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AS WE GET OLDER, some of us have less patience and complain more. Maybe it’s because we’re frustrated. Many everyday activities become more difficult to perform as we age. As a 73-year-old, I probably have a shorter fuse when dealing with life’s daily hassles.
My friend Bill might also fall into the cranky category. He was complaining about how terrible customer service has become since the pandemic. “Prices keep rising, but we keep getting less in return,” he ranted. “We get less service before, during and after we purchase something.”
Bill pointed out that he tried to get help with his YouTube TV, but he couldn’t phone someone. He had to use the service’s online chat, which made it more difficult for him to solve his problem.
Maybe he’s right that shoddy service has become the norm. I thought about how it took more than an hour to talk to a customer service representative at an airline. But then a few things happened that made me realize there are plenty of good, well-trained employees trying to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.
Like many other retirees, I have a daily routine. I wake up early every morning and go for a long walk. After breakfast, I like to read the newspaper on my iPhone.
One morning, I was trying to read The Washington Post, but I was unable to access the articles. Instead, I got a message saying I had to subscribe to the newspaper. I became frustrated because I’ve been a subscriber for years. I tried to log into the site, but I found I was already logged in.
I gave the paper a call, with the intention of giving some employee a piece of my mind. A woman answered. I told her what happened and threatened to cancel my subscription. The more I talked, the more frustrated I got.
In a calm and soothing voice, she apologized for my trouble. She said she’d transfer me to a technician, who would help solve my problem. About 30 seconds later, she said again, in a calm voice, that a technician would be with me when he’d finished with another customer. She made that announcement one more time before I was connected. That human touch made me feel like the Post really valued me as a customer.
The technician came on the line. He said, “Dennis, I hear you have a problem accessing the articles online.” He also spoke in a polite and understanding voice. He asked what device I was using to read the Post.
He said I needed to clear the cached data on my iPhone. Cached data is information stored on your device after you visit a website. He walked me through the steps to make sure I knew how to do it. He waited to make sure I had no problem reading the newspaper. He then asked me politely if I needed any additional help.
When I hung up the phone, I was truly impressed by the great service. From the time I called, it took The Washington Post’s customer support team a matter of minutes to solve my problem.
The next day, after breakfast, I went to Walmart to buy Apple EarPods for my wife’s iPhone. The salesperson started to process my purchase and told me to push the “no” button when it popped up on the screen. I said to myself, “What’s he talking about, pushing the ‘no’ button?”
He was warning me about the attempt to sell me an extended warranty on the EarPods. The item cost $19.88 and the insurance would have cost me an additional $3. He thought it was a bad deal. I agree. I don’t like this type of insurance, either. He didn’t have to do that. But he wanted to make sure his customers didn’t fall into the trap of purchasing insurance that didn’t make sense.
A few days later, my wife and I went to Santa Barbara. My friend told me to try a restaurant called Opal. “They have great food and you won’t regret it,” he said. He was right. The food was excellent, but what impressed us even more was the service.
We had a waitress assigned to our table. But occasionally, two other people would come over to our table to make sure everything was okay. The service we received made us feel special. It was a memorable experience not just because of the great food, but also the great service.
Dealing with the public isn’t an easy job, especially after the pandemic, when many businesses still find themselves short-handed. We should all be a little more understanding about the service we receive. It can be a thankless job when the only time you hear from customers is when something isn’t right.
What I’ve learned over the years is that good customer service is like gold. It can add real value to the product you’re purchasing. That’s why I’d like to give a shoutout to the folks who helped me at The Washington Post, Walmart, and Opal Restaurant & Bar.
Dennis Friedman retired from Boeing Satellite Systems after a 30-year career in manufacturing. Born in Ohio, Dennis is a California transplant with a bachelor’s degree in history and an MBA. A self-described “humble investor,” he likes reading historical novels and about personal finance. Follow Dennis on X @DMFrie and on Threads, and check out his earlier articles.
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Thanks Dennis. I know this comment is to a dated post but, I have something to pass on.
A friend gifted me a book entitled ‘Thou Shall Prosper’ written by a Rabi.
One of the several basic principals shown for success in the book is to be able to serve people and do it better than others. It would do any business a lift to concentrate on doing just that.
Pleased you received the help you needed Dennis.
As one older than you, I’ve learned to play it forward whenever possible, including phone operators, who aren’t or just can’t be helpful for what ever the reason. We must remember today’s world is nothing like we may have imagined. Civility seems to be at a premium. We’re short timers, so make the best of it for our children and family’s sake.
PS. I look forward to my morning “paper” too.I’ve been a subscriber to the LA Times over 50 years. The last 7 via the internet. Took awhile to get use to, but liked the price savings. Aloha
Dennis, thank you for your article. I would group myself with you and Bill in the cranky category except something happened to change that. My wife and I retired 10 years ago from health care. About three years later she was diagnosed with dementia. A couple of years after that we were walking through the garage and I knocked over something that I hadn’t put away. I said angrily, “Oh s___”! When I looked up I realized I had frightened her. It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard that exclamation before or even used it, but the changes of dementia caused her to be afraid of my loud voice, the anger and the foul word. When I realized that, I apologized and reassured her, but it made me think about what I had done and what I needed to do. The last thing I wanted was for her to be uncomfortable and afraid of me. After that, I took care to think about my responses and amazingly I was able to control my responses. She passed away about two and a half years ago and I have maintained by responses! I have surprised myself! Now when I do something dumb, I talk to myself and stay calm. I think that maybe, through that experience, I realized that none of this stuff is that important and it needs to be kept in perspective.
