Your view of customer service in Australia?

[Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 10:07

This topic has probably been discussed previously, but after a particularly abysmal morning dealing with piss-poor customer service from 3 different places I thought I would open up the discussion again. I am particularly interested in people who have travelled widely and can compare how Australia fares compared to the rest of the world.

I think the thing that steams my clams the most is that it often seems as if we're all supposed to take it in our stride. Complaining about rubbish customer service is seen as being little more than a whinger. Even when we are paying for the experience, we are supposed to have a "she'll be right", easy going Aussie attitude towards being dicked around.

I am sure some people think I am being an entitled whinger. Others might agree. Sound off in the comments.

I hope your day goes better than mine has so far.

General Discussion

Comments

  • hell0 on 11/08/2016 - 10:16
    +18

    I find that it is often how you talk to the person that makes a difference. Either you had no luck at all 3 places or you came in and made things awkward to begin with.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 10:35
      +4

      In all three instances there was nothing I did that contributed to the situation^. I consider myself a pretty patient and reasonable bloke. I even often feel guilty for complaining, in the rare instances I do complain, because I think "I am sure they are doing the best they can". It is often objectively demonstrable that a lot of people in customer service are utterly incompetent.

      ^I was left waiting at a self-service checkout when an item failed to scan. I was acknowledged my a staff member only to be ignored while she served other customers. When someone finally came to help me she acted as if the items failure to scan was my fault. She cleared the system and when I tried to rescan the item it again threw and error and I had to wait for her to com back again to manually enter the item.

      An item I bought in another stored scanned at the wrong price. When I disagreed with the price at the register, with a patronisingly sceptical server, I had to wait for a someone to go and check the price. The excuse I was given was that they were still updating the tickets despite that fact I had been into the store a couple of times earlier this week and had seen that item at that price.

        • mooney on 11/08/2016 - 11:02
          +1

          "The excuse I was given was that they were still updating the tickets "
          You see, now this looks entirely your own fault because Woolworths/Coles end specials on a Tuesday night so when you walked in this morning you remembered the old price but I bet there wasn't a special ticket on that item anymore, it's just that you purchased the item Tuesday or earlier. So this would count for you being in the wrong and blaming staff for your own shortcomings. So in effect you have wasted everyone's time and frustrated yourself.

          The OP didnt say either way what the item was priced at in store at the time of attempted purchase so you dont have any basis for your grumpy message. Also FWIW shoppers aren't obligated to know the discount cycle of supermarkets.

        • hell0 on 11/08/2016 - 11:09
          +1

          @mooney:
          "The OP didnt say either way what the item was priced at in store at the time of attempted"

          Yes he did. Right when he said "I had been into the store a couple of times earlier this week and had seen that item at that price." This certainly indicates that there was no special ticket at the time that he complained otherwise why would he refer to an earlier time in the week instead of today.

          "shoppers aren't obligated to know the discount cycle of supermarkets."
          Yes, but use some common sense instead of bringing out the line of '…but it was on special last week' line and waste the servers time and that of other customers waiting because of your shortcomings…

          @mooney seems like the type of customer who sees a sign at the clothing store next to JB Hi-Fi that displays '50% off ALL stock' and walks into JB expecting 50% off all of JB's stock…

        • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 11:12
          +5

          The first paragraph after the ^ was at one store, the second paragraph was an experience at another store. Sorry if that was confusing.

          To clarify, the second story was about a bottle of liquor that had a low price on the shelf but when it was scanned, it scanned at its regular price (roughly 8 dollars difference). The low price had been advertised for a couple of days. I only bothered to buy it today because I happened to be at that store and doubted I was going to be back there any time soon.

          If it is a simple mistake, I am the guy who smiles and says "no worries". The cashier's odd, patronising scepticism what was annoyed me. Although. I am willing to admit after my first bad example at Woolworths I might have been more sensitive to the servers attitude, but it was still a bad attitude to have.

        • mooney on 11/08/2016 - 12:47

          @hell0: Lol… the example you use to illustrate your point is EXACTLY the same example I would illustrate to make my point.

          "I had been into the store a couple of times earlier this week and had seen that item at that price."- I think this means the store 'excuse' that they were updating tickets didn't ring true (it shouldn't take days), NOT that it meant the price had been taken down at time of purchase. As it didn't explicitly state the price listed in store at time of purchase I didn't claim to know the truth either way. So my original comment is correct- you DIDN'T have the facts, so you had no need to be such a grumpy sod.

          Plus I see Juddy has now given further clarification just to confirm my assumption.

          Yay, reading comprehension. Try it hellO, you might like it. X

        • mooney on 11/08/2016 - 12:49

          @hell0: I also gave you a +1 to show how nice I am, especially when JB HiFi do 50% off ALL STOCK!

        • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 13:02
          +2

          @mooney:

          Correct. The item was at a sale price for at least 3 days as far as I know but still scanned at it's previous, higher price. It doesn't take days to update the items price in the system. If you're advertising an item on sale its price should be what it scans at, It doesn't take days to do this. Modern systems make this oversight all the more frustrating.

          But that isn't even what I am irked at, it was the cashiers attitude towards me. It was as if I was lying in order to get the item cheaper. I most certainly was not.

        • hell0 on 11/08/2016 - 13:07
          +1

          @mooney:
          "Yay, reading comprehension. Try it hellO, you might like it. X"

          I refuse to face reality! lol. Gave you a +1, too.

