Customer service, manners and etiquette
I am finding that more and more as I go about my day, I am met with a complete lack of manners, etiquette and far from adequate customer service skills. In fact, it is quite remarkable to visit somewhere and be met with all these traits as standard anymore
So where does my passion for good manners and social etiquette come from? That is not too difficult a question to answer when I stop and think about it.
It is from my father.
When my sister and I were younger, he was a stickler for manners. Here is an extract from the eulogy I read at my father’s funeral just over 3 years ago.
Dad was also a stickler for etiquette. He instilled into my sister and me how to behave and woe betide us if we stepped out of line. These teachings have proven to be invaluable to me through the years but one memory still makes me chuckle. I had just started dating Nick when Mum and Dad invited him to our home for Sunday lunch. Nick duly turned up, lunch was had and all seemed well. However, I knew Dad too well, and knew that underneath the surface something was not right. After Nick went home I soon found out what. Dad was furious that someone had entered our house to have lunch on a Sunday whilst wearing jeans!! A cardinal sin in his book. He forbade me to go out with a man who did not know how to dress. Thankfully, Dad soon forgave Nick and when, as some of you often do, you see Nick out in his waistcoat and tie for what seems like a very informal gathering, you now know why.
My father really did install manners and etiquette into us from not putting our elbows on the table, never starting a meal until everyone had been served, dressing correctly for the occasion, how to stand with shoulders back and head held up when meeting people and of course the list could go on.
Today, it seems that anything goes. Mobile phone calls are taken during meals, gentlemen do not stand to greet a lady, people push through doors without holding it open for others and foul language is used as the norm.
Yes, some of these thoughts may now be considered old fashioned and outdated but the knock on effect as I see it is a rapid decline in customer service from staff who have never learnt the basics of manners and who show a complete lack of respect to individuals considering spending money at their business premises.
So I am on a mission. A while ago I read today that Russell Brand was starting a revolution with regard the political parties and their lack of interest in the ‘normal’ people of this world.
My mission is to start a revolution with businesses to up their customer service standards and treat individuals who are spending their hard earned cash with a little more respect and to use some basic manners. As I go about my day, I shall be revealing my discoveries of the good, the bad and the ugly. We have food hygiene ratings in food establishments. Why not have customer service ratings?
If you have any stories you would like to share, please feel free to let me know.
