Hamish Champ: Service with a grimace
In these tough economic times you'd think businesses would be falling all over themselves to impress customers, potential or already captured.
With revenue at a premium you'd be forgiven for assuming customer service would be paramount, wouldn't you?
Sadly it seems the current environment hasn't persuaded some retailers to focus on their customer communication skills, with last week providing two gold-plated examples of how not to get into a punter's good books.
First, the second-hand motorcycle parts supplier. After a recent tumble off my Triumph - horrible stuff, black ice - I am need of a rear brake pedal, the original having snapped off as I hit the deck. So I rang round a few shops to see if they had any in stock.
On getting through to one lot, when I asked if they had the part in question the reply was a blunt "Not me." Nothing else. Just a gruff "Not me." No "If you hang on I can see if I have one out the back", or "Why don't I take your number and ring you back?" Just "Not me." And then silence, which I was expected to fill presumably. Charming.
The second experience was courtesy of a central London pub visited by myself and some of the Publican editorial team.
Having ordered some lunch one of my colleagues was less than impressed with the size of the portion of chips that accompanied his burger.
There were a mere 16 of the blighters, half of which were like the short skinny ones you find at the bottom of the bag of frozen chips one buys from a supermarket.
My chum returned to the bar and asked if he could have a few more. The member of bar-staff peered at the plate he was holding and slowly counted the chips.
"No," she said flatly, her exercise in addition completed. "That is the size of the portion." There was no attempt to satisfy a customer who was obviously not happy. My friend, needless to say, was somewhat aggrieved.
Now I'm sure the young lady who served my colleague was only obeying orders. Keeping a close eye on costs, margins and yields is even more important in today's market than ever. 'Many a mickle makes a muckle', as my old mum used to say.
But a consumer neither knows nor cares about such things. He or she is only conscious of the act of spending hard-earned money for goods or services and whether what results from the transaction is a good deal or - as in this case, glaringly - not a good deal.
After all, as well as value for money, the level of service people receive can make all the difference between prompting a repeat visit and a 'never-to-be-repeated' one.
