Collegiate Times

It can be as simple as the difference between a “Hello, sir. How may I help you?” and a “What do you want?” Both essentially express the same meaning, yet each conveys an entirely different attitude toward the person whose business one hopes to capture.

We have all encountered those employees at a business establishment who, quite frankly, do not want to be there and resent the patron who makes them do their job. What has transpired in our economy within the last year has transformed the way businesses are viewing each customer as an individual contributor to its success or failure. It has taken the bankruptcies of many of our largest United States companies to finally arrive at a revelation: The American consumer is both unsatisfied and fed up with the way large corporations have allowed customer service to take a back seat to the bottom line.

In recent months, I have noticed a vast change in the way employees treat consumers in any number of business venues. From home improvement stores to small restaurants and even convenience stores, managers and business owners, large or small, have reinvigorated their dedication to providing the customer with friendly and effective service. What small businesses have known all along, that satisfied consumers are returning consumers, has now pervaded the boardroom mentality of larger corporations. Before the recession in America, many larger franchises took the individual shopper for granted and, accurately or not, propagated the notion that there was little appreciation or importance attached to the customer who ventured into the establishment.

As a result of the present economic state of our country, businesses have been forced to change their attitudes and game plans. Many of us loyal consumers feel relieved to be considered important to businesses again, but I am still a bit troubled. Is it not discouraging to the American consumer that a recession of such magnitude would be required to compel businesses to abide by “the customer is always right” rule? Should we not demand a high level of customer satisfaction 100 percent of the time and not simply when our dollars are perhaps fewer and far between?

Growing up and learning the rules of small business from my father, I have observed the level at which some people work to satisfy their customers. Conversely, I have also noted the way others tend to disregard the smaller, less influential transactions that maybe do not amount to a high percentage of their revenue, but nonetheless, are significant to the individual client. Undoubtedly, those with less money and thus less power are continually treated in an unfavorable manner, until now.

Now all money, large or small, is important money simply because businesses sink or swim based on the loyalty of their consumer base. Waves of new customers alone will not generate sufficient revenue for businesses because of the overall lack of disposable income in our country. There are just not enough customers to replace the ones you may lose with a less than satisfying transaction. Thus, if a potential long-term consumer determines service to be unacceptable, the loss for the owner numbers not in the hundreds anymore but in the thousands.

I have learned from my elders of a bygone era that will probably never return, like the full service gas station that eventually faded in the 1970s or so (except in a few states where mandated by law). Can college-age adults even conceive of an employee that briskly came out to your car, filled your gas tank, cleaned your windshield, checked your fluids and made polite conversation? Nostalgia is nice, but certainly not the answer we seek for the return of focus on the customer. Competition among businesses has now turned the tables in favor of the customer, with everyone benefiting from the more appreciative and enthusiastic attitudes of those who assist us at our local and national franchises. A product of our capitalistic economy, we must continue to demand the best service from those businesses that we entrust with our hard-earned income, no matter how great or how small it may be.