To think customer service is SHIT in the UK

[PMTsickandtiredofyourshit]

•All phone lines are automated and take up to an hour to get through. They usually have some nonsense excuse answerphone message about Covid 19 causing ‘higher than normal call volumes’ that hasn’t been changed in years.

•restaurants are increasingly taking ages to serve and give the impression you’re on a time limit at your table. Wait staff less charming/ less people skills/ less cherishing of customers.

•Today I went to mountain warehouse to get DD some snow boots. Every question I asked the staff they couldn’t answer. I asked if they’d had shoe fitting training because I couldn’t tell which size DD should have. The staff just shrugged and said they had no training. Finally found a good pair but it had a sharp bit sticking out of the inside. I asked if they had the same pair without the fault and was told no but they’d give me a discount! Obviously I wasn’t going to buy my DD a pair of boots with a metal shard sticking out of the interior!

•Then I went to Aldi where they had loads of new self-checkouts which I was heartily encouraged to use by one of the staff, despite the fact I had a full trolly of food. It was a fucking nightmare and took a good 30 minutes. Every other item didn’t scan, there was no where to fit my DD, my trolly and myself without being in the way of the people trying to get out, there were boxes and crap dumped on the floor in front of the trolly. It was incredibly stressful and made me resolve to stop using ALdi and just bankrupt myself by using a nicer, less stressful supermarket.

•Finally I went to Neros where the queue was its usual mile long glacial paced scenario with three women behind the counter, one who was having a huge scratch of her scalp then serving pastries. She got in a huge muddle when selling me two gift cards and was completely baffled by the fact that the two gift cards were to be given to two separate people so I would need two separate gift receipts. I have no idea if these £30 worth of gift cards have actually been credited.

Even trying to book an appointment with my Dr, I have to be given the Spanish Inquisition by one of the receptionists who seems to be qualified to triage the doctor’s diary in the most brusk, patronising non-compassionate way ever. I’m sorry if I don’t want to tell you the ins and outs of my vaginal thrush problem whilst stood outside my office in earshot of my colleagues having been on hold since I was getting dressed at home Janet! FFS. 🤦‍♀️

I just don’t know what has become of customer service these days. It’s as though people who work with the public actively hate them.

How can this be changed!?

I feel your pain, I also hate self automated kiosks

Nothing is more annoying than these self service check outs where computer says no almost every time I use it.
stupid machines and terrible shopping experience.

The public in general has got more impatient, entitled and nasty in the last few years.

I work in Entertainment, which is meant to be fun for everyone. Our customer service on the phone and in person is wonderful. But people want the moon on a stick:

• refunds for not showing up to a booking a month ago.
• refunds because they couldn't find somewhere to park in the eight public car parks within a five minute walk of our venue.
• my staff to entertain their eight 7 year olds despite the fact none of us are DBS checked and its not a service we offer. They get the hump because they want to fuck off to Costa.
• bitching at my staff because their precious Tarquin hurt themselves jumping from head height off a piece of our equipment that they had been told not to climb on.

Noone reads Terms and Conditions. Noone checks booking policies or even the details on order/booking confirmation emails when they have made their own booking or placed their own orders.

I also worked in shops, pubs and supermarkets for almost 20 years in total. Attitudes towards customer service staff has never been this bad.

The girl at Tesco was urging me to take my full trolley to self service and when I declined said she'd help me like I was some sort of idiot, I said no thank you and was quite happy to join the queue to be served by a person,

And of course it's entirely up to you if you want to do that and are happy to join the queue and wait, but she offered to help you so you got through faster, not by way of some back handed insult. That's her job. But you've decided for her that she thinks you were some sort of idiot based on her offering to help.

This is why it's so demoralising working with the public, don't offer help and you don't give a shit, offer help and you think they're an idiot (decided by them not actually what happened). You simply cannot win.

If it's any consolation @PMTsickandtiredofyourshit it's not just in the UK.

I worked in hospitality for over 20 years and the shit you have to put up with makes you really hate the general public.

