Customer service is honestly terrible these days. amirite?

Protip: Tell the representative that you know the issue you are experiencing is not their fault. Then calmly and politely explain the issue you are experiencing. You would be amazed what a bit of kindness will get you.

by Brandt04 1 day ago

Big truth. Just acknowledging that even if you're upset, that it's not customer service but [whatever policy/issue] it just makes things so much easier. So so so many customers use every mild excuse to just lambast employees and it sucks.

by Thorablick 1 day ago

I'm a CSR - I give them benefit of the doubt but the second they're an asshole, I will go out of my way to ensure they get the most minimum outcome possible

by Acrobatic_Might_6489 1 day ago

Yup, I often start off with that, especially if I'm already pissed from wading through prompt after prompt after prompt. It's not the employees fault they work for idiots who don't care

by Big-Trifle 1 day ago

This is so true. If a customer is nice and not treating me like the enemy, im ALOT more motivated to help them any way i can. I feel like a lot of "Karens" know that if they complain and are aggressive enough, they'll ultimently get something, and thats 100% behavior i dont want to reward

by RoutineHeavy7517 1 day ago

I always do this. It's something my dad taught me and it's lasted - I get so much more out of them. It also means that you can tell when you're dealing with someone who is really unhelpful and react accordingly to that.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

And sometimes it IS their fault, they screwed up somewhere. But I try to be understanding because, you know, mistakes happen. I get it. As long as it gets corrected, then I'm pretty chill about it.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

you also have to think about how much worse customers are these days too. it's hard to be happy to be at my job when i am getting screamed at by customers for things out of my control. yes i agree whoever serves you should be kind and should do their job right but give people some grace please, we are trying.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Big part is that customers are sick of having to jump through hoops to get to an "agent" who just reads from a script and has no ability to actually provide customer service. Companies are tossing their "agents" to the wolves because they do not care about how their employees are treated.

by Big-Trifle 1 day ago

so much truth here!! it's ridiculous, i'd be tired too and i am

by Anonymous 1 day ago

YES!! i love nice people :) it does not go unnoticed

by Anonymous 1 day ago

that's what happens when the buying power of minimum wage drop 40% in 10 years. You get what you pay for.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Customers are honestly terrible these days.

by Comfortable-Web 1 day ago

Always have been

by Acrobatic_Might_6489 1 day ago

Some of us try not to be assholes.

by Live_Ball 1 day ago

It used to be that if you went for a restaurant or other public contact job, you as a young person would be warned, "now you'll get to know the American public!"

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah, I don't blame the workers. They're constantly dealing with jerks while working two to three jobs (people aren't usually getting enough hours at one service job to make rent). I'd be on edge too.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

There have always been terrible customers but service has 💯 gone out the window.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

Honestly most days I try my best. But sorry, bestie, you most likely were next in line to a real pain in the butt and it ruined my entire shift.

by Free-Mongoose7870 23 hours ago

It is called the "One person messed it up for everyone" effect. Blame your local jackass for pissing off the staff at 7am.

by Hot-Committee-4570 23 hours ago

I worked in CS for years and dealt with a lot of assholes..it's not ok to take it out on the next non-AH customer. I know some days can be really rough, and I'm always kind and patient with CS people. But working in CS requires a thick enough skin to shrug off most of the BS. If people are ruining your day by 7 am every day, you either need to work at a different place because the customers are extra terrible where you are currently, or you're not cut out for dealing with the public and that's ok, find a job that involves less of them. And just to be clear, this is not in any way excusing abusive customers, they suck.

by Ok-Couple 23 hours ago

oh absolutely! I don't get angry at the workers. I generally try to just send them some mental positive energy while internally saying "back in my day..." while shaking my cane ;)

by Ok-Couple 22 hours ago

Most of the customer service workers you deal with are also horrifically underpaid.

