What part of "customer service" is so confusing?

Picture this...you have a big wad of cash in your hand, walk into a store to spend it and the person behind the counter says, "No thanks, we have all the money we need. You can take your cash somewhere else."

That probably would never happen but it does seem that some companies feel that way. Most of the time, the "customer service representative" is the only person you have contact with at any given establishment. Large corporations are especially guilty of choosing unskilled workers to fill this position at low pay so you have a double whammy. A) The person on the phone or behind the counter doesn't have the information and training to answer your question and B) because they make low wages they don't care enough about their job to make sure that you...the person with a wad of cash to spend...is happy or not.

This can happen at the bank, the grocery store, your favorite mall store and it happens in business-to-business relationships with vendors. Consumers let companies get away with this shabby treatment because, let's face it, we are too pressed for time or too set in our ways to research the alternatives.

Personally, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take any more! If Mr. Big Business doesn't have time to treat me with respect and EARN the right to take my big wad of cash I'm taking my money somewhere else. What's that Miss Customer Service Rep? You don't have time to answer my question or find the information? You don't have time to do your job properly? You have discovered the perfect cure to being too busy. Ignore your customers and they will go away. Ms. CEO doesn't want to cut into her gazillion dollars a year salary and pay employees a decent living? You don't want to spend the time and money to train your employees to service your customers? Think of how much money you'll make if all your customers all go away.

Sorry for the rant, but the very foundation of my company IS customer service. I know my customers can choose where they spend their money, so I work very hard to provide the ultimate customer service. At Oh Cheri! we treat every customer like our only customer. If you appreciate that kind of service, make the effort to spend money only with companies who give you the service you deserve.

The picture is Bodie, Nevada. It's a ghost town. Let's work together to make "ghost towns" of the companies that treat consumers badly.