As we begin our 15th year of service, my sincere thanks to our valued clients and all who have supported HR Solutions, LLC with your advice, guidance and good will. Without your generous support our continued success would not be possible.

Customer Service-The New Oxymoron

A friend and I were recently commiserating over lunch about the demise of customer service in the work place. Clearly, "customer service" has become an oxymoron like, "jumbo shrimp" and "vegetarian meatballs". Having worked with retail industry clients for many years, I empathize with the HR folks who must find people that have the ability to effectively interact with a customer and create a positive experience. Finding workers with an outgoing personality and who enjoy helping people is a daunting task particularly when paying a minimum wage salary. In most cases the business owner is more concerned with having the necessary staff coverage and minimizing payroll than providing superior customer service. It is even more challenging for those businesses that are seasonal in nature and rely on a few months of revenue to carry them through the year. But those friendly people are out there and when an employer is successful in finding that individual with personality and a service orientation, customer satisfaction and ultimately revenue can increase substantially.

Here's what I mean. I stopped to get gas the other morning and approached the cashier to pre-pay. I said "Good morning" and her response was "What do you need?" My first inclination was to say, I need you to drop the attitude but I responded by asking for $50 on pump number 8. She took my money and gave me my change, at which time I said "Thank you". Her response was "Yup." Silly me, I was unaware that the rules of etiquette had changed and "Yup" is now the recommended response to "thank you." Later that day I stopped to buy a birthday card. This time, I received no verbal response at all to my "hello" or my "thank you". To satisfy myself that this person could actually speak, I lingered a bit longer in the store until I witnessed her talking on her cell phone, confirming my belief that her lack of service was intentional and not due to some form of mutism.

I was convinced that customer service was indeed dead, until my faith in the workforce of the future was partially restored. That weekend, a group of us were in Ocean City, NJ and we went to dinner at one of the restaurants on the Boardwalk. We were a party of eight, and based on the fact that it was a tourist destination, I was anticipating the worst in customer service. Surprisingly, the college student who waited on our table was pleasant, helpful and engaging. She exceeded our expectations just by being friendly and service oriented. Mind you, we're not talking about over the top, Disney experience service but rather, someone who welcomes you, says thank you and tells you to have a nice day. The bar has been set so low that just by doing her job, our waitress received a generous gratuity and our sincere thanks.

So why the distinct difference in these levels of service? One could make the argument that there may be some socio-economic difference or personal issues that separate the pleasant from the miserable. It could also be argued that training may have been provided in one environment and not in the other. While both arguments have some merit, I believe that the hiring and selection process is the key component. I have seen many examples of "hiring in haste" to simply fill a schedule slot or add staff. The interviewer tends to focus his or her questions on availability, previous experience and pay rate without ever asking the situational or behavioral questions that provide valuable insight into the candidate's proficiency in dealing with customers. What they get is a candidate willing to accept $8 per hour to work weekends with no customer service skills. In the end, things can get "pretty ugly."

Here's hoping you get super service at your next outing and not just a "Yup." If we can help your business in hiring and selecting the best and the brightest please give us a call at 610-287-1162.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Phil