Perhaps it would be better to look at this business dynamic from the point of view of the brilliant MBAs and executive suite McScrooges. It is all about maximizing shareholder value. The so called customer is a roadblock to directly lifting the money out of their wallet and into theirs.
This exact notion is why I named my business "Native I.T." back in 2015 when I became disillusioned with the state of I.T. subcontracting and the emerging "gig economy". I've always been better at service than sales, so here's hoping I can leverage my strength with this particular niche. I can certainly say that I share the sentiments, and find most everyone I know does as well.
I recently travelled through both Chicago and Denver airports and was amazed to see lines of people queued up to enter the clubs. It seems like such a synthetic economy, like a theme park.
I definitely agree with the author that there are opportunities out there for businesses which provide good service. I'm at a point in my life where I don't actually care that much about price any more. I will pay a premium for a) good quality products and b) good service. I love going to my local butcher shop, even though it's often 25-50% more than the supermarket near me. Why? Because they have great service. If I need some soup bones cut in half to roast, they're happy to take them back and run them through the saw. If I ask for 3" thick steaks, they will say "no problem, come back in a day or two and we will cut some that size for you". They'll break down whole chickens for me if I ask, etc etc. That's well worth the premium in price, and they have a very loyal customer base because of it. Service really does matter.
I'm the CEO of a small company. Our team is super customer service oriented, and I support and reward that, even though it costs us extra. I agree with the article.
Provide great service and a product that works, and people will love you.
Enjoyable read, but kind of ironic that it interrupts your reading half way down to nag you to subscribe. Everything is an overcrowded airport lounge, indeed.
I’ve heard the “you can order the odd colour online” so many times I’ve started telling the sales people “if we all did that then you wouldn’t have a job.”
I think most brands have adjusted to “showrooming,” where customers check out the fit and finish and then order online anyway, specifically for shoes. Some stores place the order for you.
The extra charge for bags is mandated by many local governments (to “reduce waste”), businesses just tack on another few pennies of profit.
This person feels entitled to quality customer service. Maybe 30 years ago that was an expectation. Nowadays, if you want good customer service, you need to pick business that deliberately prioritize it, which often means paying more.
Consumer Cellular is a great example of a company that prioritizes customer service and costs a bit more. Compare their cellular service to a company like Mint, which gives you basically the exact same product, but for half the price due to having literally zero customer service.
For running shoes to use one of their examples, REI is a great store to get a human to show you where things are and to give their opinion on what the right shoe for you would be. If you go into a Macy's or a WalMart you'll pay a lot less, but you won't have anyone there to help you.
Every self checkout I've been at has always had an employee willing to help, in fact more often than not the person manning the self checkouts at Costco just ends up gunning all my items when they see I have an infant strapped to me, and I typically don't have to lift a finger. Of course, you can't get into Costco without purchasing an annual membership and you can't get out of Costco without spending at least $100.
You can get cheap stuff, and you can get less cheap stuff with good customer service. Peoples' time and energy is not free, and you should be willing to pay for it if you expect it. Feeling entitled to good customer service when you purchase bargain-barrel products lacks a certain awareness of how much an employee deserves to be paid.
I think the author needs to shop at "richer" places for the treatment they want. Service is rich-people shit, and they're evidently not spending rich-people money. Inflation may recently have fucked up their expectations. It's been rough, I get it, I feel like I've dropped a "class" or so, too, just as I was clawing my way into upper-middle.
$300 full-retail for two pairs of sneakers in the downtown of a major city is not rich people money anymore, the goddamn trash-tier sneakers for my kids at Kohls often cost like $50+ a pair—on clearance. That's dead-center middle-class spending now, and the middle class has had shit service a long time.
I get it. $100 sneakers should be premium. $150? Pft! If you're somewhere that stocks those, it's gotta be nice, right? I mean damn. But not so much any more.
I suspect there's something similar going on with the rest of what they're seeing. Though yes, I agree that the middle class once again receiving any amount of actual service instead of constant attempts to fuck them over and nickel-and-dime them would be rad.