      • SeeKo on 13/08/2016 - 13:43
        +11

        Hi there!

        I work in retail so whilst not making excuses, please let me address those points.

        Firstly, on behalf of all retail workers, allow me to say this: 99% of the time, it's not personal, so please don't take it that way. Unhappy customers make our lives in the work place as well, so we're not actually trying to annoy you. Where I work, we work with the understanding that with restrictions and rules we have to work with, we can't make every customer happy but we will always do our best to help if we can.

        RE: Item scanning.
        I'm sure you didn't mean it this way, but you can't fault her for not paying attention to you whilst serving other customers. If you meant that she served other customers ahead of you whilst you were waiting, from a different perspective, it's possible she was off in her own space and just lost track of who requested help first. As for the attitude, well I can't excuse that. Whilst its true personal things do affect ones mood, a good worker will make strides not to let it affect their attitude towards a customer.

        RE: Wrong scanning price.
        This is a situation that I find myself in commonly and the reality is, despite the "customer is always right" mentality, a lot of the time the customer was looking at the wrong ticket or someone's put the product in the wrong section. At my work, updating tickets is a different department to the staff at the counter, so there's a slight communication breakdown there. Unless told otherwise, our assumption is the scanned price is the correct one and any errors are due to the floor staff having not updated the ticket. For many reasons, we're required to physically check out the issue, not just to validate your claim, but also to resolve it ASAP if you are correct and are being charged incorrectly. Aside from that, scanned prices are updated somewhere else and it's entirely possible the prices were updating without our knowledge.

        As a side note, our memories of negative experiences are often more exaggerated that the actual experience themselves and its the same both ways. A worker who is confronted with a slightly annoying customer may remember them as someone who ruined their day, just as a customer who deals with an employee being skeptical of their claim may remember them as being an absolute ass. I'm not saying you're lying or aren't justified in your opinion, merely offering a different perspective.

        Finally, I'll reiterate that employees don't want to piss you off. They do sometimes have bad days whether from bad customers or pain the butt management and just want to regain a little control or authority in their often looked down upon position. I've felt this way many times and try as I might, sometimes I can't help be a little snarky and for that I apologize, it's not personal.

        Hopefully it's just an unfortunate few coincidental appointments with some bad luck and your experiences improve. I for one, who have worked in both hospitality and retail, find it easier to sympathize with employees and therefore often have many positive experiences whilst shrugging off the negative ones.

      • Bargaingeek on 14/08/2016 - 17:58

        Same here mate, every bad customer service experience i had was deer in th flashlight moment, was so gentle mannered but got attacked for no reason.

  • sane on 11/08/2016 - 10:18
    +7

    They are poor because they don't value, or think of, the customer.

    If they piss you off they are not trying hard to fix it, say sorry, and keep your custom. Meh, you've gone, there will be another sap.

    Their answer to selling less because their prices are too high and service is too low is to up the prices and cut the service to make the books balance (auspost), or moan that people are going elsewhere to a tame polli (hardly normal).

    Above all, they never really focus on the customer and making things better for them, they feel entitled to business and 'take what you are given'.

    The only stores that start to get it right are those that are either overseas coming in (aldi) or have headhunted managers/CEOs from overseas (Coles).

  • tassieeagle on 11/08/2016 - 10:30
    +1

    It's crap.

  • spackbace on 11/08/2016 - 10:35
    +48

    Shitty entitled customers treat customer service operators poorly, in turn the person serving them gets a twisted view of the population, turns into a bitter and angry person, treats the next customer badly.

    Having worked in hospitality and sales, I see it all the time, particularly in hospitality. People are more likely to complain about bad service, than compliment it when it's good.

    • Kangal on 11/08/2016 - 11:06
      +5

      I concur.
      Customer service in Australia is usually poor.

      Most staff in customer service in Oz are middle-aged women that care more about their iPhone's than doing their jobs well.
      The best ones usually come from new recruits, who haven't had their life-force drained out of them.
      With that said, some new recruits are plastic-fantastic and need to plant their feet back in the ground.
      But in the same time, very very few of the good ones stick around in that job/field… and turn into nice older ladies.

      However!
      I realised that they ALL try to give their BEST customer service to the likes of Japanese tourists.
      Possibly from pressure from employers, and also the language barrier preventing them from slipping into old habits.

      When I compare this to customer service I received in other countries, its very hit and miss.
      Not to draw any conclusions/stereotypes:
      I generally got about equally bad customer service from South Asians/India, despite being a tourist.
      I got better customer service by European peoples, but maybe because I was a tourist.
      I got the best customer service by East Asian peoples/Japanese, seriously they are amazing.
      I got the worst customer service by Middle-East/Arabic peoples, even when acquainted by locals.

      My experience seems to be mirrored by a lot of people, but that's not to say your experience will be the same.
      The world is full of nice people and a holes alike.

      • owli on 13/08/2016 - 11:02
        +1

        I Would be interested to hear why you are getting negged here…
        I worked in customer service for several years and what you are saying is accurate. (Not really sure what you mean by the Japanese tourists part though.)

        • Kangal on 13/08/2016 - 17:22
          +3

          At one of my mother's previous workplace, they were booked a visit by some Japanese tourists.

