Customer Service Is Dead In Britain

A Working Man's View

So What? Who cares? What is Customer Service? What are the repercussions? What does it represent? Who are the culprits? What can be done about it?

Dear Reader,

I've had enough. After being brought to the point of anger where profanity would've been my next utterance, I've decided to 'vent my spleen' in this article, highlighting the cause & effect the breakdown of quality customer service is having on our society.

I'm sure if you've ever had a bad experience with customer service, you will appreciate some of the points and suggestions I make in this article. Before I begin, let us first establish what is 'good' & 'bad' customer service.

WHAT IS GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?
To be greeted politely with eye contact & a pleasant countenance;
To be spoken to with a clear, even, tone.
Always ready to listen than assume;
Always prepared to provide assistance.
Ensuring the customer is never kept waiting unnecessarily.
Ensuring your attitude is geared to assistance & understanding;
Providing unknown but helpful advice to the customer;
Delivering/responding on time.

WHAT IS BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE?
Intolerably long queues/idle staff;
Calls not answered within 2 minutes.
To be put on hold for more than 3-5 minutes;
Following call-scripts instead of listening to the customer's problem;
Late or no arrival of delivery with no explanation;
Unexplained & unwarranted blocks on credit/debit cards;
Unjustified high service charges or penalties by financial institutions;
Misinformation causing expense to customer;
Poor workmanship;
Sour, cynical, unhelpful attitudes;
Overcharging/hidden charges;
Withholding useful/valuable information;
Inadequately trained staff.

WHO ARE THE MAIN CULPRITS?
Mainly Banks, Supermarkets, Home Shopping Centres, Mobile Phone Companies, Mechanics, Fast Food outlets, Service engineers - plumbers, gas fitters etc.
Virtually any large institution is, but not exclusively, a culprit of bad service.

WHO CARES?
We are in a time where a majority of people are in debt and we are in debt to the very major institutions that provide poor service.
If I'm going to spend my hard earned money with you and possibly add to my debt, the very least I can expect is to get what I pay for without fuss, rudeness and with value for money. It's as if these institutions think "you or someone else is going to spend your money with us anyway, so why should we bother about customer service? - You'll be back!"
Banks, Home Shopping Centres et al
We all lead busy lives where time is of the essence, yet the queues in Banks etc. get longer & longer. It is not unusual now for someone to spend 45 minutes of their lunch hour waiting to be served in a bank.
There have been numerous times when I've had to ask a member of staff to open another till to alleviate the queuing - why couldn't they do this of their own accord? Why did it need me to point out the obvious? This is indicative of the attitude business has towards their customers.
By the way, you are legitimately allowed to ask a member of staff or management at any venue or outlet to open another till & start serving customers if it's obvious the queues are too much for the member/members of staff currently serving.

WHY ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH THIS?
We are in a time where government is increasingly forcing us to 'accept our lot' in life; 'SHUT UP, BE HAPPY'!
(To prove my point I could expand here into 'Game Theory', 'Negative Freedom' and our budding totalitarian state, but I'll leave that for a future article!).
Add to this the 'sheep' & 'don't make waves' mentality of the British and you have a nation that is ripe for arrogant, sloppy business practices. >If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.
The irony is that under the present political climate it is assumed by government and the captains of industry that what we buy is a true representation of our wants & needs and therefore a true representation of democracy.
Yet we fail to see the power that belief gives us, the consumer. No matter how much small print and word trickery is invested into an organisation's Terms & Conditions, we are still protected under Consumer Law which has been strengthened considerably over the past decade.