@Tatumm

”Them ‘50p for a mug of tea / coffee is too expensive’
Me 🤷‍♀️ ‘Fuck off you tight arsed twat’”

😂😂😂👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

A lot of what I hear day to day is

Me "sorry there are no appointments until X date"
Customer "well that's AWFUL customer service"

I'm just telling you our availability. It's not a doctor or dentist, you aren't tied to us, you could go anywhere else. So a lot of the complaints about our customer service online are because I can't get them an appointment tomorrow or something else totally unrealistic

Totally agree op. I do t bother asking in shops now as ‘I don’t know’ is the stock answer. They don’t even attempt to ask or find out.
Call centres are shocking! Churchill insurance-40 min wait. I used to work for a bank call centre in the 90s and we had to answer in two rings. It’s all gone to hell and when you do speak to someone, the service is dire.

Absolutely OP I agree. Im from the UK but live overseas. Last time I came back to visit I was shocked how bad things are. One leg of my train journey had been cancelled and no further instructions given, I asked a lady who worked at the train station if she could help and she said "no worries love, its been a f*king s*t show all day, I'm up to my eyes trying to help people, sit there and ill see what I can do". I was so flabbergasted - on what planet would anyone think that was an acceptable way to speak to someone.
I took a public bus (rural route) on one day and the driver stopped at a bus stop and got out without saying a word so he could have a cigarette break. When I had got on the bus I thought how rude he was, he didn't even acknowledge me when I said hello - is this the new normal?
And my worst one was when my return easyjet flight was cancelled last minute at the airport whilst I was in the departure lounge. I was travelling solo with a toddler and all the easyjet rep could say "yeh as I've told everyone you need to go on your app and find an alternative journey" she was visibly exasperated by the concept of having to do her job and had no interest in helping anyone. There were no other flights available, it was the evening and there I was on my phone trying to book into a hotel for the evening. Absolutely disgusting.
I notice it more now I'm abroad because it's not like it here. People are on the whole polite, conscientious. There's a sense of pride in what they do.

I’ve worked in call centres over the years.

If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice and as helpful as I can possibly be back.

However, the general public are arseholes, fucking horrible and pretty thick!

Also, I’ve learnt over the years that ‘bad customer service’ often means you’re not getting what you want…. But what you want is not always possible.

I’ve not experienced much of what you’ve said but I’m nice and polite when out and about (can’t remember last time I had to ring someone to fix/answer) and I think the majority of the time if you’re nice to them, they’ll be nice/helpful to you

People have become more impatient and rude since covid in my experience and it’s a horrible feeling being a people person and actively looking for a customer facing job because you love people only to have your mental health suffer as a result. Some people are genuinely lovely and those get exactly the same in return from me. But if the customer starts off with being rude I will calmly serve without making any pleasantries.

I do agree with your point about Aldi though, I’m sick of them using the self service tills as an excuse to have half the amount of staff available. Corporate greed comes to mind.

Most unexpectedly, the NI people are outstandingly lovely. Consistently, whoever I get, they are so honest and kind. They apologise for the fact it takes 46 weeks to open, read and log an email or letter before it's even logged on the system, never mind actioned. They acknowledge how preposterous it is and remember when you call back to chase it and then diligently follow up. The last guy and I made a fantasy shopping list to spend my considerable rebate due, I felt guilty spending it without him when It came but decided it would be stalkers to track him down and give him a share of it 😀. Lloyds Mastercard...should just have a menu for callers, press 1 to be hung up on, press 2 to be snorted at, press 3 if you want to lose the will to live.

Noone reads Terms and Conditions. Noone checks booking policies or even the details on order/booking confirmation emails when they have made their own booking or placed their own orders.

This!

I will bend over backwards to change something for someone who's made a mistake or wants something different, but when they've decided that some how it's automatically my fault that although they've made the entire booking/order themselves and they've actually got what they've booked/ordered and paid for, they still treat me like shit, talk down to me, insist that it must be my fault because the customer is always right and treat me poorly because of it, you're getting nowhere I'm afraid.

