No wonder customers turning to online shopping

What is happening to customer service?

This morning I drove to my local barber shop to get a trim. I walked in, saw only two other patrons waiting. The barber told me there were four call-in appointments ahead of me and it would be a long wait. But, I’m here now, I thought to myself. Then I walked out. Where is customer service?

The other day my wife came home from shopping at a local pharmacy. She related that everything was going well at the counter. She was receiving good service until someone drove up to the drive-in window. Then things changed. The lady who was helping my wife immediately walked over to that window and began to help that customer fill a prescription. Now my wife is a patient woman but being ignored like that was an insult, especially since she was buying multiple products plus filling a prescription. Where is customer service?

Perhaps I am not keeping up with the times. I expect to be treated with more prompt service than some call-in or drive-in customer who is too lazy to walk into the store. Since when is the customer in front of you less important than the customer who isn’t?

With such discourteous treatment of customers, is it any wonder that more and more folks are buying their products online? Who wants to take the time to drive into town and be treated as a second-class customer?

This story was originally published June 4, 2017 at 9:18 AM with the headline "No wonder customers turning to online shopping."