HOW DID THESE PRACTICES SEEP INTO OUR NATION?
I would like to suggest a number of possible factors:
One factor is the Americanisation of Britain - our government taking existing American policies and tailoring them to suit the British economy - that was started under the Thatcher era, and continued with fervour under the Blair government.
Anyone who's visited the West Coast of America frequently like I have will know that 'service with a smile' is not a standard approach, be it from a public servant or an average serving citizen. The "Time Is Money" principle is applied with fervour.
A second factor is the practice of globalisation. We are in a world where foreign companies can own any company in any country, even if it's considered to be a major culturally important institution of that country.
Successive British governments from the Thatcher era onwards have made it clear that anyone willing to invest is welcome & ensure our virtually non-existent union laws make this country a viable prospect.
Add to this the fact that a company residing in Britain may have a telephony service in India and a production factory in South-East Asia, and you can see how loyalty to an ideal can be become a passing thought.
A third factor is technology. The advent of automated lines, email & text communications, in addition to internet shopping, is creating a nation where person-to-person communication is rarely practised, therefore there is less patience when performing the art of speech. Pitch, Inflection, Courtesy, Tone, Understanding, Rate & Enunciability are fast becoming a quaint approach to communicating.
A fourth factor is immigration. With a large influx of people from all over the globe, the importance of good customer service in this nation needs to be highlighted when you have people from Australia to Zaire whom haven't been raised with the British shopkeeper mentality & may have been brought up to believe that getting the job done is good enough. It isn't.
A fifth factor is staff consideration - which may range from poor pay to poor working practices to poor working environment. Good pay is not enough to motivate staff; almost every employee survey carried out on job satisfaction puts pay 3rd as the most important requirement for an employee.
Giving an employee a sense of worth goes a long way to a happy workforce - although this needs to come from the employee as well; if money is the only motivation to work and nothing else, make sure you never deal with customers. Go and work on a production line somewhere - we don't have to deal with your lack of ambition or self-worth.
Taking pride in whatever you do goes a long way to affecting your approach to a task.

HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BRITAIN?
Policies can direct and shape a culture.
Policies shape the decisions of what products will or will not be available; how they will be available; how much they cost. These in turn will shape our buying and shopping habits.
This in turn will help to shape attitudes and practices throughout society.
Modern day communications have made vast savings for big business; the trade off of unhappy customers as a result seems to be worthwhile in their eyes.
Britains reputation and culture was built on its customer service. The nation continues to trade on that reputation from being the first called to provide UN relief to being the first contacted to train police forces of the developing nations. The British workforce used to think it a grave slight on their character if they were accused of bad service. Now, in the event of a complaint, the manager pretends indignation in front of the customer and ridicules their 'pettiness' behind their back. "The Customer Is Always Right" is from a bygone age.

WHAT ARE THE REPERCUSSIONS?
The repercussions are already being felt.
The increase in these no-win, no-fee companies is a testament to that.
The second stage is the unpleasant aspect of public servants being attacked, verbally or otherwise. Indeed, were the figures for physical assault on public servants and shop assistants to be measured over the past 20 years, I'm guessing they would show a sharp increase.

The third stage - which has already begun - is when customers start taking individual action in small claims courts when they are not happy with the conclusion of a complaint to a Customer Services Dept. Increased, continuous litigation on big business cannot be a good thing for a company in terms of cost and man hours.

WHAT CAN BUSINESSES DO?
Branch Services
-Any organisation that makes sure customers are not queuing for more than 5 minutes per customer will see their volume of visits triple.
-Make sure there are never more than 5 customers per till person.
-Make sure that whatever your staffs is doing - no matter how important & time sensitive they think it is - as soon as a long queue has developed, get them on the tills or assisting to clear the queue.
-Even if customers are still queuing for some time, they will appreciate the attempt and the importance you place on their custom.
-If there are processes & procedures that have to be performed throughout a business day, there should be a flexible contingency method that enables the staff member to help clear long queues then get back to their procedural matters or conclude them in a quiet period.
-Any branch of any business that takes the above stance will see their volume of customers increase.

Telephony Services
-Ensure the option to talk to an actual person is on the 1st list of menu options offered.
-Teach your staff to actually listen to the problem.
-Teach your staff not to be menu-driven when giving support.
-Ensure the Reduction of waiting times is a constant priority.
-Design the menu options you offer from the customer's point of view.

WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS DO?
Vote with your feet!
&
COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN!
When making a telephone call, have a piece of paper and pen ready.
Always seek the name & job title of the person you're speaking to and write it down.
Ask to speak to/see the manager or senior member to make a verbal complaint.
If that fails, seek the name of their customer services manager - they have to give to you.
Seek the address of the customer services department for complaints - it may be different than their standard customer service dept.
Find out the email address of the person or department you need to speak to.
Write to the relevant person. In these instances the pen is truly mightier than the sword.
Send letters recorded delivery. Someone has to sign for it.
Organisations still have to reply to a written letter by law.
Go to http://www.parkingletters.co.uk
click on "Useful Links" and you will see links and information on a number of organisations who provide invaluable help in this area.

WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE?
The Present
Customers to respond to bad service with their feet. Don't go back.
If it's a chain store, don't visit that branch; better still, the whole chain.
If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.
The Future?

-A website database where a customer enters the place of business, the person who served them, their own name and a contact no.
-A list of the good and bad accessible to all.
-Management of respective business presented with a daily/weekly/monthly list of complaints to resolve. Their response monitored.
-Highlight bad/good Company of the week/month.
-Arrange boycott of bad company/branch through their respective local press. Promote good company/branch.

BIG BUSINESS BEWARE,

WE THE CONSUMER HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!

Free Learn To Speak French

Do you know that you can now learn to speak French free online? All you have to do is know where to look. I have put a list of the four best places to start looking. If you follow my simple ideas you could start learning French for free online - today!

Do you ever come across French words and have no way of finding out their accurate English translation? If so, the Google language tool may just the thing that you've been looking for. It so simple to use and best of all it's absolutely free! Go to the Google search engine and type – “google language tool”. Click on the link and you will be taken to the translation page. Type in the word, choose the language (in this case it will be French), then choose the language you want it translated into (this will be English), hit enter and you'll have instant translation. Remember this can work the other way too.

There are hundreds if not thousands of online companies that will try and sell you all kinds of online French courses. Because there is so much competition, these sites will often offer freebies as incentives. Some will even offer free trails of their products with no obligation to buy. Why not take advantage of this? All you would need to do is sample a handful of these courses and you'll have enough French tuition to last you the next couple of months. When you eventually run out, all you would need to do is sign up for some more free courses. It's so simple and you'll never have to spend a dime!

I am sure you have heard about the new craze of streaming video sights such as youtube.com and Google video. You can literally find clips on any subject you search for. Have you ever thought about searching for French tuition? Give it a try. You'll be amazed at how many free video clips there are available. You don't have to stop there, you could even check out some current French TV and music Videos – the possibilities are endless.

There are numerous websites such as the UK site bbc.co.uk that simply offer free tuition. All you have to do is know where to look for these sites. Fortunately, there are search engines that can do all the hard work for you. All you need to do is type “learn to speak French free online” and hit enter. This search will instantly return one and a half million sites for you to choose from (depending on your internet connection). You don't have to look at all of them out (that would take forever), just check out a handful from the first page and you will bound to find some great information - free of charge.

Most people underestimate the amount of free information that is available to them via the internet. I hope my handy hints have helped you realise just how easy it can be to learn to speak French free online.

Easy Basic French

I have put together a collection of words and phrases that will help you learn basic French words. Once you have committed these simple phrases to memory you'll be able to have you very first French conversation!

Part 1 -
These are the first French words you will need to learn. They are very basic and easy to remember. Once you have mastered these then you can move onto section 2.
Yes = Oui
No = Non
Please = S'il vous plaît
Thank you = Merci
You’re welcome = De rien

Part 2 -
Start with part 1 – if you can't understand what someone is saying, simply use these phrases to help get you out of this sticky situation.
Part 1 -
Excuse Me = Excusez-moi
Sorry = Desolé/Pardon
I don’t understand = Je ne comprends pas

Here are some basic questions that will help you whilst you are out and about vacationing in France. Once you have committed these phrases to memory move onto section 3.
Part 2 -
Do you speak English? = Parlez-vous anglais?
Aidez moi, s’il vous plaît = Can you help me please?
Combien ca coûte? = How much is it?

Part 3 -
Here are the some essential words that will help you meet and great new people in French.
Hello = Salut
Glad To Meet You = Enchanté
Good Morning/Good day = Bon jour
Good Evening = Bon soir
Goodbye = Au revoir
My name is = Je m'appelle

Here are two great tips to help you learn basic French words and improve your vocabulary.
1 – Make your very own vocabulary book. Every time you learn new word, simply add it to your book. Be sure to keep it with, and you will have your very own tailor made phrase book.

2 – Make some flash cards. Write the French word of phrase on one side of the card and the English translation on the other. Flip the cards and test your French knowledge.

You see, its easy to learn basic French words when you know how. I hope my handy words and phrases and top tips have helped to get you on the right track.

