Today Tonight on the Seven Network tonight ran a puerile report on customer service in retail. It was like they wanted to show the customer service in retail is bad and only showed such experiences.
The report did not provide any information about how many stores they visited to get their examples. Also, they only showed the money shot in each instance – the poor service. A fair report would have provided context.
These are important points since they said that poor customer service is the reason retail is in trouble in Australia – without providing any evidence to backup their claim.
Sure, customer service can improve in many retail businesses. There are also many stores offering exceptional service. I guess that does not make good television.
While Today Tonight is not known for running balanced reporting, it is frustrating when they bag customer service in retail and ignore one of the largest independent retail channels in the country, newsagents. There are many newsagencies serving up quality customer service experiences every day. The people at Seven should know because they own Pacific Magazines and Pacific has an excellent relationship with newsagents.
ACA has reran a similar report 3 times in the past.. 6 months? It was actually the same report repackaged with different experts and people over and over.
Was total nonsense as expected.
Just my two cents worth: Today Tonights story on Bad Retail Service was something believed that they got right. Not a frequent viewer of TT or ACA as I stumbled on the piece whilst flicking through for something else, where the issue of retail service in Australia is a problem. But worse still is the fact that many Australians PUT UP WITH IT! Why? The arrogance, rudeness and lack of sincerity is a sign of the times that Australian culture is passive, submissive and lets people get away with been and obnoxious to them..An increasing number of Australians are not as assertive as they’d like to think especially when others are around. They’re not as outspoken or confident when it comes to speaking out about customer service, and other issues, but customer service is one the more serious cases where they’re verbally told off and sometimes told with the wave of a hand to get out of the store. They are TOO POLITICALLY CORRECT FOR THEIR OWN good and as such are been walked over. Not talking back is not the Australian way. Australians have lost a great deal of their identity. And accepting bad customer service is just one of many many examples. Check it out for yourself. My friends and I observe it everyday.
kutthrcrap,
evrything you say is with a very small number of cases true from the retailers side of the counter as well. I have had rude obnoxious customers in the store, pointing and grunting at me while they talk on a mobile phone and expect me to give them great service while treating the person serving them like shite. I and my staff have had customers throw newspapers back at us because we have run out of the promised give away and then there are the thieves (we cuaght one try this week). We retailers put up with a lot and at present for well below minimum wage but we treat our 99.9% of good customers like gold because they are hard won in a competetive market place. Maybe youre experiences are because you fit some where into the .1% ??
I have worked in retail for over 20 years. There are retailers out there exactly like kutthecrap says, however they are in the minority. Most retailers especially small business retailers do provide good service most of the time.
There are also many customers who are rude and obnoxious, again they are in the minority. Unfortunately for the retailer, 1 bad customer can ruin your whole day.
Kutthecrap, I think you are full of crap.
Brendan, Amen! I’d like to see them do a story from the other side of the counter.
Sure, there are retailers who fail to provide good service, just as there are customers who fail to recognise we are real people, but these are generalisations blown out of proportion, as shown on the so-called ‘current affair’ program.
We have customers for whom we drive 14 Kms to deliver a newspaper, and then they complain if it lands on the wrong side of the driveway or if it was 10 minutes later than the yesterdays paper. Most retailers I know are smart enough to know that the key to good business is generous and courteous customer service. Unfortunately too many customers exploit this and impose totally unrealistic expectations on small businesses. They are quite happy to stand in line for 10 minutes at Coles or Wollies checkout, but heaven help the poor old newsagent if he doesnt have everything in the exact right place at the exact right time.
TT should do a story on bad customer behaviour. We could give them 10 every day.