That’s because every business is “scaled” to the point that the edge employees —- ie the people who interact with paying customers —- don’t own anything, and are 12 levels of management away from anyone who does.
My grandparents owned a grocery store. Their name was on the sign. If you brought home spoiled meat, that was their name and you as a member of their community that were put out.
When my mom brings home spoiled meat from Stop & Shop, she goes back there not just to exchange it, but to complain to someone about how it messed up her barbecue plans, etc. And I’m like seriously, why would anyone working at Stop & Shop give a rat’s ass about your family gathering? Stop & Shop is owned by a Dutch multinational “food retail” company.
But that’s not the capitalism she grew up with. She actually thinks capitalism is great because it allowed her parents to come over on a boat as teenagers and make lives for themselves, and have extra to send back home. But she hates it when she calls her cable company and ends up chatting with a girl in Singapore. Go figure.
> First, I can’t make it two blocks to the store without being ambushed by clipboard warriors trying to rope me into saving the whales, curing baldness, or whatever today’s cause-of-the-day is.
Everyone wants to feel VIP, and there's lots of money to be made in making people think they're going to get the VIP experience, so we get a flood of shitty VIP experiences like airport lounges.
If you don't like this state of affairs, you basically have two choices:
1) hustle and try to make enough money so that you're an actual VIP with access to actual VIP experiences
(OP in the article says "Charge me a premium, I don’t care.". Buddy, if you could afford the premium, you wouldn't be writing this article)
2) drop out, and don't patronize those experiences in the first place. Question why you are in a fake VIP airport lounge waiting to head to your fake VIP Disney/Vegas/Venice/whatever vacation in the first place.
I heard on npr, can't remember which radio show, that customers these days do a really poor job of punishing poor companies. They cited the statistic that the most pissed off customer is only 2% less likely to use a service/product than the most loyal customer.
I will say this - I've been an Apple fan for a long time, through some really dark times. And I have my issues with who Apple has become.
One of the nice things about the Apple Store though was not just realizing that no one else was going to sell their differently designed products better than they were and the need for well-organized, spacious, inviting stores that were a fun attraction on a visit to the mall -- they really improved their customer service process. It's nice to be able to schedule an appointment and talk to someone who walks you through options. I'm sure there is no 100% satisfaction, but I took my iPhone 13 Pro Max in for a battery replacement... and ultimately, they ended up giving me a new iPhone 13 Pro Max because the camera sensor didn't work after battery replacement. They were nice, apologetic, and communicated well throughout the whole process. I even ran into the customer service rep at a local pub and nearly bought him a beer because he was so helpful.
But with that said, I agree with this post - sometimes, there is simply satisfaction in doing things well, treating people with dignity and respect, even if it doesn't pad your bottom line. How do we get there? No idea. Perhaps by having these kinds of conversations?
Note that the author does not ask for universal manners and courtesy, the foundation of a pleasant society. Instead he demands “customer service” in which dignity and respect flow in only one direction.
Does the author really want new shoes, or does he mostly want to feel like a very special boy in the shoe store? It is the latter. I suspect he would choose to burn down the world rather than live in a world in which his superior social position as a Customer is unrecognized. Soon the bond markets will neutralize the status conferred by this man’s credit card and we will see which he, and the millions like him, choose.
This article reads like a chapter from the Boomer Bible. Not getting a free bag for your purchase? That is mostly controlled by local city rules about reducing plastic. Mostly highly developed places now try to reduce the amount of "free bags" given when shopping. This includes many high-end department stores and grocery stores.
I don't think the author realises how much it would cost to have a native-level English speaker available at a call center. Wages are probably 20 USD per hour (unless you use Philippines or India, but I am sure the author would object).
> Lounges used to feel special, a perk reserved for business travelers. Now they’re overcrowded, uninspired, yet somehow more coveted than ever—thanks to social media flexes and pricey credit card perks.
I think one of the author's main issues is that they want to feel special, and that feeling can only come through external validation like the exclusion of others.
Also, they seem to take the easy and lazy way out by seething instead of acting.