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

Well, first, they did do you a favor when they showed up to the deli counter. It won't be open for full service if they don't. 😂 Work at a deli for 6 months, I dare you. Something about deli meat brings the crazies to the counter. No idea why. And the customer is almost always wrong, too.

by Soggy_Peanut_8057 22 hours ago

I agree with you. I was in CS jobs my whole life, even professionally. So I'm always very kind and understanding of workers, and I will speak up when a customer is being a dick if I think I can do so without escalating the situation. And I still have a lot of experiences where people are disinterested, look annoyed when they have to put down their phone, don't acknowledge you as a customer when you walk up to the register because they're chatting with a coworker, and other things that would have gotten me bounced out the door by my managers back in the day. I don't make an issue of it, but I notice it. I mostly have great interactions because I'm pleasant and appreciative, but the numbers of not so great ones are higher now. There seems to be much less expectation of professionalism in a lot of places. I don't think CS people are there to be abused, but you ARE there to provide a pleasant experience for customers who are honoring their side of the social contract. Expecting a customer to wait minutes while you finish a personal conversation is wild.

by Ok-Couple 22 hours ago

Definitely like I don't care if you use your phone or literally do anything else. You underpaid. Overworked. Take your treats but seriously put the phone done when I actually need you. I had one guy at U-Haul stay on the phone the entire time and didn't even say a word to me. Just gestured with his hands. I was so pissed.

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

Then you should petition for a higher minimum wage. I wouldn't work for $7.25/hour either.

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

To you it's 1 interaction that you have to be pleasant in. The worker has that exact same interaction 50 times a day minimum, then there's the assholes the other 50 times

by Vegetable-Thought 21 hours ago

Try 250+

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

Since OP isn't being any kind of specific I'm erring on the side of the workers.

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

I've already encountered AI voice prompts when I call to make appointments for stuff. So yeah its going to get worse IMO.

by Immediate_Working465 20 hours ago

Customers are actually terrible these days

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

I avoided working frontline customer service for years because of the friggin horrible people I was seeing shopping around me. They were awful, and I didn't want to ever be on the receiving end of that. Now I'm in charge of a coffee shop, and I am VERY fortunate that we don't get those people very often, like twice in as many years. (It's a small shop inside a children's medical clinic, so that definitely helps.)

by TopBus 20 hours ago

So are the customers

by Spiritual-Bath190 19 hours ago

where do you live at? i honestly face no issues

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

Getting yelled at for things that are completely out of your control sucks ass, and that's 90% of the experience

by Huelsangelica 19 hours ago

I wouldn't say this is an unpopular opinion. Customer care is crap but the way I see it,if I was being paid minimum wage I wouldn't care either

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

I live in a decent part of NH where people start at around $20 an hour at my local Walmart. Our store is the type where the shoe aisle remains undestroyed, if you can visualize the difference. The last two years, the customer service has absolutely tanked. Most of the employees totally ignore you and the ones filling pickup orders downright push you out of the way to fill their blue bins. I still shop there because the self checkout never has lines, but it's really bad.

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

I know you're saying OP is probably the problem but it's true that customer service isn't what it used to be. I'm always super polite but that seems to just get me walked over most of the time.

by dashawn06 18 hours ago

How to say you don't expect good service, without saying you don't expect good service....

by Big-Trifle 18 hours ago

You cannot read.

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

Customers are so much worse. And the pay stays the same as the cost of living rises. Of course customer service workers are at the end of their rope

by Anonymous 17 hours ago

A lot of the time CS doesn't have the exact specifics memorized. I wasn't there or anything so not trying to judge your specific situation, but it is frustrating to constantly have customers want to be spoon-fed answers they could get 5x faster by just reading the signs. I work at a bookstore, with everything very clearly labeled, and still get constant "where is such and such a genre?" questions. Sir or ma'am if you would look directly above my head you will see it is right there.

by Thorablick 17 hours ago

Boomer is a state of mind. For example, being unable to use your eyeholes.

by Kimreynolds 17 hours ago

Just use your target app. 😑 It literally gives you the aisles number for whatever specific thing you're looking for.

