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What in the Heck Has Happened to Customer Service?
As one Quora contributor noted in September of 2022, on Forbes.com, “Many of today’s service experiences leave a little something to be desired. That’s mainly because there has been a dramatic decrease in employees’ soft skills over the past few years. These skills include things like professionalism, courtesy, friendliness, attention to detail, and more.”
The Quora contributor attributed the decline to two main reasons: A marked decrease in human interaction during the course of the pandemic, and staffing shortages.
From a personal standpoint, I have experienced lower-grade professionalism at various business establishments in the last few years.
For example, I visited one particular retail store where the atmospheric music was blasting on high volume, so much so that I felt like I was in a disco.
I also noticed that the manager had parked his motorcycle in a prime spot in front of the building, which should always be reserved for paying customers.
I remember many customer-service-geared jobs that I have had in the past where my boss, superior, or supervisor would always instruct me and every other employee to either park in the back or far from the entrance.