          And simply for them, the entire staff were rounded up and explained what to do, how to serve them, etc etc.

          Her employer even gave her a questionnaire to take home, fill out, and return back to her manager.

          They were expecting people to do their jobs well, or go above and beyond. I didn't have a problem with that, but wondered why only for them…and not an ongoing protocol for excellent customer service. Anywyas I ended up having to drop in the day they had the tourists in, and the old lady thats usually rude to everyone (seriously, even her manager calls her a "Sour Puss") she was so nice and cheerful…it felt weird…because I've only seen her angry evil side.

          The negging are people thinking I'm being racist when I was not trying to be. Was just sharing my experience with different cultures, but that's too much for some people to handle.

      • grv on 14/08/2016 - 23:38

        "Not to draw any conclusions/stereotypes:"

        • You did exactly that.
        • Kangal on 15/08/2016 - 08:32

          I don't walk up to a certain people's expect different treatment, it just has happened to me as such.
          I was just sharing that experience.
          And trying to say that this shouldn't be a stereotype because "the world is full of nice people and aholes alike".

          Don't take my words out of context.

      • virhlpool on 15/08/2016 - 22:37

        How abt your experience in the US? It should have been on top, probably as a benchmark in customer service.

        • Kangal on 15/08/2016 - 22:57

          Haven't been to USA.
          Or South America.
          Or Africa.
          Or Antartica.

          …still plenty of places for me to go and get customer service.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 11:21
      +3

      I have seen some truly woeful examples of customers mistreating servers, there was one really unpleasant example I involved myself in years ago when an obviously drunk and/or stoned customer was abusing a teenage worker. It still makes me cringe to think about. I have no patience for that sort of behaviour. I am polite even if in the back of my mind I am fuming at being mistreated.

      You're also completely correct that people are quicker to complain than compliment. As lame as this may sound, at the end of the year I often send emails to companies I have had positive dealings with through out the year and provide positive feedback and wish them and their employees happy holidays. I think this encourages better service for all of us.

      I guess I just wanted to vent a little this morning. People are usually pretty cool, I guess when they suck it really stands out.

    • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 20:55

      Pretty much this.

      Some people are considerate some people are not.

      Half of my family can be the worst at this while the other half can be the best or at least try and mitigate the other half.

      At the end of the day it just comes down to different personalities and different moods clashing with each other.

      You take it, you do your best and then you just go.

      It's as simple as that, really.

    • RocketSwitch on 15/08/2016 - 09:40

      Yep, this is spot on.

  • smashed on 11/08/2016 - 10:35
    +14

    I moved from the UK and I was astounded by the lack of customer service in Sydney.
    Hardly any smiles, no please or thank you.
    If they make a mistake they look at you like it is your fault.

    But I have experienced the same thing on the road and walking the streets so I don't know if it is a city thing or an Australian thing.

    I visited Melbourne and the public and workers were much more courteous.

    The lack of manners in this country is my biggest hate. And I hate doing the whinging pom thing and moaning about it to Australians.

    It seems that people are friendly if they know you but generally rude if they don't.

    • Islund on 11/08/2016 - 11:01
      +1

      I agree about Melbourne!

    • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 20:58
      +1

      Yup aussie customer service and overall social interactions is shocking.

      If you don't get a super friendly guy or girl you get bitchomatic 3000 or ignoratron 5000. But the worst is the oblivioutron which makes you question how they are still working there.

    • stemcell on 13/08/2016 - 00:01
      +2

      Smashed I disagree, any trip to a UK supermarket is a disheartening experience in customer care, firstly they make you use a coin to access a trolly then they make you pack your own bags at breakneck speed and this is generally dished up by some ignorant checkout person. You don't know how good you have it over here.

      • smashed on 13/08/2016 - 07:27
        +1

        Funnily enough where I live in Sydney northern beaches we have to put a coin in else you have to use a basket (annoying when you don't have cash on you).

        And I self check out anyway as I prefer to self pack else raw meat ends up with cooked meat etc.

        I forgot… The laws here are not so good for customers.
        In the uk you buy an item online and the company has to give you 7 working days to say you want to return for a refund.they also have to refund your original postage cost.
        They cannot charge restocking fees either.
        Here I see infomercials on tv and they don't even advertise the price.
        It is so outdated :(

        • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2016 - 07:50
          +1

          You also have to use a 1 or 2 dollar coin to get a trolley in grocery and Dan Murphys stores where I am, too.

    • DeepPocketsShortArms on 13/08/2016 - 00:14

      100% agree

    • rodinthink on 14/08/2016 - 02:57

      I reckon it's what happened when you go to the Big Populated "Capital" city.
      Most people tend to rush, compete, lookin-down upon people and have this really unpleasant atmosphere.

      I don't get it why? I also found Melbourne,Brisbane & Goldcoast atmosphere seems to be way more courteous and friendly.

    • bluesky on 14/08/2016 - 18:19

      I moved from the UK and I was astounded by the lack of customer service in Sydney.
      Hardly any smiles, no please or thank you.

      According to this really funny book by social anthropologist Kate Fox, "Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour", The Rules of Ps and Qs, has to do with the pretence of equality between customer and server. (Although she is referring to English, I am going to take a leap and assume it applies to UK, in general).

