I remember a time when it was the norm for people serving in shops, cafe's, restaurants, pubs etc, to smile and seem genuinely interested in making customers happy. Unfortunately this now seems to be a rare occurrence and mainly occurs in smaller or family owned establishments.
In my town, Wickes has to be one of the worst. The staff seem to be totally disinterested, disillusioned, no hint of a smile, instead a sigh when customers arrive at the checkout with a large number of items to be scanned. Recently I wanted to purchase an expensive product so I checked on line and two were available 'Click and Collect' at my local branch. No real need for me to order as it is ten minutes away, so I jumped in the car and went straight to the shop. It was a large item so I picked up the card from the display model and took it to the till as per the instructions. The entirely miserable young lady jabbed at her screen and told me they did not have any in stock. I explained that according to the internet they did have two, so could she please check. Grudgingly she dragged herself off her seat and shuffled to the enclosed area where items are stored out of the reach of potential thieves. She returned very quickly with an 'I told you so' look on her face and confirmed that there was no stock. I asked her not to scan the items in my trolley and instead just abandoned it in one of the aisles.
There is a Gregg's cafe in the carpark so I ordered a coffee from an equally miserable looking young girl, sat down and ordered the Wickes item I wanted 'Click and Collect'. I waited twenty minutes and returned with the order number. I showed the number to an equally miserable girl and she went into the same enclosed area but came back with the correct product. My abandoned trolley was still half blocking an aisle so I retrieved it and with the usual huffing and puffing I managed to make my purchases. Why does it have to be so difficult and why has shopping become such a miserable process.
I doubt the working conditions are the best and a young person on a till is probably on minimum wage but surely they should at least try to hide their disdain for their work and the customers that they are supposed to be serving.
I have highlighted Wickes and that is not really fair because similar experiences are now commonplace. Do you remember sayings from the past 'the customer is always right' and 'service with a smile'. I do and I would love to turn the clock back to the days when people really cared.
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