by Anonymous 17 hours ago

Youre right. That was my bad for asking the person working at the store where to find something at the store. I should have to download an app and find it myself. How silly of me to want someone to do the job theyre paid for!

by itzelklein 17 hours ago

Boo hoo Waah waah It's not that hard. You would have been in and out of there super fast if you didn't depend on people who clearly don't wanna be there but have to. I don't why you got all grumpy over a silly location. No one's gonna die because they didn't take your hand and walk you over directly.

by Anonymous 16 hours ago

In 5 years, humans won't be doing this job. You'll be talking to ChatGPT, Grok, or a version of Cyberdyne about to become self aware

by Glum-Lychee 16 hours ago

I'd rather talk to a grumpy human My personal "customer service voice" isn't because I work in customer service. No, it's me trying to be ultra kind to people in customer service, because I know it's a very trying job dealing with so many entitled assholes who come in swinging.

by Anonymous 16 hours ago

Most customers don't deserve service these days.

by Kimreynolds 15 hours ago

I went to McDonald's drive through a while back and this guy said "what do you want?" Through the speaker. Nothing else. Felt like a boomer but drove off. I'm not made of money and I'll happily spend it somewhere else.

by PurposeNo1163 15 hours ago

wants something gets asked what they want drives off 🤔

by Thorablick 15 hours ago

I really don't understand the problem Like, did he have a super snarky tone or something?

by Thorablick 15 hours ago

I really don't understand the problem People like you are the reason customer service is so abysmal these days. Like, you really don't understand at all why being cordial to customers is important? And that's not even asking a lot, that's the bare minimum, as someone else said.

by Professional_List 14 hours ago

Like, you really don't understand at all why being cordial to customers is important? I have never been accused of being rude when asking someone "hey heading to X, you want anything?" I asked if there was a tone at play, but getting irritated because customer service didn't phrase "What do you want today?" in a way the pleases your fancy is kinda... Karen behavior, no? Besides, maybe there was a language barrier. Maybe the guy was having an awful day. It just seems so trite to go so upset at someone directly asking you what you want.

by Thorablick 14 hours ago

Like imagine the most dismissive way to ask if someone wants something. I get that it's not a big deal to most people but it bugged me.

by PurposeNo1163 14 hours ago

I mean, fair I suppose. Sucks to judge him so harshly over it tho. There's definitely been days where I've gotten multiple rude customers in a row and things have gone wrong and I just slip up and let the inner dead show between the cracks. I feel bad immediately and always try to remedy but lord knows people aren't very understanding. It does get exhausting being used as an outlet for everybody's pent up anger and always have to assume the best of everybody and plaster a smile on when dealing with mentally ill or extremely low IQ people, but get berated the moment we show any negative emotion. Or in your case, just not peppy enough for you. :/

by Thorablick 14 hours ago

Maybe it was a bad day on my end but I just didn't want to deal with it so I left. I didn't complain to his boss or anything lol peppyness has nothing to do with it. I know from experience how hard fast food is. But I've still never been that dismissive to a customer even when they deserved it.

by PurposeNo1163 14 hours ago

Fair, I wasn't there so I can't judge lol I've definitely gotten customer service from folks that clearly, absolutely don't want to be there 😂

by Thorablick 13 hours ago

"Welcome to McDonald's, can I take your order?" Even just "Hello, can I take your order" would be fine. Not "What do you want?"

by TopBus 13 hours ago

If the tone was mean, sure, but any phrasing can have a snarky tone. There's no foul language there tho, I'm just not seeing how the very specific phrasing of asking what you would want from McDonald's is cause for anger. If a friend was going to McDonald's, and said "Hey I'm going to MickeyDees, you want anything?", would you call them rude? 🤔

by Thorablick 13 hours ago

Having an employee ask politely for your order isn't expecting to be "pampered and coddled", that's a basic expectation of service

by Big-Trifle 13 hours ago

I used to work at that store specifically lol I spent years in fast food in general. I get that it sucks. But the bare minimum is following the script for taking orders. Something like "welcome to McDonald's what can I get for you?" Or even "hi what would you like today?" Not "what do you want?" His tone was rude too if that matters. And it's not coddling to want absolute basic customer service. No one expects McDonald's to be 'Michelin star' and 'pampering' but nice would be enough.