      I cannot remember if this bit is stated or hinted by Kate Fox, or just my own speculation, since I read the book a while ago: that this might have something to do with class consciousness (which according to her findings, is so ingrained in people's consciousness over there). That maybe, the polite egalitarianism often observed, is an attempt by those who are a bit embarrased in this day and age of the class inequality, to put back some equality to the customer and server roles. After a while, this might be subconsciously done. Others follow, soon the whole society takes this as the norm.

      If this theory is true: since Australia is basically a classless, egalitarian society, people do not engage in this special effort, of restoring equality between customer/server. So perhaps that is why we find the customers, and customer service staff, to be less polite (?)

      The book is fun and humorous to read for an outsider, but not sure how true everything is :-)

    • MrTweek on 15/08/2016 - 22:09

      European living in Melbourne here.

      If they make a mistake they look at you like it is your fault.

      This is something I keep seeing since I'm in Australia. A lot of people seem to be absolutely incapable to admit their own mistakes, even when it's blatantly obvious. They just get mad when pointing it out. This is not limited to customer service, but happens a lot due to the nature of it.

      Lots of little stories I can recall:

      • Ordering click&collect at Dan Murphy's. Website says "ready in 2 hours", it's Friday, 1pm. I think, sweet, order now, stop by after work in 4 hours. When I arrive there, order is not ready. I say, if it takes you longer than 4 hours, you shouldn't advertise 2 hours on your website. All he replies is "well, that wasn't me who put in on the website"… Dude, you represent your company you work for. What do you expect me to do? Call the marketing manager that came up with the idea?

      • A colleague at work made a rather stupid mistake, which almost cost us $30000. Our manager talked to him, basically telling him this was pretty shit and asking him to be more careful next time. He refused to admit that is was his fault (although it clearly was), just packed his things, left the office and never came back. That impressed me a lot, really.

      I absolutely hate calling any company here when I have a problem. 50% chance they are arrogant, unhelpful or just plainly lie into your face if they can't solve the problem.

      • Geekomatic on 20/08/2016 - 16:47
        +1

        "50% chance they are arrogant, unhelpful or just plainly lie into your face if they can't solve the problem."

        Telstra?

        • MrTweek on 21/08/2016 - 20:55

          No, I never talked to Telstra on the phone. This was my experience with lots of different companies in different industries.

    • nuno on 19/08/2016 - 16:16

      Sydney has transformed into a New York type of bustling city. Rude and very little courtesy. it wasnt always like that though, huge diverse population growth and declining tolerance levels does that and brings out the worst in people.

      Further south in Canberra and Melbourne, ppl are a lot more considerate and courteous. How long that will last? who knows.

  • Ughhh on 11/08/2016 - 10:44
    +2

    If you read the retail horror stories on reddit and whirlpool, you can see why some staff might not be so happy. They could be pissed off at the previous customer, at their boss or the machine etc. I prefer this than over the top service in asian countries where they follow you around and non stop sell you stuff.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 11:27
      +1

      I agree, but surely there is a balance. I don't want a boot-licking sycophant whose behaviour towards me borderlines on an indentured slave, but I do want prompt, reasonable service. If I have a complaint, it should not be dismissed as me merely being a whinger. Our money is good everywhere, I argue many companies don't work hard enough for it.

      • Millikano on 14/08/2016 - 22:05
        -1

        Hi Juddy,

        Sorry to hear about your experience. In my experience, most poor customer experiences come from a combination of miscommunication, and unfortunately, being too sensitive (either the customer or the employee).

        I worked in a large Australian electronics retailer for over 7 years while I was studying, and of course dealt with all types of customers. From the perspective of a retail employee, most retail companies in Australia save costs by reducing the number of staff (wages are the most controllable expense), whilst demanding excellent customer service, attendance, attitude and autonomy in exchange for relatively low pay and often very little appreciation from the employer or customers. I'm not sure what industry you work in, but being on your feet for 8+ hours and attending to customers needs all day without thanks can become quite maddening, and as others have said before me, 99% of the time it's not intentional to let down a customer.

        I think that it's really unfortunate that there is such huge pressure on retailers to provide absolute bottom dollar to remain competitive, whilst delivering big profits for shareholders. The same Mum-and-Dad shareholders that benefit from business profitability ultimately miss out on good customer service (or any customer service), and businesses are unlikely to attract employees that really want to work there as it is very difficult to support oneself in an Australian capital city on a retail wage.

        I hope that customers understand that they can make a huge positive difference (and sometimes leave a lasting impression) by being sincere and supportive of staff in these industries, as we're all just people trying to make our way in the world.

        On the flip side, as a customer shopping in a large retailer, I would hope that there is sufficient customer service, and if I wasn't happy with my experience, the best course of action is to find somewhere else to shop that provides the kind of service I'm after. That might mean paying a bit extra, but that might be a trade off to consider. To me, excellent customer service is probably worth an extra $5 on a $100 shop, and hopefully that extra money contributes to better training, pay and employment outcomes for employees in that retailer.

        Please let me know what you think, and if anyone here has any views on how customer service could be improved in big retail I would be really interested to hear it. FYI I'm out of the field now, but it's always good to hear other perspectives.

  • BuyoTheCat on 11/08/2016 - 11:00
    +6

    My trick is to try to be nice to the service people, and joke about it a little first. It is hard to be terrible to someone if they are courteous and polite to you.

