

W E L F A R E

That's what.

They're also missing reliable electricity and infrastructure, worker safety, rights, livable wage, access to clean water, and automation of machines to do a lot of menial jobs that were historically done via human labor. Welfare has always been around in the USA. It's not like welfare came up one day and was like "Boom, you guys get lazy workers now."

 

[wpod]

I would guess over the past few years the consumers have proven them selves for the fools they are. Years agomI learned there is the price you pay and the cost are two different things. See SubieRubyRoos post. Years ago one of my friend was co owner of a nice gun shop , one of the customers complained about a 30 dollar product when I was there and with out arguement gave him a refun. A week later my friend called me up and said the guy came back in and spent $5,000.00 on a rifle and scope.

 

[Pablo]

I called KitchenAid about my blender. CS place in Tennessee. WOW. Awesome CS.

Sending me a new blender jar/pitcher.

 

[WylieCoyote]

The O'Reilly a couple of blocks from my house has been my go-to store for years, because it used to be staffed with older, knowledgeable guys. It's looking like I'm going to have to start avoiding it because of the guy they hired that apparently works there 60 hours a week. I've not paid a visit to that store in the last 3 weeks where he wasn't working the counter, and the nicest thing I can say about him is that he's a mouth breather. He has less than zero knowledge or interest in auto parts, and is clearly there for a paycheck and a place to exist for 8-plus hours a day. The man has never typed on a typewriter or computer in his life, indicated by the single-finger pecking you have to sit through to get anything looked up or rung up. Thankfully I got into the habit years ago of looking stuff up on their website first, and bringing the part number information with me, or I would be there all day. Unfortunately, this situation is just a barometer of what's going on all around us. I went into Arby's the other day because the drive-thru line was so long, and was met with such apathy from a 17-ish punk, I nearly walked out. I get it, the job sucks, but I did it for two and a half years at the Gillette, Wyoming Burger king, so chin up, entitled brats. We're dealing with at least one generation of people who feel entitled to never have to work a crap job. While I appreciate their ambition, starting at the top is not how it works unless mommy or daddy is the CEO. Customer-facing employees like this are why Amazon does so well.