Also, they lie a lot. Nobody has hassled people with clipboards to save the whales for 26 years.
> The only thing still alive is the endless, humiliating upsell and self-service. The drugstore, the bank, the dentist
Yeah.
Lazy way out.
When I had a bad experience at a chain pharmacy 10-ish years ago I spent less than an hour, googled "independent pharmacies" and found the National Community Pharmacists Association. They have a locator for locally-owned independent pharmacies and I switched to one of those. Now I know my pharmacist's name (not the tech, the actual pharmacist, though I know the techs too) and I don't even have any pressing or complicated medical issues. The only thing they've ever tried to upsell me is a self-published book on local lore and history written by a woman who lives in my neighborhood that was in a stack next to the register.
Yes I bought it. I'm a hoe for that shit.
Same with shoes. My feet are large and weird and shoe buying sucked, not to mention the clueless staff. Often a store would have one pair in my size so I would have to take what I could get. So I took a little time, did some research, and found that specialty running shoe stores exist, staffed by experts, locally owned and operated.
You can do this with many things. Banks (though I prefer credit unions, mine is so small that nearly every member can fit in a large ballroom for our annual meeting and we have an App and digital wallet and everything), doctors, dentists, clothing retailers, anything.
But instead of acting, the author chooses to seethe.
And before you say "there's no other option" you're wrong, unless you live in a deep rural area where the nearest store is 20 minutes away and is a Dollar General, you are wrong.
You just don't care enough to do anything about it, which is a goal with most businesses: plotting the pain/rejection envelope and operating as close to it as possible, to appease the shareholders. You may have to travel a little farther or spend a little more but like I said: pain/rejection envelope-- "how shitty can we be because we're in the main shopping center and the independent guy is on the edge of town?"
An easy way to avoid the race to the bottom is to exit the race.
> When I had a bad experience at a chain pharmacy 10-ish years ago I spent less than an hour, googled "independent pharmacies" and found the National Community Pharmacists Association. They have a locator for locally-owned independent pharmacies and I switched to one of those.
The sole local thing I've been missing around here is a pharmacy that's not fucking CVS, which is awful (and Walgreens isn't better). I hadn't been able to find one using Maps.
Just tried this tool, very hopeful. There are six CVSs closer than the nearest independent pharmacy, literally a dozen towns closer to me than any of these independent pharmacies, and not a one with a non-megachain pharmacy in it :-/ Not driving 25ish minutes each way when we have to go two or three times a month (kids with regular prescriptions). Bummer. I really, really hate CVS.
> And before you say "there's no other option" you're wrong, unless you live in a deep rural area where the nearest store is 20 minutes away and is a Dollar General, you are wrong.
This varies greatly regionally. From what I can tell the places with the healthiest local business options are ones where not just some neighborhoods or a town or two are (relatively) rich, but the whole area is rich, and at least somewhat densely populated. Which makes sense, but is sad for all the small towns out there with people really ideologically dedicated to "local business"—there's a reason those struggle and often fail within a year or two, in those places, and it's because there's no money in the area.
> Every industry is an overcrowded airport lounge now
… in some countries.
I’ve recently moved to a small European country and can speak to a person for everything and they are helpful! From electricity to cellular provider to government departments to stores to doctors to making a reservation, I can’t believe the quality of life this brings.
Some places simply have intangibles that make for a higher quality of life.
When I go to a retail store, my primary emotion is empathy for the workers: I think, "sorry you have to stand here for 8 hours and listen to entitled upper middle class customers". Sometimes at the grocery store, if there's no bagger I'll start bagging my own groceries instead standing there waiting for the cashier to do it. Gets me out of there quicker, and they're often surprised in a grateful way.
30 comments
[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 48.1 ms ] threadProvide great service and a product that works, and people will love you.
I think most brands have adjusted to “showrooming,” where customers check out the fit and finish and then order online anyway, specifically for shoes. Some stores place the order for you.
The extra charge for bags is mandated by many local governments (to “reduce waste”), businesses just tack on another few pennies of profit.