    However if they are assholes, I will try to out (profanity) them.

    • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:00

      If i get an (profanity) i just quietly move away.

      Or make things super obvious awkward to de-escalate the situation.

      Like usually a cough or break in eye / social contact does the trick.

      It is a very efficient method in defusing many situations.

  • Islund on 11/08/2016 - 11:01

    what is that?

  • jenkemjunkie on 11/08/2016 - 11:02
    +5

    I gave great customer service when I did sales and I can still understand the crappy customer service sentiment - I think it is due to a range of factors. Most customer facing staff are pretty much disenchanted with life because they feel their employer doesn't value them. They're exploited, so the customer service you are getting is a reflection on how the businesses treat their staff. Most businesses try to run as skeleton as possible putting unreasonable demands on the few staff.

    I hated sales, but I was good at it, my interactions with customers had me offered professional jobs when I had finished my degree and it was these opportunities that made me engage in my menial job. I was also fortunate enough to be able to tell a customer where to go if they became nasty and irate. That's because I had an employer that wouldn't yield to unreasonable customers and generally looked after their staff.

    • scrimshaw on 11/08/2016 - 12:29
      +5

      Most businesses try to run as skeleton as possible putting unreasonable

      Yeah this, when sales figures are poor, the manager has to work with a limited wage budget, so they cut shifts.

      When you cut shifts, you have less sales staff on the floor, so the phone is left ringing, the customers in-store get sick of waiting, and the staff are strained because they have to multi-task too many things at the same time while also meeting their KPI's and the store budget.

  • inherentchoice on 11/08/2016 - 11:21
    +7

    I find table service in USA is much better. But maybe because the wait staff have an incentive, because if they sell you more drinks and serve you better then they will get a good tip.

    • StewBalls on 11/08/2016 - 12:28
      +5

      Depends where you go, for instance I found the standard of service in quite a few places around NYC appalling…yet they still demanded a tip!!!

      • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:02
        +1

        NYC is a literal concrete jungle.

      • paaj on 22/08/2016 - 17:39

        +1 Service in America (hospitality) was minimal and forced. But they still expected a tip.

  • Savas on 11/08/2016 - 12:37
    +5

    I have never had any problems, I always treat everyone with respect and often get surprised that even people I hate are not that bad.

    • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:03
      +6

      The casual ned flanders approach of overwhelming respect and politeness and courtesy seems to be working pretty well then for you and me.

      • Savas on 12/08/2016 - 21:06
        +2

        Hahaha YES!

        • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:30
          +7

          Hi diddly ho neighbourino! o/

      • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2016 - 07:52
        +2

        Overwhelming politeness and courtesy doesn't do anything when you deal with someone who is incompetent or indifferent to their job.

        Allowing yourself to be mistreated, especially when you're trying spend your money at their establishment, isn't a virtue.

        • RocketSwitch on 15/08/2016 - 09:42

          I see where you're coming from. Happens all the time. Probably a sign of the times.

  • bluesky on 11/08/2016 - 12:51
    +5

    I found customer service at supermarkets, and in Australia, in general, to be good. At supermarkets, after a while, I am familiar with the regulars and we usually exchange greetings, or swap the occasional story or happenings. The rare occurrence when one was a bit curt, it tended to be a teenager, maybe new at the job. Even then, after seeing them once or twice, they were fine. I make it a point to be nice to people, because as the adage goes "treat others as you wish to be treated". And it does not matter if occasionally, the same is not practiced by the other party. Everyone, including customer service staff, is afflicted with many common everyday problems (although they are invisible to us). When one is a bit rude or unhelpful, I count my blessings that I am probably not facing whatever problems that person is facing, that is why I am more cheerful than him or her.

    In UK, customer service staff are incredibly polite.

  • tomleonhart on 11/08/2016 - 13:11

    IMO customer service in Australia is pretty bad. The only place where I currently have 100% satisfaction with customer service is RM Williams.

  • Nutrino on 11/08/2016 - 13:24
    +2

    Interesting, how about peoples views on customers?.

    • bluesky on 11/08/2016 - 13:43
      +4

      I noticed on quite a few occasions, that some nice/polite check-out staff would greet the customer, and the customer did not even bother to return the courtesy. I wish it isn't this way. No wonder some customer service staff may get disillusioned and not bother in future.

      • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:06
        +1

        Yeah unfortunately this is probably it.

        Took me awhile to even return a courteous hello or good thanks when i realised i must have looked odd always being totally silent and a conversation minimalist.

  • ItsMeAgro on 11/08/2016 - 13:30
    +9

    India and Sri Lanka have worse customer service, but it's more because of corruption and red tape at an institutional/cultural/governmental level than the people being inherently rude or bad or some other such nonsense.

    USA is worse (walmart etc) and better (most restaurants) depending where you are.

    Japan is WAY more polite, but sometimes less reasonable (Oh, you have an easily do-able minor request that's technically not in our policy? Very sorry sir [bows and then pretends you don't exist until you leave).

    I've heard that a lot of places in Europe are MUCH worse (like in France, where the customer is less an honoured guest, and more an unwanted nuisance).

    So Australia is not bad overall, honestly. We have a long way to go, but some places are decades behind in this stuff. We have generally better egalitarianism and flexibility.

