Excuse me? When customer service is missing in action

Excuse me? When customer service is missing in action

Krabbe K. Piting
Contributor
Jakarta

Remember that scene from Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts' Vivian
was brushed off by the mightier-than-thou Rodeo Drive shop
assistant?

I had to stop myself from shouting "Go Vivian!" when she
turned up at the same store the next day fresh from another
shopping spree, all done up and laden with shopping bags, having
a silent go at the aforementioned shop assistant. Ah, revenge is
sweet.

We all have our Vivian moments. In the competitive atmosphere
of today, customer service is surprisingly flabby. They are
either indifferent or snooty. It is made even worse when you have
to pay a princely sum for it. It goes without saying that when
you pay a generous amount of money, you expect excellent
craftsmanship and impeccable service (the 11 percent service tax
attached to the bill should mean something now, should it?).

At a newly opened sandwich bar, I ordered a pricey ham
sandwich which supposedly came with a honey mustard mayonnaise.
Service was slow, and when my sandwich finally arrived, it had no
honey mustard mayonnaise.

When I asked for it, the attendant gave me a half smile and
asked back, "Oh, you want some mayo?" I pointed to the menu where
it clearly stated "Kerry Ham sandwich with honey mustard
mayonnaise".

She looked at me blankly. "Really? OK then." OK then, indeed.

I have been in countless restaurants where the servers don't
have a clue what it is they are serving. But combine this with
irksome conceit, and you'll get to a new level of service (or
lack thereof).

I was browsing for starters at a cafe when I encountered an
unusual ingredient in the salad menu. When asked what it was, the
waitress simply answered, "It's a salad green."

Well, yes, but what kind of salad green is it, pray tell?
Bitter? Peppery?

"Anyone used to eating salads know what it is." Miaow.

Walk into any fancy schmancy boutiques without looking like a
million bucks (or the latest conquest of a certain multimedia
tycoon) and you will most likely to be ignored. That, or somebody
will follow you around with an eagle eye, probably afraid you
will soil the luxury items on display (which you cannot afford,
of course).

A good friend was leafing through a rack of clothes in a now
defunct department store when she eyed a certain pair of cotton
trousers. Pointing to the pair, she asked an approaching
salesperson for the price.

The answer? "Expensive."

In case you're wondering how much "expensive" is in numerical
terms, it was Rp 75,000 (this was circa 1991). My friend promptly
bought the trousers out of spite.

Of course, this kind of snobbery is not exclusive to
Indonesia. Last year, an article in London's Evening Standard
raised the same issue, even going so far as to rate the
snootiness factor of particular posh fashion boutiques. A dressed
down female reporter was dispatched to each store and -- quelle
horreur! -- acted middle class by admitting firsthand that she
was "just looking", i.e. could not afford most of the merchandise
but wanted to try several of them anyway.

Only three of the reporters came out unscathed, with one
barely making it.

Why do these people think they have the right to be so
condescending? They are only employees like the rest of the
population, after all. Even with a massive staff discount, I am
pretty sure that they, too, cannot afford the luxury objects
their employers are selling. Unless, of course, they are trust
fund babies masquerading as common folks. Two words: highly
unlikely.

On the bright side, there are places that will treat you like
a king, whether you really are one or more like the court jester.
I have encountered servers and shop assistants who have gone out
of their way to help me, even when I did not buy anything. It's
what separates a good establishment from the bad: attentive
staff. They know we will come back for more.

A manager of a top Brazilian jeweler said, "We treat every
single person who comes in like royalty. Because even when they
cannot afford anything now, if they like us, they'll come back
when they have the money." How true.