I'm not trying to get into an argument about the script. Of course it seems false - it is. It's new, it's unnatural and it doesn't feel right.

Give it a few months/years and it'll be second nature. The expectation will be to offer your name and everything will work swimmingly.

Ach, they're fine. In places.

google wrote:

Then why is Britain so bad at it?

First, I'm not argueing, just discussing, sorry if my tone came across like that.

As I said before, the british are more synical than other parts of the world and tend to see through it more as customers which means staff get a harder time over it, which means the care less etc etc.

We are actually very good at customer service done right, look at John Lewis or Harrods.

Other countries percievably are better in lower paid areas because the staff are more heavily reliant on tips due to lower minimum wages (relatively obviously).

Liveinadive wrote:

google wrote:

Then why is Britain so bad at it?

First, I'm not argueing, just discussing, sorry if my tone came across like that. As I said before, the british are more synical than other parts of the world and tend to see through it more as customers which means staff get a harder time over it, which means the care less etc etc. We are actually very good at customer service done right, look at John Lewis or Harrods. Other countries percievably are better in lower paid areas because the staff are more heavily reliant on tips due to lower minimum wages (relatively obviously).

Dont know if you know this, but I'm also British (just to clear it up in case you werent aware).

Harrods and John Lewis are different to the standard cafe though, right? You're in Harrods and there's an expectation that you're spending money. The same with John Lewis - it's a middling dept. store where you're probably spending some money.

So why can this not be transferred to small transactions - whether it's a 40p newspaper purchase or a $5 coffee purchase?

That's how I'd run Starbucks.

I take perverse pleasure in rude and surly shop staff. I quite like it personally, as others have said stacking shelves or serving coffee isn't exactly a true calling for most people.

I'd be more likely to question the mindset of someone who's ridiculously over-enthusiastic just to receive my crappy coffee order.

I'm not advocating people calling me a cunt and chasing me out of their shops as soon as I walk in (although I'd appreciate their sense of humour for taking one look at prospective customers and just going "nah"), but I've worked in shops and it's quite often mind-numbingly tedious and boring work so I tend to sympathise when they're not jumping for joy just to see me shopping there.

Yeah I did think you were British. I was talking kind of as a 3rd party rather than us and you, kind of hard to portray in text.

So why can this not be transferred to small transactions - whether it's a 40p newspaper purchase or a $5 coffee purchase?

In a way this is kind of my point.

John Lewis and Harrods may be premium stores but the training received doesn't cost any more (in fact most of my training at John Lewis was from being buddyed up with someone, so kind of free) and you better believe they don't pay much more than minimum wage there.

So I think we may have found a common ground here.
Why can't this be transferred to smaller transactions?

Sympathy with retail grunts is probably the best thing to manage, yarp.

Most crucial way of expressing that sympathy is not to mumble. I'd resent being mumbled at by a punter.

LarryDavid wrote:

I take perverse pleasure in rude and surly shop staff. I quite like it personally, as others have said stacking shelves or serving coffee isn't exactly a true calling for most people. I'd be more likely to question the mindset of someone's who ridiculously over-enthusiastic just to receive my crappy coffee order. I'm not advocating people calling me a cunt and chasing me out of their shops as soon as I walk in (although I'd appreciate their sense of humour for taking one look at prospective customers and just going "nah"), but I've worked in shops and it's quite often mind-numbingly tedious and boring work so I tend to sympathise when they're not jumping for joy just to see me shopping there.

I get that. 

I worked in Tesco when I was 15 stacking the bread and cakes aisle on a Saturday. It bored me to tears having to get up at 6AM, traipse into Newbury for a 7AM start on my day off - but I did it and worked for 3.23 an hour.

I wasn't proud, nor was I particularly happy about it - but I did it.

At the same time, if I was 30 years old and I'd gotten to a point where the only job I could get was working in Tesco's stacking the bread and cakes for 3.23 an hour - I'd do my best to make the most of it. 

Wouldn't you?

Brooks wrote:

Most crucial way of expressing that sympathy is not to mumble. I'd resent being mumbled at by a punter.

Agreed.

Being a cunt to a guy serving your coffee is pretty high on my list of unnaceptable ways to behave in public.

Also. Colombian paedo roast, Brooks.

+1 About not being a cunt.

Its not their fault they have to ask you dumb ass stuff at the end of the day, same goes for other retail/catering (like in blurum when we were talking about Game and there add ons).

igorgetmeabrain wrote:

I worked in retail for five years and did some bar work too and never felt the need to ask for a customer's name unless I was taking an order which couldn't be fulfilled immediately.  Good customer service is really not difficult and doesn't require you to personally acquaint yourself with every customer you meet or stick to some impersonal, scripted 'have a nice day' bullshit either.  Simply be a nice person, converse with each customer in a respectful, honest and friendly manner and get the job done quickly and satisfactorily, exceeding expectations wherever possible.

Igor, I understand good customer service - you dont need to tell me the way to your consumer heart.

My point is that most of the population dont seem able or willing to engage in it on a day-to-day basis when compared to other parts of the world.

Do they shout your name out?
Would they really be able to question what you say your name is?
Can I say my name KAPOWWWWW and they have to shout it?

I may have changed my whole view point.

Ryu O' Hara.