    • bluesky on 11/08/2016 - 13:36
      +2

      Japan is WAY more polite, but sometimes less reasonable (Oh, you have an easily do-able minor request that's technically not in our policy? Very sorry sir [bows and then pretends you don't exist until you leave).

      Agree. I just could not get a bit of milk to go with the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, as it was not served that way in that cafe. Even a few staff could not address this issue. But they were incredibly polite about it :-) Very rigid system. Maybe they get into trouble if they deviate from policy(?)

      • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:09
        +4

        The nail that sticks out gets hammered in quote saying from japan comes to mind that and or fast furious 2 haha lol tokyo drift

        • theStinge on 12/08/2016 - 22:54
          +2

          Mr. Miyagi / Karate kid?

        • AlienC on 20/08/2016 - 19:39
          +1

          @theStinge: sort of I guess I was talking more about the fast and the furious

  • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2016 - 13:48
    +6

    Compared with Europe. Its not that bad.
    America is good.. but of course they rely on tips.
    Some customers are just @ssholes though.

  • battler on 11/08/2016 - 14:19
    +3

    Whilst it may vary worldwide, I also find it varies significantly in parts of Australia as well - particularly big cities versus smaller cities/towns.
    A couple of examples:
    I needed to buy a new car. In Sydney car salesmen inattentive and did not know their product. In 70k sized city they were quite willing to assist, even once they knew I was from the city and chances of buying from them were slim.
    I bought some furniture from Super-Amart in a smaller city. Assistance was fantastic. Product knowledge good, friendliness A1. They even arranged for me to pick up item at city store upon my return. When the item had a defect the city store was disgraceful in their attitude and quality of response.

    • railspider on 11/08/2016 - 15:38
      +3

      To expand on this point, I think there's probably a relationship between local unemployment and customer service quality.

      One example is Subway - when I'm visiting the Melbourne or Sydney CBD's the Subway staff are (in general) quite curt, and provide a relatively poor level of service.

      In my local rural town, where many young people are desperate for work, the staff are excellent - always smiling, good service, etc.

      When a manager has their pick of the litter due to lots of job seekers, they probably end up with better customer service staff.

      • battler on 11/08/2016 - 17:38
        +1

        completely agree, was going to mention it in my comment above, but will mention it now…
        seems city people have an expectation they will have a job and that it is a chore, whereas non-big city people treat working as a privilege since they are harder to come by.

        • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:12

          Yep pretty much. Also the city is much more chaotic and not as quiet as the other smaller towns so the hustle and bustle and rapid pace mentality of the city is always embedded.

      • tonka on 14/08/2016 - 01:45
        +2

        Job competitiveness will play a part but I don't think it's the main reason.

        In a small town when you walk down the street you smile at and greet people as you pass. In the city you do this and people think you are a crazy. You can also walk around being rude to most people you meet without risk of ever seeing them again.
        Last Christmas Eve I walked to the local mall and greeted every person I passed. Took about 20 people before someone said hi back.

  • Geekomatic on 11/08/2016 - 16:33
    +2

    USA workers earning "tips" are generally over-worked, under-paid wait staff. Hardly something to point at for comparison unless you're only comparing the food industry?

    I see a decline in service which I assert is being led by the "higher-ups" wanting more & more profit, even when everyone else is struggling. So, they cut staff & spread them out even more thinly than before. In certain sales areas, they use competition amongst the workers (commission) to pit them against one another. A terrible environment to work in. Don't even get me started on the socio-pathic management/mid-management in retail.

    Add to that no "real" training (thinking of sales in areas which you would think would require/provide it) outside of how to be a "door-greeter".

    The businesses complain of "no loyalty" from the hapless employees, yet there's nothing for them except a paycheck.

    If it were me, & I wanted my employees to have a reason to sell & provide good service, I'd tie in a % of company stock to their sales totals. That, would give people a real boost & a reason to invest themselves in promoting their employer.

    Fwiw

  • ms_caz on 11/08/2016 - 20:20
    +5

    Try being a 50something grey haired woman…. the idea of customer service goes out the door! Generally speaking I have found that my interaction with sales staff is quite pleasant ONCE THEY ACTUALLY NOTICE ME but so many many times I'm left to my own devices, invisible, it would seem, to the bright young things chattering around the desk and generally failing to provide any service at all. I know about staffing cuts and assistants being overstretched in terms of shifts, departments, product knowledge etc but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about being part of the invisible demographic - even when sales staff are there, they don't seem to want to assist me. I'm polite, confident, articulate and cashed up with pretty good discretionary spending power, so I think I'd make a pretty good customer. But frankly, online shopping notices me when I take my credit card out to pay and doesn't leave me hanging in limbo, so now it's my method of choice. I'e been left hanging far too many times for it to be a coincidence. And i can shop on-line, at midnight, in my dressing gown.

    • Geekomatic on 11/08/2016 - 20:54
      +4

      Well ms_caz,

      You're speaking with a 50-something woman, former retail salesperson. I was always a top-performer in sale/commissions & one reason was that I never let anyone pass by without offering assistance. But to be very fair, I can tell you that roughly 75% of shoppers I'd approach would flinch as if I were going to slap them, with some being outright rude that I had dared to come near them. There are always many sides to a story, & I just wanted that one out there.

      Mind you, this doesn't excuse outright ignoring people or (my peeve) chatting amongst other workers, etc….The unfortunate reality is that many shops do nothing about this in their employees. That management ignoring poor employees doesn't inspire good employees— unless they're on commission. Then, you're pitted against each other.