Child Survive Homework

Is homework wreaking havoc in your home? If the answer is YES, then finding the real causes behind the homework problems, and taking steps to resolve them, will improve both school success and family harmony.

How do we know? Homework is the single biggest issue affecting home life, according to many of the parents who bring their children to us at STRONG Learning Centers®.

Here are the ten most common causes of homework problems, along with suggestions to help you resolve them.

1. THE HOMEWORK IS TOO DIFFICULT.

If the homework is continuously too difficult, with everything that entails, then a child will try to avoid it. Look into the cause. Begin by having a conversation with the teacher. If the problem is class-wide, hopefully the teacher will evaluate and adjust the nature of his or her homework assignments. If the problem is limited to your child, she may require additional help from the teacher after school, from you, from a sibling, from a teenager you hire, or from a tutor. If this fails to resolve the issue, then a reevaluation of the type of class, or course level, or teaching vs. learning style, or school may be in order.

On the other hand, the cause of the problem may be a disability: physical, learning and/or attentional. Your child may have difficulty in such areas as: hearing, seeing, reading, processing language, or writing, or she may have ADD or ADHD. If the problem is one of these, sometimes it is easy to resolve. For example, corrective glasses can easily resolve some seeing issues and behavioral therapy and/or possibly medication might help AD/HD, the newer term for the disorder. In many cases, consulting teachers, counselors, or specialists in the appropriate field, might be in order.

Note: If you suspect AD/HD, a valuable resource is CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder organization). For information on the learning disability (LD) issue in general, contact the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA).

2. THE HOMEWORK IS TOO CONFUSING.

When children chronically complain that assignments or directions are confusing, they are likely to become frustrated and/or anxious, eventually avoiding such assignments. Parents usually respond to these children by asking, "Weren't you listening?" Or "Just read the directions!" The children were listening or reading, but they may not have been able to process the information.

In this case, the cause may be reading comprehension and/or language processing problems. You may need to seek the help of teachers or a learning specialist to help your child learn strategies she can use to overcome or compensate for her disability. For example, she may need to put the words into pictures or graphic organizers. Children who become confused due to problems with language processing, do better when they can see things visually.

And, regardless of who is working with them, be sure they remain actively involved. Children (and adults too) are notorious for shaking their heads "yes" when asked "Do you understand?" even when they don't understand. Sometimes they are just yessing you and sometimes they think they understand. However, when you ask them to explain or discuss what you were just talking about, they realize that they really don’t understand.

If neither of these areas are the cause of the problem, then you may need to investigate why your child continues to complain. If it turns out it is simply a ploy to get you to do the work with him, then you need to address the reason for that behavior. But wait – before you get annoyed, remember what it was like for you when you were a child. Homework isn't always fun, and sometimes it's nice to have a little company. Your child may simply want your company during homework time. Wow! How's that for the ultimate compliment?

3. THE HOMEWORK IS TOO LOW-QUALITY OR TOO BORING.

Sometimes homework assignments are low-quality boring busywork and children will avoid them simply because they don't want to do them. Unfortunately, one of life's little lessons that children need to learn is that sometimes we simply have to do boring things. If, however, every assignment appears to be dull, too easy, or too low-quality, you may need to talk to your child's teacher to determine the purpose of the assignments. Many teachers do not realize how some of the assignments are coming across to the children; chances are they will appreciate the feedback and adjust the work as appropriate.

4. THE CHILD IS DISORGANIZED.

He brings home the book and forgets the assignment. He brings home the assignment and forgets the book. Or he forgets the assignment and the book. Does this sound familiar? If so, it sounds like you've got yourself a disorganized child. The same is true for children who can’t judge time or can't manage their time. They may have the best intentions to get the homework done, but somehow it gets lost in their time-maze.

It is so difficult for disorganized children to get their homework done that some of them would rather lie, insisting that there is no homework, than be criticized and punished. If poor organizational skills seems to be the issue, there are many books and articles that offer great strategies to help the disorganized child. See, for example, pp 123-127 in Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids.

