Hi folks. It’s been a while since last I wrote, due to time demands and some travelling (Peru - magical place, but I’ll put some notes on that next week). Anyway, for better or for worse, I’m back.

Today’s topic is one that I’ve suspected for some time: there are a lot of people working in customer service who really couldn’t give two hoots about customers.

At the risk of tarring everyone with the same brush, let me clarify something: there are a great deal of customer service workers who genuinely do give a damn about their jobs and the people their jobs bring them in contact with. I’ve had a little hassle with a large computer firm recently. After a month and more of getting nowhere, I finally chanced across one of these individuals, who put in a great deal of time and effort to sort out the tangled mess that other customer service personnel had left. I’d love to name him, but that wouldn’t be fair to the myriad of good, effective customer service workers out there - they all deserve credit.

However, the dark side of customer service is that, for many, it’s just a job. A way of earning a basic crust, and filling in the awkward gap between Sunday and Saturday. It doesn’t help that the job is often less than appealing; wages can be quite poor, the hours can be demanding and the public perception is of an industry that doesn’t look out for its own. Quite a number of people drift into customer service when they’re really rather be doing something else. This is the crux of my point: customer service is VERY important as it’s usually the attitude of the employee toward the customer which forms the basis of the perceived ‘friendliness’ of an organisation.

I think every organisation ought to do its best to make the job appealing, well-rewarded and with opportunity for progression. For if they don’t, you may not always attract the right kind of person.

John