Treat me with a little human decency and I'll do everything I can to sort it for you, come at me with an attitude and you'll get nothing but no. You've got what you booked and paid for, I'm not going to be bullied into sorting something out for you because you're annoyed at yourself for fucking up but think my place is to absorb that for you because I'm in customer service. My job (or part of it) is to try and sort it out for you, not be there for you to blame for anything you decide you want to.

In turn I won't be pointing the finger or making you feel shit about it, it's in my best interests to sort it out for you and so you get what you want and are happy. Be nice if customers could afford the same - about their own mistakes anyway!

No country provides great customer service automatically except the US. In other countries, including the UK, the expectation is that the customer will be polite first.

If you make the mistake of telling the pharmacist that you've had thrush before they won't sell it to you.

The way people speak to you I'd appalling they don't even speak in full sentences just bark words like chicken at you

I've seen that in local Facebook groups too? Someone will just post something like "best Sunday pub roast?" Not "Can I please have your recommendations for the best pub roasts locally". So they take their social media brusqueness into real life.

I asked a lady who worked at the train station if she could help and she said "no worries love, its been a fking st show all day, I'm up to my eyes trying to help people, sit there and ill see what I can do". I was so flabbergasted - on what planet would anyone think that was an acceptable way to speak to someone

To be honest that doesn't sound so bad - at least she was going to help you!

OK it wasn't professional to swear but I'd take that over someone simply refusing to help.

Well yes.. you wouldn't walk up to someone in the street and introduce yourself by swearing and shouting the place is a fucking shit show blah blah
Of course I expect people to be polite. You can't expect to be rude, patronising, sarcastic and swear and still get great customer service
Some people seem proud that they've reduced staff to tears

Also, I’ve learnt over the years that ‘bad customer service’ often means you’re not getting what you want…. But what you want is not always possible

No, but it would be if companies invested in it.

Training people properly and having enough staff, and having phone and email access would go a long way.

I don't doubt some people are very very entitled and/or very very stupid, but on the other hand they are probably so frustrated by the time they actually get to talk to a human.

Honestly - you have some valid points . I would have politely declined Aldi self checkout . No way can I scan quicker than them .

staff in shops are lower.

however . I do work with the general public . I have been shouted at resorted to tears on a couple of occasions .

not everyone is like that but start the day been shouted at it’s hard not to expect the rest of the day to go that way.

I find a lot aren't even willing to admit they don't know, let alone go to find help.

The Covid excuse is crazy 4 years on. Life has more or less resumed as it did before except we are vaccinated and poorer.

I work in customer service.

It takes 2/4 months training for someone to be fully up to speed.

We are snowed under with the sheer weight of new staff working too slow - which is normal but thing backlog quickly.

Rude people on the phone take up more time so less to do any ‘work’ We bend over backwards to help.

DD was regularly left in charge of a shop at 16 - all the Sunday staff are usually pocket money teens - they aren’t there for a career -
Saturday’s are usually better and staff are better trained because who’s going to invest in the min wage teens left to fend for themselves.

Mountain warehouse shops are poor at customer service in my experience. However I am sick of people bashing Gp receptionists - no one ever sticks up for them. Do you think they really want to ask you about your medical condition? They are told to to by the GPto wheedle out time wasters. They barely earn minimum wage and they put up with a lot of unpleasantness’s - no, I’m not one and wouldn’t want to be. I work for nhs in mental health services and we are told to ask questions before we pass to the clinician. All you have to do is say politely “ I’d rather not discuss it thankyou” that’s all it takes. I’ve worked in all kinds of industries - I always smile say hello and treat everyone the same.

Low wages is no excuse for rudeness. If you don't have the decency to be polite and respectful, don't work in a customer facing role. And if Sophie ID's someone who is clearly of appropriate age, then Sophie definitely needs to get a grip. If you are part of a customer service team that isn't doing their job, answering customer questions and providing resolution to problems, then you are part of the problem. There is no rule that forces customers to wait in a phone queue for hours at a time, to then be "accidentally" cut off. If call staff did their job properly the first time, customers wouldn't have to make repeat calls, emails, complaints. Don't like your job? Go get another.