by PurposeNo1163 13 hours ago

I guess I just don't have that expectation of others , I don't need the fast food kid to be nice to me. If he keys in the order, takes my money, gives me the thing I paid for, all good.

by Anonymous 12 hours ago

You're part of the problem then. Low expectations send the message that low performance is acceptable.

by Professional_List 12 hours ago

Civility is not difficult. They have to be there either way. Maybe start out being polite and if people treat you poorly I have no problem with a curt reply. If you went for a physical and the doctor immediately said "Get those pants down and bend over" you'd have no problem.

by Anonymous 12 hours ago

It has nothing to do with customer service or "hand holding". It's the basic tenet of living in a society. "Don't be an asshole." If you don't get it, I feel sorry for you. I hope you have a wonderful day! (That's called civility!🙂)

by Anonymous 12 hours ago

I recently got "yeah?"

by dashawn06 12 hours ago

It's McDonald's, it's barely food in the first place, I don't expect any customer service. You get what you pay for.

by Anonymous 11 hours ago

I'm just nice to people and never have problems with customer service. Please, thank you, and other basic manners go a long way. "I know this isn't your fault," with customer service on the phone always helps. Took my car to the dealership for an oil change and inspection and went to lunch with my husband today while they took care of my car and had positive experiences with everyone we dealt with. CSRs expect to deal with boomer attitude and seem pleasantly surprised when you're just kind and respectful.

by Live_Ball 11 hours ago

Wendy's never messes up the nothing but extra mayo order. Not once. Idk maybe the min wage is to low where you live.

by Anonymous 10 hours ago

Customer service just means customers are a service provided so they can do a job. Customers are there for them and not the other way around. (We should invert the cash flow also)

by AmbitiousMonth 10 hours ago

So are customers. Wym?

by Slow_Dealer 10 hours ago

If you find yourself getting terrible customer service everywhere you go. You're an asshole. These people for the most part get paid minimum wage to deal with assholes. If we were talking over the phone CS I might agree but in person Essentially the same as it ever was.

by Last-Bus 10 hours ago

It's combination of things. I worked at a restauraunt. You deal with long hours, have managers belittle you, deal with rude customers, and make minimmum wage. These things really add up and make it hard to take the job super seriously. Many restauraunts will mostly give hours to the 'superstar' employees while being shortstaffed which causes problems like long waiting times and overall disorganization since it's easy to mess up when rushing. I agree some people are outright bad and not fit to handle customer service jobs in a enviroment where they have to act professional

by gwenkuhlman 10 hours ago

In many areas I honestly can't disagree with you sadly.

by Effective_Tax3713 9 hours ago

Generally at my job everyone is good with customer service however we do have one guy that isn't. He messages the group chat all the time complaining about customers being stupid or rude to him. And we're like, bro, they're rude to you because you treat them like they're inconviencing you anytime they come to buy something. The rest of us don't have this issue because we treat customers with respect. And yes we've tried to explain this to him yet he continues to act like every customer is a Karen despite him basically always being the instigator.

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

I agree with you and I'll even one up, I don't tip either and I'm not even ashamed lol.

by Abigalemcglynn 8 hours ago

I got the wrong drink at a fast food place the other day. I took it to the counter and asked for the correct drink. The gal behind the counter actually rolled her eyes at me. I wasn't mad or rude, I don't expect perfection from fast food. But geez, don't roll your eyes when I just want what I paid for.

by connellyarjun 8 hours ago

minimum wage minimum effort.

