Service: The unsung hero

Did you ever go into a store where you felt like you were looked at only as a sale and not a a person? I went into a sandwich shop and ordered a BLT. The young woman who was making the sandwich asked me if I wanted lettuce and tomato with that. I stared at her for a moment, thinking she would realize the oddity of her question. She didn't. I asked her, "Isn't that the 'L' and the 'T' in a 'BLT'? If I say no, do I just get a 'B' sandwich?"

She still didn't get it. She was so used to reciting her pitch that she didn't know how to step outside that speech. I've been in many stores with clueless sales people, listened to many telemarketers read their scripts, and been treated like an anonymous buyer far too many times. In this time when customers can get whatever they want from the Web, we need to differentiate our businesses with personal service. We need to listen better and provide the solutions that our customers need. And we must learn from our own consumer experiences and tell businesses when they are coming up short. If they correct the problem, kudos. That's their job as sellers. They just earned another chance. If not, let them know they failed and that you're moving on. That's your job as a buyer.

I hope that my customers will let me know when they are less than completely satisfied. If you're out there, please email me and let me know! I will try to solve it. I can't correct problems I don't know about.