Comments on: Customer Service http://popgoestheculture.com/archives/57 Susie Watson, trend analyst and pop culture pundit teams up with cartoonist Barbara Luhring. Together they tear through the real and manufactured trends in pop culture today. Listen in! Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:33:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Old Comments http://popgoestheculture.com/archives/57#comment-549 Old Comments Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:20:44 +0000 http://popgoestheculture.com/?p=57#comment-549 It's true, the companies that wake up and realize that customer service is the key to having a successful business will be the ones who actually make it in this world. Bottomline. Thanks for posting this! Maria Palma • 3/27/06; 2:44:52 AM # Thanks for your comment Maria. And what a fantastic Web site you operate! I wish we knew about it before the podcast. Keep up the great work and I will check back with your site often. Barbara • 3/27/06; 6:09:42 AM # By the way Maria's site is http://www.customersarealways.com/ Barbara • 3/27/06; 6:12:46 AM # Sorry ladies but customer service in Australia has gotten progressively worse too over the past few years so I wouldn't plan a move here. Although I recently spent some time in a part of the country that relies almost entirely on tourism (both Aussies and overseas tourists) for it's economy and the service there was outstanding. I spent about 8 weeks there for work and experienced the best service I've had in years from every retail outlet and service organisation I was in contact with. The locals took it very much for granted but myself and the other out-of-towner who were there couldn't stop remarking on it. Even the services that I used that had nothing to do with tourists (and who wouldn't normally come into contact with the tourists) were far friendlier and more helpful than is the case in the city I live in. I'm not sure what this says about service but it did give me cause for a glimmer of hope. Cheers, and thanks for the great shows as always. Bernadette • 3/30/06; 5:09:36 PM # Thanks Bernadette - do you think there is any training going on? Someone explaining that successful tourism depends on each person who works on the service side? Or are they just happier to be there? It can't be coincidence. Of course, maybe that is why we all want to visit your lovely country (not move there). Thanks for keeping it real! Love hearing how issues compare in other places. Susie Watson • 3/30/06; 6:03:27 PM # I did ask the locals about the service and whether or not there was lots of training. Apparently not. I suspect it has something to do with having a pretty direct relationship with the concept that poor service = lost business. On the restaurant strip in this holiday town apparently there have been a couple of restaurants that did badly and closed quickly and the locals said it was due to the poor service in each case. I guess if you're a restaurant owner and you can see customers at all your competitors you know you have to do SOMETHING. Somehow that connection seems to have disappeared where I live. Many of the business I deal with (book stores, coffee shops etc) are franchises these days and probably not directly owned by the people giving the service. That connection between the business owner and the customer seems to be lost. Bernadette • 4/2/06; 3:36:38 AM # It’s true, the companies that wake up and realize that customer
service is the key to having a successful business will be the ones
who actually make it in this world. Bottomline. Thanks for posting this! Maria Palma • 3/27/06; 2:44:52 AM # Thanks for your comment Maria. And what a fantastic Web site you
operate! I wish we knew about it before the podcast. Keep up the
great work and I will check back with your site often.
Barbara • 3/27/06; 6:09:42 AM #
By the way Maria’s site is http://www.customersarealways.com/
Barbara • 3/27/06; 6:12:46 AM #
Sorry ladies but customer service in Australia has gotten
progressively worse too over the past few years so I wouldn’t plan a
move here.

Although I recently spent some time in a part of the country that
relies almost entirely on tourism (both Aussies and overseas
tourists) for it’s economy and the service there was outstanding. I
spent about 8 weeks there for work and experienced the best service
I’ve had in years from every retail outlet and service organisation I
was in contact with. The locals took it very much for granted but
myself and the other out-of-towner who were there couldn’t stop
remarking on it. Even the services that I used that had nothing to do
with tourists (and who wouldn’t normally come into contact with the
tourists) were far friendlier and more helpful than is the case in
the city I live in.

I’m not sure what this says about service but it did give me cause
for a glimmer of hope.

Cheers, and thanks for the great shows as always.
Bernadette • 3/30/06; 5:09:36 PM #
Thanks Bernadette - do you think there is any training going on?
Someone explaining that successful tourism depends on each person who
works on the service side? Or are they just happier to be there? It
can’t be coincidence. Of course, maybe that is why we all want to
visit your lovely country (not move there). Thanks for keeping it
real! Love hearing how issues compare in other places.
Susie Watson • 3/30/06; 6:03:27 PM #
I did ask the locals about the service and whether or not there was
lots of training. Apparently not. I suspect it has something to do
with having a pretty direct relationship with the concept that poor
service = lost business. On the restaurant strip in this holiday town
apparently there have been a couple of restaurants that did badly and
closed quickly and the locals said it was due to the poor service in
each case. I guess if you’re a restaurant owner and you can see
customers at all your competitors you know you have to do SOMETHING.
Somehow that connection seems to have disappeared where I live. Many
of the business I deal with (book stores, coffee shops etc) are
franchises these days and probably not directly owned by the people
giving the service. That connection between the business owner and
the customer seems to be lost.
Bernadette • 4/2/06; 3:36:38 AM #

]]>