Service

Today, I was driving through a Tim Horton's parking lot (which happens to be adjacent to a service station), when I started pondering how little service we actually get. For starters, I can only think of two service stations (including gas) in all of Saint John. It seems that the Irvings and the Petro-Cans that were built on offering gasoline, convenience, and service are starting to rely more on the first two and quietly removing the latter option from the equation...it is sad when you drive by a service station and wonder when the gas or service option will disappear off it...weirder still will be when one day we have to explain to a new generation what a service station is when 99% of all gas pumps are gas stations (and not service stations).

Service extends to the grocery store...We have two major grocers in town, who have entirely different approaches to the grocery experience....one hires the bare minimum, closes their speedy checkout early, expects people to be their own cashiers for no benefit whatsoever, charges a fee for bags, and never has anyone around when you have a question you want to ask...the other stays open 24 hours (at some locations), keeps their speedy checkout open until at least 10, has a customer service that is actually intended to serve people (instead of being bogged down by being a returns/water bottle area), and has more staff working at virtually all times of the day, including people in the aisles who while they are merchandising can assist with any questions one might have. The weird thing is that the prior company has been outselling the latter company despite their contempt for their own customers, or at least they were until they started charging 5 cents per bag.

And then as the person came over the speaker at the drive-thru, I thought about service at restaurants...for the most part, people who answer drive-thru's are about as good customer service-wise as you can be, yet a simple "thank you" or "have a good day" brightens their day up. Thinking about that, it seems that we expect little to no service and take the service we do get for granted, never stopping to thank the person who is actually offering the service. I make it a point to say thank you to every person who renders me a service of any kind, no matter how big or small...the fact of the matter is that they don't have to offer you their help (most businesses tolerate a lot of crap), and could be having a terrible day...the least a person can do is acknowledge the effort.