The value of good customer service

I consider myself a man of routines. Others, unfortunately, have called me a creature of habits. Obviously one of those descriptions is positive, the other not so much. I will let those of you who know me well have the final say as to which is more accurate. Harry Truman had a sign in his office at the White House that "the buck stops here." It is a motto that is very true for any person in a role of responsibility — especially one in a role that regularly meets with the public. When I was the boss of 65 employees in Michigan who constantly were dealing with the public I did everything I needed to do to ensure the customer's interaction with the business was a pleasant experience. You've heard the adage that "the customer is always right." Well unfortunately somewhere along the way that adage no longer seems to hold the same sway it did decades ago. At some places it seems that if the customer is always right, well "big deal." Lost in the world of great customer service are workers who now do three jobs for the wages of one, are working two or three different jobs at different places to make ends meet or else who never have been trained to know right from wrong. But let's get back to my routines. Most days — rain or shine — I have a routine that involves a nearly daily stop at a well-known establishment for a take-out beverage for my wife. Call it love, I guess. As much as I visit the establishment each day it seems to matter not with the employees there. There is little recognition, rarely a smile and if I go into the business for pick-up rather than drive-through, I might wait seemingly endless minutes at the front counter with no one even acknowledging my presence. I could be dressed as a space alien and no one would give me a second glance. Certainly fast food is an oxymoron here. Contrast that to another sit-down restaurant I frequent every Tuesday morning. Again, can you say routine? As I pull into the parking lot the wait staff sees me coming, has an ice water and coffee sitting at the table I usually frequent, and has already placed my order to the kitchen staff who begin preparing it. Now there is customer service! Or take another restaurant in town which I also frequent most days for either a cold or hot beverage, depending on my mood or the season of the year. Regardless, several of the employees who wait on me regularly know my name. We have conversations. They've shared a little slice of their life with me, and I with them. Again, it is another example of customer service at its best. I certainly hope we never lose sight of the "little things in life" that still make a huge difference. As consumers we can spend our money anywhere. These days the choices often seem endless for us and because of that fact, business managers need to remember customer service still is important. Given the choice of shopping at a place where you are but a number or one where you are greeted with a smile, where do you think you will continue stopping at? Store managers need to do everything they can to ensure customer service is a priority, and not a problem. Bill Speer is the former publisher of The Alpena (Mich.) News, and is a Findlay resident. He can be reached at speers@chartermi.net.