5. THE HOMEWORK IS TOO INTRUSIVE.

It's a fact; homework cuts into playtime. So what's the problem? The problem is that in some cases homework time creeps up to the point of consuming the home lives of the children and sometimes that of the family as well. Besides the obvious down side, this may be harmful to children's intellectual development. Their brains are developing and they need to use all parts, and good quality play provides opportunities to use the "far corners" of the brain that might otherwise remain fallow. So, it turns out that children need to play. Surprisingly, brain research indicates that occasional boredom is good, too, as it forces children to think of things to do — that is, to use their brains to create.

So if homework time seems to have taken over your home, work out a schedule with your child so that he doesn't have to lie in order to play.

6. TOO MUCH PARENT INVOLVEMENT.

Some parents are overly involved in their child's homework. Here are the three most common types, all of whom tend to drive their children toward lying and deception. If any of these describe you, then work to change your behavior.

A. The "perfectionist parents." Perfectionists demand picture-perfect-homework. Their children hate to let them see their homework papers out of fear that they will judge the work unworthy, tear it up, and make them do it again. Besides being tedious and time demanding, in these extreme cases it is downright disrespectful of the child.

B. The "helicopter parents." These parents hover over their children, making sure that every "t" is crossed and every "i" is dotted. They think they're being helpful, but here's the problem: By not giving their children any breathing room, they are delivering the tacit message that their children are not capable of doing the work themselves. Not only does this harm their self-esteem, but it also denies them the opportunity of taking responsibility for their own work.

C. The "Pandora parents." The children of Pandora parents tend to deny the existence of any homework they don't understand because asking Mom or Dad even the simplest question is tantamount to opening Pandora's box. Their well-meaning parents can't contain their enthusiasm and turn what would ordinary require a short answer into a long-winded treatise on some esoteric detail.

7. THE CHILD IS UNMOTIVATED.

Most children don't want to do homework. But while they may put up quite a fuss, somehow they manage to get the work done. If they don't, motivation may not be the problem; they may appear unmotivated, but this may be a convincing protective screen they've set up to mask a larger issue.

For example, many children appear unmotivated when in fact they avoid homework to protect their egos. How's that? Because these children erroneously equate failure with stupidity. Their logic is as follows: If they try and fail, it is a reflection of their intelligence. If they don't try and fail, it is not a reflection of their intelligence; it is due to lack of motivation or irresponsibility. These labels they can live with; the label "stupid," they can't!

8. TOO MUCH HOMEWORK.

Many kids simply cannot keep up with the projects, tests, quizzes, reading and other assignments they are given.

Here is a general guide for the typical amount of time children should be expected to spend on homework each school day. Grades K-2, about 10-20 minutes. Grades 3-6, about 30-60 minutes. Grades 7-12 will vary considerably, depending on subjects, projects due, tests, etc., but a reasonable average is about two hours, with more on weekends, as needed, for major projects and exams.

If your child spends considerably more than this on homework, look into the cause. Begin by having a conversation with the teacher. If the problem is class-wide, hopefully the teacher will make adjustments. If the problem is limited to your child because your child works slowly, or has other issues discussed in this section, talk to his teacher and see what can be done to modify his assignments.

9. IT'S TOO NOISY.

Many kids complain that they can't concentrate at home. Their siblings are running around, TVs and music systems are blaring, someone's on the phone, people are fighting, the dog is barking, the baby is crying. I don't know about you, but I need quiet to do work that requires thinking. Closed bedroom doors don't help much, as the muffled sounds of chaos always manage to get through.

Here is an idealistic solution. Even if it can't be carried out fully, at least it is something to aim for. As a family, consider designating a block of time as quiet time. Normal living continues, but more quietly than usual. Kids can use the time to do homework; parents can read, balance the checkbook, and write e-mails; those who have time to watch television can do so with headphones or the sound turned low. Sometimes quiet sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

10. THE CHILD IS TOO ALONE.

Some children are lonely when required to do homework in their rooms, and don't work efficiently in that setting. Some need continuous support and direction. That is, they need someone to help them stay on task or to provide a little assistance when they get stuck. If required to work alone in their rooms, these are the kids who emerge three hours later with little or nothing accomplished. Both groups of children tend to prefer doing homework on the kitchen table. This way they have people around them, either for support or company.

So, if homework causes chaos in your home, look into the reasons. Once you find them, and do what you need to resolve the problems, you'll be back on the road to school success and family harmony.