      In sales, it's "damned if you do, damned if you don't"— it just depends on each prospective buyer & their temperament. Obviously, the younger the salesperson, the least life experience & the least interactive selling experience. I personally beeline for the oldest salesperson I see. Reverse ageism- lol.

      ;)

    • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:16

      Old scary women intimidate me. Especially if you look very repressive or restrictive or very "strong willed feminist". Comes from a very bad childhood upbringing. As an example; I would probably prefer a scary old man to a scary old woman.

  • whodidthat on 11/08/2016 - 21:00

    Customer service here used to be amazing and consistent just about everywhere. Sadly not always the case these days.

    • AlienC on 12/08/2016 - 21:18

      I have noticed that. As I have gotten older and technology has made us less sociable human / customer service interactions have slowly degraded and in some places completely gone out the window.

      • whodidthat on 13/08/2016 - 16:50
        +1

        It's worked both ways, many customers and those serving have lost the ability to converse in a civil manner and act respectfully.
        Much like in the general community with neighbours.

  • mvbc85 on 12/08/2016 - 08:09
    +12

    As an migrant coming from Latin America ice always thought that service in Australia is great. Small things like being greeted and acknowledged, servers being helpful and knowledgeable and most of the time with a smile on their faces.

    All my Latin American friends think that Australians just love to complain (not just regarding customer service) but we all agree that is, in part, how you keep the country great (if you don't complain you don't get things fixed/maintained)

    So keep on whinging Australia, it's what drives your greatness!

  • r2160 on 12/08/2016 - 09:20
    +2

    I went to Bunnings to purchase a few things. After having to go to the product, take the price tag off the shelf and give it to the cashier myself (because some of the items would not scan and she could not be bothered trying to search for them in the POS system), she then tells me "we dont need you here". I might add I never said a word. I was really impressed that I had to do their job for them and then cop grief because I had to do it.
    Companies here do not value customers. They treat them with contempt.
    That is the problem.

    • scrimshaw on 12/08/2016 - 13:38

      Bunnings doesn't seem to attract very motivated workers. I'd put MSY on the same tier of service as well..

      The workers don't smile, they don't greet you, and don't go much beyond processing a transaction and giving you a receipt. Just doing the bare minimum to run a business…

      • spackbace on 12/08/2016 - 13:45
        +1

        It's a shame because Masters does seem to value good CS. Bad C&C system (though at least they have one), but good CS! Once they go, Bunnings can once again go back to "where's someone to help".
        Though, once you do get someone at Bunnings, they're generally pretty knowledgeable about knowing exactly where the item is etc.

        • bluesky on 12/08/2016 - 14:20

          It's a shame because Masters does seem to value good CS

          At the Masters store I go to, the people were super helpful, and even go out of the way. Chatting with a personnel who was helping one time, this store has very good management, and is in fact profitable. So even more unfortunate and sad from their perspective and ours, that Masters has to close down, and they lose their jobs. (Sure, probably not all Masters stores are the same).

    • EmCKay on 14/08/2016 - 20:07
      +2

      I can't comment on Bunnings as a whole but I will tell you that I am proud of the team members at the Western Sydney store at which I am a team member.
      I work in 'Support'. I work at the returns counter as well as on the door and I enjoy my job the vast majority of the time.

      Team members earn 'service pins' (you can see them on their aprons) for customer service when a customer goes out of their way to contact the store and leave positive feedback. The way I earned my first service pin was not pleasant. I copped ten minutes of full on racial and gender specific abuse from a customer for doing my job (in this case opening a box to see if the item was in returnable condition when I should have 'trusted him'). I was nothing but respectful as is my nature even though in his words 'all white women are ignorant and incompetent'). Two other customers contacted my managers and praised me for how I handled myself.
      We greet hundreds and hundreds of customers a day with a smile and get all responses from a return greeting as warm as ours to a grunt or even a complete snub.

      While I do not agree with how the register operator handled your particular transaction, I will say that at our store we have over 70 aisles and a ridiculous amount and array of items that we do our best to remember. It is not typically the case that they can't be bothered looking up an item - it may be an item that they are not familiar with or find that they are unable to type the 'right words' into the search function of the POS system to locate it. Not all of our items have photos accompanying the descriptions either so we do appreciate when customers take photos of item numbers or let us know of a clearance price that we may not be aware of.

      I hope that one day I get the chance to improve your Bunnings experience and give you a warm welcome and the best customer service that I can possibly give.

  • voldemart on 12/08/2016 - 16:30
    +2

    My view is that the problem with customer service in Australia is all rooted in the laid back attitudes of people here. You have a good experience? That's because most Australians on most days are happy-ish and friendly-ish to strangers. You have a bad experience? That's because the server had a bad day or just genuinely a sh*tty person (rare).

    People in retail and hospitality do receive customer service training to various degrees but I don't think most people take it seriously. Worst still, companies don't usually enforce customer service rules etc. and often side with the employee unless it's a major PR disaster.

    I wrote something in this forum before complaining about bad experiences on customer services, and many people simply said "just move on", "give her a break, she must have a bad day" etc.