Consumer Cellular is a great example of a company that prioritizes customer service and costs a bit more. Compare their cellular service to a company like Mint, which gives you basically the exact same product, but for half the price due to having literally zero customer service.
For running shoes to use one of their examples, REI is a great store to get a human to show you where things are and to give their opinion on what the right shoe for you would be. If you go into a Macy's or a WalMart you'll pay a lot less, but you won't have anyone there to help you.
Every self checkout I've been at has always had an employee willing to help, in fact more often than not the person manning the self checkouts at Costco just ends up gunning all my items when they see I have an infant strapped to me, and I typically don't have to lift a finger. Of course, you can't get into Costco without purchasing an annual membership and you can't get out of Costco without spending at least $100.
You can get cheap stuff, and you can get less cheap stuff with good customer service. Peoples' time and energy is not free, and you should be willing to pay for it if you expect it. Feeling entitled to good customer service when you purchase bargain-barrel products lacks a certain awareness of how much an employee deserves to be paid.
As I shouted "hear, hear" the author's substack blocked me from further reading with a giant Subscribe Now pop-up.
$300 full-retail for two pairs of sneakers in the downtown of a major city is not rich people money anymore, the goddamn trash-tier sneakers for my kids at Kohls often cost like $50+ a pair—on clearance. That's dead-center middle-class spending now, and the middle class has had shit service a long time.
I get it. $100 sneakers should be premium. $150? Pft! If you're somewhere that stocks those, it's gotta be nice, right? I mean damn. But not so much any more.
I suspect there's something similar going on with the rest of what they're seeing. Though yes, I agree that the middle class once again receiving any amount of actual service instead of constant attempts to fuck them over and nickel-and-dime them would be rad.
My grandparents owned a grocery store. Their name was on the sign. If you brought home spoiled meat, that was their name and you as a member of their community that were put out.
When my mom brings home spoiled meat from Stop & Shop, she goes back there not just to exchange it, but to complain to someone about how it messed up her barbecue plans, etc. And I’m like seriously, why would anyone working at Stop & Shop give a rat’s ass about your family gathering? Stop & Shop is owned by a Dutch multinational “food retail” company.
But that’s not the capitalism she grew up with. She actually thinks capitalism is great because it allowed her parents to come over on a boat as teenagers and make lives for themselves, and have extra to send back home. But she hates it when she calls her cable company and ends up chatting with a girl in Singapore. Go figure.
Preach it! Get the hell out of my way.
Everyone wants to feel VIP, and there's lots of money to be made in making people think they're going to get the VIP experience, so we get a flood of shitty VIP experiences like airport lounges.
If you don't like this state of affairs, you basically have two choices:
1) hustle and try to make enough money so that you're an actual VIP with access to actual VIP experiences
(OP in the article says "Charge me a premium, I don’t care.". Buddy, if you could afford the premium, you wouldn't be writing this article)
2) drop out, and don't patronize those experiences in the first place. Question why you are in a fake VIP airport lounge waiting to head to your fake VIP Disney/Vegas/Venice/whatever vacation in the first place.
[0] https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/08/17/the-premium-mediocre-l...
One of the nice things about the Apple Store though was not just realizing that no one else was going to sell their differently designed products better than they were and the need for well-organized, spacious, inviting stores that were a fun attraction on a visit to the mall -- they really improved their customer service process. It's nice to be able to schedule an appointment and talk to someone who walks you through options. I'm sure there is no 100% satisfaction, but I took my iPhone 13 Pro Max in for a battery replacement... and ultimately, they ended up giving me a new iPhone 13 Pro Max because the camera sensor didn't work after battery replacement. They were nice, apologetic, and communicated well throughout the whole process. I even ran into the customer service rep at a local pub and nearly bought him a beer because he was so helpful.
But with that said, I agree with this post - sometimes, there is simply satisfaction in doing things well, treating people with dignity and respect, even if it doesn't pad your bottom line. How do we get there? No idea. Perhaps by having these kinds of conversations?