I’m disappointed by how many companies will spend $$ to acquire a new customer, but nothing to retain a loyal customer.
I’m 72 and have been dependent on delivery and online services for several years due to back surgery and needing 2 knee replacements. Poor service, especially delivery services – do I have some stories to tell! I used to get upset, yell, and even cuss some customer service reps, especially the ones who were challenged with speaking English.
Then one day I read a short story – the moral of the story is that “we choose to be happy or angry.” When angry, we are controlled by others, when happy we are in control.
So now when I have interactions with customer service reps I start out my conversation with ” I need your help!” I then explain the problem and work out a solution.
No longer does my blood pressure rise, no headaches, anger, or resentment lingering for hours.
Try it – you’ll like it!
Dennis,
Great article, thanks. A couple of things I’ll add:
1) If you do get a good CS rep, try to get their name and direct phone line and email. Then keep it forever. This isn’t usually possible for run-of-the-mill CS calls, but if you end up deeper in the company, it often is.
2) When you get a rep who really helps you, ask them to get their supervisor on the line so you can sing their praises. And if there’s a survey to fill out, mention the rep by name. A rep once told me that this gets them extra points.
Dennis, I find that the customer service usually gets better when approaching the request for help with a positive attitude. Being courteous often helps bring out an equivalent response from the person on the other end of the line. Doesn’t always work with on-line chatbots….
IMHO, 9 out of 10 callers to CS lines are frustrated, mad or both, and the CS rep is the one person on whom they can unload. So you can anticipate that CS reps can’t wait to get rid of callers like that. Patience and consideration is repaid in kind. So, be that one caller with whom the CS rep really wants to stay on the line for a while and help.
I agree.
Jeff, I was about to add a similar comment. My wife taught me to approach these situations with a friendly positive attitude, and a simple “thanks for taking my call” seems to go a long way.
I had a similar experience recently during a call with Schwab. The support personnel (once I got past the automated voice responder) was patient, friendly, and knowledgeable.
Dennis, prior to our first trip to California together, my wife bragged about how much better I’d find the service. I told her the South was famous for hospitality, and I wouldn’t be impressed. I was wrong. The employees at a Safeway near Monterey were so helpful I’m still talking about it 25 years later. On another trip, breakfast every morning at the Beachgrass Cafe in Solana Beach, after a daylight walk on the beach, was like dining with family. Sadly. I understand it has since closed. I like highlighting and rewarding good service, at my work, there’s a system for recommending employees to receive monetary awards for great internal service. I try to use it often for those who go above the norm to help me.
Solana Beach is a nice place to visit.
Dennis, you need an iPad. Much easier to read the paper (and HumbleDollar) than on the phone. Part of my daily routine 😎
Dick,
I love my iPhone. I read books and watch movies and my favorite baseball team, the Cleveland Guardians, on my iPhone. I even write my Humble Dollar articles on it using Google Docs. Next year, I’m going to file my tax return on my smartphone. I didn’t know they still sold iPads.
I even write my Humble Dollar articles on my iPhone using Google Docs. This simply amazes me, Dennis. I wrote all my HumbleDollar articles on an iMac with a 21″ screen…for me, even the iPad would have been uncomfortable for that kind of writing. Still, keep doing whatever works for you. I have always enjoyed your well-written and interesting articles.
Agreed. I am writing this on my iPad, but for anything longer I use a full-size keyboard on my desktop computer. Microsoft just told me it will discontinue support for Windows10 next year and my computer is too old for Windows11, but I will replace it with another desktop. I despise typing on my (Android) phone, although I do text, check emails and very occasionally read an ebook on it.
We are in the same predicament with our 11 year old Toshiba laptop. Just had our computer cleaned up for free at Staples in preparation for purchasing a new laptop. Tech confirmed my fear that our Microsoft Office program will not transfer and we will have to get a subscription. Pretty expensive considering we only use it rarely such as occasional Word doc, and using the spreadsheet for calculating our net worth quarterly.
David, Rather than paying for a MS Office subscription, you could instead use the equivalent free open source LibreOffice <https://www.libreoffice.org/> , it works fine with MS office file formats, (or google docs is an option if you don’t mind web based software).
I’m still using a 2014 MacBook Air. It’s not much bigger than an iPad, and has a full keyboard. I read on my phone in a pinch but prefer a bigger screen. I bought my wife a nice new iPad last Christmas, but she is better with her phone than me.
Dick, I just gave your comment a ‘like’ and wrote this response on my iPad. The battery on my first iPad is still fine after 11 years. I bought the one I’m currently using several years ago mostly to get more memory. Every iPhone I’ve ever had (five) still works in some fashion, though I had to replace batteries in two of them. Also, my two 12 year old Apple computers both still work fine, albeit a little clunky due to software. (I do have a more recent version also). I don’t know about Apple’s customer service-I’ve never needed to use it since their products are as durable as tanks.
I’ve never called Apple with an issue, but their in-store customer service is first rate.
I agree. I cannot imagine reading the paper (and HD) on an iPhone all the time.
Plus – AirPods are expensive, but they are a superior listening experience.