Last week, a lifelong Columbus resident wrote to The Dispatch emphatically calling for better customer service.
The writer offered a customer’s horror story of eating at a sandwich shop on Highway 182 in Columbus.
“When it was time to fix my drink at the self-serve soda fountain, I noticed it was out of ice,” He wrote. “I simply asked the employee if she could get me some ice, please.”
Ice was delivered: The attendant left two buckets of ice on the floor in front of the soda machine and walked back behind the counter.
“It seemed as though it was too much effort/work for her to put the ice in the ice machine,” the unhappy customer recounted in his letter.
He proceeded to scoop the ice out of the bucket with his cup, other customers looking on.
While he very well might have fallen victim to one worker’s bad day, we share the writer’s sentiments on shoddy customer service, something these days that seems all too common.
Once upon a time, when you entered a store or restaurant, you were welcomed and greeted with a smile.
Good customer service is good business. Quite often customer service is as important as the product or service a business delivers. When one encounters indifference in a business, the logical assumption is that the same indifference permeates the company, that it is reflected in the quality of the product. Well run companies know this; poorly run ones often aren’t around long enough to figure it out.
We, as consumers, can play a role. Let’s stop accepting poor service with only a grimace. Next time you get poor service, talk to the manager. Fill out a comment card. Write a letter.
The response you get will say a lot about the company.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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