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/treatler-treatlerite
Note that the author does not ask for universal manners and courtesy, the foundation of a pleasant society. Instead he demands “customer service” in which dignity and respect flow in only one direction.
Does the author really want new shoes, or does he mostly want to feel like a very special boy in the shoe store? It is the latter. I suspect he would choose to burn down the world rather than live in a world in which his superior social position as a Customer is unrecognized. Soon the bond markets will neutralize the status conferred by this man’s credit card and we will see which he, and the millions like him, choose.
I don't think the author realises how much it would cost to have a native-level English speaker available at a call center. Wages are probably 20 USD per hour (unless you use Philippines or India, but I am sure the author would object).
I think one of the author's main issues is that they want to feel special, and that feeling can only come through external validation like the exclusion of others.
Also, they seem to take the easy and lazy way out by seething instead of acting.
Also, they lie a lot. Nobody has hassled people with clipboards to save the whales for 26 years.
> The only thing still alive is the endless, humiliating upsell and self-service. The drugstore, the bank, the dentist
Yeah.
Lazy way out.
When I had a bad experience at a chain pharmacy 10-ish years ago I spent less than an hour, googled "independent pharmacies" and found the National Community Pharmacists Association. They have a locator for locally-owned independent pharmacies and I switched to one of those. Now I know my pharmacist's name (not the tech, the actual pharmacist, though I know the techs too) and I don't even have any pressing or complicated medical issues. The only thing they've ever tried to upsell me is a self-published book on local lore and history written by a woman who lives in my neighborhood that was in a stack next to the register.
Yes I bought it. I'm a hoe for that shit.
Same with shoes. My feet are large and weird and shoe buying sucked, not to mention the clueless staff. Often a store would have one pair in my size so I would have to take what I could get. So I took a little time, did some research, and found that specialty running shoe stores exist, staffed by experts, locally owned and operated.
You can do this with many things. Banks (though I prefer credit unions, mine is so small that nearly every member can fit in a large ballroom for our annual meeting and we have an App and digital wallet and everything), doctors, dentists, clothing retailers, anything.
But instead of acting, the author chooses to seethe.
And before you say "there's no other option" you're wrong, unless you live in a deep rural area where the nearest store is 20 minutes away and is a Dollar General, you are wrong.
You just don't care enough to do anything about it, which is a goal with most businesses: plotting the pain/rejection envelope and operating as close to it as possible, to appease the shareholders. You may have to travel a little farther or spend a little more but like I said: pain/rejection envelope-- "how shitty can we be because we're in the main shopping center and the independent guy is on the edge of town?"
An easy way to avoid the race to the bottom is to exit the race.
Don't seethe.
Act.
It isn't hard.
The sole local thing I've been missing around here is a pharmacy that's not fucking CVS, which is awful (and Walgreens isn't better). I hadn't been able to find one using Maps.
Just tried this tool, very hopeful. There are six CVSs closer than the nearest independent pharmacy, literally a dozen towns closer to me than any of these independent pharmacies, and not a one with a non-megachain pharmacy in it :-/ Not driving 25ish minutes each way when we have to go two or three times a month (kids with regular prescriptions). Bummer. I really, really hate CVS.
> And before you say "there's no other option" you're wrong, unless you live in a deep rural area where the nearest store is 20 minutes away and is a Dollar General, you are wrong.
This varies greatly regionally. From what I can tell the places with the healthiest local business options are ones where not just some neighborhoods or a town or two are (relatively) rich, but the whole area is rich, and at least somewhat densely populated. Which makes sense, but is sad for all the small towns out there with people really ideologically dedicated to "local business"—there's a reason those struggle and often fail within a year or two, in those places, and it's because there's no money in the area.
In the EU, they're legally required to charge you for it to incentivize lowering plastic waste.
… in some countries.
I’ve recently moved to a small European country and can speak to a person for everything and they are helpful! From electricity to cellular provider to government departments to stores to doctors to making a reservation, I can’t believe the quality of life this brings.
Some places simply have intangibles that make for a higher quality of life.
Love your neighbor as yourself.