993James993

I've seen a similar type of frustration in posts here related to eBay, to parking cars, PPI's and so on. Do others in the 993 group feel fed up with businesses that give you the run around? Wether it's the hospital that takes 8 weeks to refund their overcharge, the rebate company that rejects a $20 software rebate for no reason, or the endless list of companies that use poorly engineered telephone attendant systems, I've had it.

Is this the real cost of choosing price over service? It seems like that is what society has done. It seems like every thing is going that way.

Sorry about the rant! Would be interested in other's views about this. Does anyone boycott companies that do this? Do you complain until you get resolution?

993inNC

What else is there? Quailty sucks due to the world becoming a Walmart society, and prices to make sucky products goes up by the day.....what else is there to suffer? but service.

JChiles

Yea I was asking a friend the other day why everyone is trying to rip you off if you loose attention for one second. In a couple of days I had incidents with Tire shop, taxi driver, car mechanic, taxi driver again and of course getting snobbed at various places where I am about to spend my money...

mborkow

service in the US (and i guess other places) is terrible and getting worse. i assume that as we are willing to spend less and less the first thing that gets cut is service. i say that because when you do go places that are more expensive the level of service goes up very quickly...i went to brunch at the ritz not long ago, and every time i went back to the buffet (for more caviar) a waiter came over to my table, refolded my napkin and placed it neatly on the table...if you are willing to spend more $ you can still find service, but it is getting harder to find (and i am not sure that spending more $ guarantees you better service)

2ndof2

Which came first...people who wanted to save a buck or companies that wanted to increase their EPS? I agree with mborkow, just because you throw down more cash does not necessarily correllate into better service. You just get companies that cater to people that can afford to pay more. At the end of the day you want something done right you do it yourself (and hope you know what you are doing). I could go on for days about auto repair shops, mechanics, computer companies, just about anything I spend my money on that I've been ripped off on or gotten poor service. The other huge problems in this country are waning levels of education and pure apathy like our government looking the other way when it comes to illegal immigration. Its our tax dollars being spent wastefully but when it comes to my hard earned buck and paying for a specific service I expect to get it done right. When the body shop had to repair my bumper due to some bonehead running into me I told them that if the work isn't done right I'd be the biggest pain in the *** customer they'd ever had and gave the owner the option if he wanted my business or not. He took it. When I picked my car up the bumper was poorly aligned and as I was driving away one of the guys flagged me down and said he'd forgotten to put the fender liners back in. Even if you go out of your way to make sure its right things still get screwed up. And that includes going to the best and most expensive places. Its all a bunch of bull**** you ask me!

993inNC

Wow somebodies got a wild hair Tell us what you really think

TomF

The decline in the quality of service is a function of not only poor business practices, but the decline in general in our society of respect for others. Quality service costs very little more to most businesses, (if at all) but the poor services costs a whole lot more in lost customers, claims, etc...

The businesses which are going to rise above the rest are nearly always the ones that foster a culture of respect for their customers.

It is easy to complain about poor service, but it takes a little more effort to recognize outstanding service. I try to do both but hopefully the balance is tipped (pun intended) in the positive service direction.

Just my .02

ZombiePorsche44

No you are not! I treat my customers to old school service 99% of the time and I have the most referral business of the entire sales dept. due to that, but cannot get good service for myself when I need a service or to buy something with the exception of my mechanic.(Never had a bad experience in 15+ years!)

That just don't seem right now, does it?

Oh well, enough bitching, time to enjoy happy hour, Cheers!

ZP44

p_carfan

It's simple.............Your not a customer, your some a$$hole who's interrupting them

Now if the owner's around somtimes that's a diffrent story but some of them are dicks also......No biggie, just a sign of cultural decline it's everywhere .

993inNC

LOL Thats too funny! Sad, but true.
In one of my many endevors (propane) I keep saying that we "want to cater to the Mercedes driver, not the Hyundai driver". If they really want what I have and good service to boot, they'll be willing to pay for it, if not, I usually give them my competitions names and #'s. So far the last 4+ years, the business has doubled every year.........something to be said for cheapest isn't always best! Oh and I'm not the cheapest.......probably the opposite

Baggerdude

I've found that "customer service" is pretty much nonexistent these days. Quality of service is pretty poor as well.

And.... paying more does not secure better service or products.

I've spent a great deal on my 28 year old home redoing the roof, sky lights, gutters, staining the place, redoing 2 entire bath rooms, landscaping, new 1/4 mile Tarmac driveway.... and other stuff. And, I've had to fight tooth and nail to get anything that was acceptable.

Pretty unbelievable over all. And, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I can't run my business like this.... I WON'T! But, much of the rest of the world I deal with this is just SOP. There's a sucker born every minute.... screw 'em.

911

It's amazing how service has deteriorated over the years. I'm a big supporter of customer service as I preach this to my staff on a regular basis. In many cases it's what separates companies apart. Poor customer service is a major peeve of mine, and I can become the biggest a-hole when I don't get proper customer service. What also irritates me is when consumers spend a lot of money in a store and the clerk doesn't say, "Thank you." These people don't understand that a paying customer makes their paycheck possible.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Well said, Tom.

You took the words out of my mouth and as an Old Fart, I too lament the passing of good service, good manners, and consideration for others.

Most businesses do not consider it important to treat people with respect unless they buy something immediately and maximizing profit is "Job #1".

Unfortunately, its a reflection on today's preoccupation (just read all the Porsche Forums) with finding the lowest price for goods & services. With rare exceptions, its not likely to change until people begin voting with their buying habits and patronize the people/enterprises that make customer service more important than profits.

(off my pulpit, now

911

Steve,

Thank goodness for people like you that make Porsche ownership much more pleasant. I've only bought one thing from you (the Schroth 5pt 18 months ago), but you treated me like I was your #1 customer. Thanks, again!

Rich

pcar964

You're not the only one who feels that way, I agree completely with your description - today's world is style over substance, short term gain over long term benefit, etc.

At the same time, overall, we have the most comfortable, easiest lifestyle in the history of the world. Too easy if you ask me...