  • samojed on 12/08/2016 - 17:00
    +2

    I reckon Australian customer service is well above world's average - but only when they're trying to sell you something.
    The moment you buy an item or god forbid you come back with a faulty item, all the kindness goes down the drain and the interest level hits the rock bottom.
    It's as if Australian businesses have no incentive to fix things once they're broken. My guess is this has to do with decades and decades of living in abundance, when lost customers weren't really an issue, there were always plenty new ones to serve.

  • Cluster on 12/08/2016 - 17:14
    +4

    I think customer service in Australia is, overall, pretty good. Cashiers smile and say hello, and fetch items when asked.

    When my parents immigrated to Australia in the 1980s they commented how friendly and helpful staff here were compared to Eastern Europe. At the time over there customer service was pretty much non existent. The customer was treated as an irritation, and if you ever needed a government service you realised just how surly people could be. Things have improved since then.

    India's customer service, I found, was extremely mixed. Unless you specified what you wanted, when, how it was to be delivered, in what condition and set the price up front, you were bound to be disappointed. The sheer amount of red tape there was sometimes astounding. Tourists could visit a special tourist only train ticket office in New Delhi, but the office only allowed you to book tickets for trains at least 3 hours from now (why? The office was 50m away from the station), and you could NOT pay in rupees. Only US dollars, Pounds, and Euros were accepted. Didn't have those? Stiff. Go 'line up' with the crush of the general public outside.

    Japan has legendary customer service, and it's indeed very polite. Almost to the point of madness, as every customer is greeted with a hearty "irrrrashaimase!" on entrance. As the greeting echos through every employee in the store it gets shortened to 'eeeeeh!' I bet the employees despise having to say it hundreds of times a day.

    China was pretty good, but I really didn't like department store employees 'latching on' to me and following me around their department. Let me browse in peace.

    France/England? Generally good, didn't have any issues. The French in particular failed to live up to their stereotype of surly customer service.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2016 - 17:51
    +4

    you might have the "i like to speak to the manager" hair cut

  • mrgeckoz on 12/08/2016 - 17:51
    +2

    extremely long waiting time…low efficiency.
    the overseas call centres are even worse. (and i know you know what im talking about)

    especially mobile/internet service providers, overcharge every now and then.
    i guess they are having a go as most people will ignore and pay.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2016 - 18:27
    +3

    Customer service in general here is good as long as the customers and employers treat the employees with dignity and respect, ofcourse there will be who are exceptions. Wont be surprised if this applies all over the world.

    • Spazzwan on 14/08/2016 - 00:59
      +2

      When I worked retail in consumer electronics, I noticed some of my co-workers tended to treat ignorance as being the same as stupidity—leading to them talking down the them, perhaps unknowingly.
      A little empathy and honesty can go a long way to earning mutual respect. I actually earned a fair bit of extra money from people ringing head office with compliments.

      [Edit]
      Side rants: Staff, don't be scared to say "I'm not sure, let me check" and look on the computer.
      Also, don't get offended when people are 'just looking'—and conversely for shoppers, don't get annoyed when employees greet you.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2016 - 18:31

    Sorry for duplicate. Phone had a Melt down

  • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2016 - 18:32

    Customer service is shit almost anywhere these days. When I worked at Coles 18 years ago, I would have been fired and black listed if I treated my customer the way Coles staff do today. The only way to get a good outcome with any large company is being a c word on a visitor post on Facebook. It's a shame. The large companys do not care they are that rich and people just go there cause it's easy and 6 bucks cheaper than a small business. The only good customer service I get these days are from small/independent businesses. It's funny though some of the best customer service I get is at McDonald's , glad they are sticking to their roots

    • LadyCocoa1234 on 13/08/2016 - 04:43

      I work at Coles and I would say they are still big on enforcing customer service.

  • bobbified on 12/08/2016 - 19:50

    We're always wanting cheaper and cheaper prices on everything. Something's got to give.

    There seems to be a very strong link between customer service and the price of goods. Like having a see-saw with Customer Service on one side and Price on the other. When one goes up, the other goes down.

    Most of us know not to expect super customer service (eg, warranty, enquiries, etc) from the online stores from China where the prices are significantly cheaper. But if we were to walk into a shop we'll find the prices to be higher and we expect some kind of customer service.

    Obviously, there are going to be exceptions.

    If you're complaining about customer service here, you'll be hating life in most parts of asia.

    • Wallyt99 on 12/08/2016 - 20:13

      I disagree. Good service costs nothing more than effort. Its the attitudes of staff that is the problem.

      • scrimshaw on 12/08/2016 - 21:04
        +2

        You can't attract staff of a high caliber and with a good attitude if you pay them poorly, and if you don't have a financially rewarding incentives program, you can't ensure that your staff are motivated to do well.

        Business revolves around money and without money you can't do well. Hire experienced staff. Pay them well. Reward them and praise them with awards if they excel at service. You give them perks and staff discounts. But these perks come at a cost to the business too.

        Humans are not just 'resources', they are not merely tools for a business, they need to be taken care of. Would like to work for a company that gives you nothing but yet expects you to give your best at work everyday? Of course not.

      • bobbified on 12/08/2016 - 21:05

        It's true what you say, but not many people can't keep a positive attitude when they're being paid peanuts and stressing about how to make ends meet.

        • Wallyt99 on 14/08/2016 - 18:33

          Even minimum wage here aint peanuts. There really is no excuse.

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