by No-Movie-3030 8 hours ago

When I ask for help I always start by smiling and saying hi. Saying please and thank you and wishing people a nice day also helps. I haven't worked customer service in more than a decade but I rather doubt much has changed. Some people won't even get off their phone to engage with them. Your attitude of seeing people as doing a "huge service" for showing up to work makes it seem like you think basic politeness towards them is a chore. You seem irritated that people mess up at their jobs sometimes. You do too. You're just lucky if it's not the general public looking to be angry about their fast food order being off.

by Civil-Ad 8 hours ago

YES, there are times I've walked up to a counter been treated like an inconvenience because they have "other work" to do. I've worked in customer service roles and would NEVER be that rude. They are underpaid and overworked, and it shows.

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

There was a shift in corporate America. Even doe they brought in record profits each year after Covid. Theyre focusing on continued growth which is unsustainable without taking away from the consumer

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

Covid profits were not normal n didn't come directly from the consumer but a government bailout like we did w the banks in 2009 when the crash happened. so what did companies do…Price gauge! And the executives whose jobs were on the line because they were tasked with "continued growth" had to cheat the consumers to keep their jobs. Hence staff cuts n longer wait times. Less quality products n 3% indirect increase every quarter

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

Same with REAL ESTATE and INSURANCE. It's unsustainable. That's why the Luigi's n far right activists r on the rise

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

Service staff are often poorly paid and under huge pressure to deliver. That's coming from managers who are barely competent because investing in training and development isn't happening in pursuit of profit. Meanwhile we expect more and don't always behave the best. Frankly, I don't think what we're doing at the moment is sustainable.

by Beginning_Bake 7 hours ago

Good customer service should be reserved for good customers only.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

That's definitely not an "unpopular" opinion, the simple reality is that customer service is now often pure garbage

by Big-Trifle 7 hours ago

When the opinion is actually accurate.....

by Big-Trifle 7 hours ago

When it is, it shall be reconsidered.

by Kimreynolds 7 hours ago

They're pissed at all the assholes out there and now start each interaction with that mindset. Just be nice and they'll flip their switch

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

You're not wrong. I've noticed a marked difference over the past 5 years locally. It's terrible.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

I agree. I'm always very polite when I have to ring a customer service rep and most of the time these days they're just sullen or dismissive. Or they say they'll ring back and never do, or just cut off mid-call. Frustrating. I get it's an annoying job but if the customer is polite they should make an effort as well.

by dashawn06 6 hours ago

Naw. This is just a fact

by Salt-Drag 6 hours ago

This is completely accurate

by Regular-Strawberry44 6 hours ago

Did daddy take your cards away, Karen?

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

It's now 3 star service at 5 star prices. However I'm overseas in south east Asia rn, and the hotels here have incredible service. Staying at IHG properties too like crowne plaza...its delightful

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

Totally. It started in retail, but it's spreading. I buy a lot of parts and consumables as part of my job. Recently I phoned up looking for a part. The person couldn't find the part on their system. I ended up managing to download a parts book online. I phoned back and gave them the part number from the book. They then said, yeah we can get that in for you in 2 days. It's annoying when you're already busy, having to do other people's job for them just to get the job done.

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

Agreed and incompetence is at an all time high. People are really losing touch with people.

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

I wholeheartedly agree, you need to think about other options for making money if you can't leave your attitude at the door for 8 hours. I would definitely be talking to a manager or someone in a position of power. Totally unacceptable behaviour. I'm 30 years old and I firmly believe you show up and do what is asked of you with a smile and some semblance of professionalism. I get people have things going on in their lives but you also need to learn to tune things out.

by jenniferhowell 5 hours ago

30 years old and already a Karen. Well done.

by Kimreynolds 5 hours ago

Lol, expecting someone to do their job isn't being a "Karen"

by Big-Trifle 4 hours ago

Exactly! And I could easily tear a strip out of someone for such behaviour, but the proper way of going about it is talking to management about it so I will abide by the rules lol

by jenniferhowell 4 hours ago

Meh, I've been called worse 😂

by jenniferhowell 4 hours ago