The Decline of Customer Service and the Rise of Dogs

From moment to moment, I am always observing and evaluating how people relate to each other. I’m asking myself things like, “What did they do really well?" and "What made them connect?" or "What didn't work" and "What could they have done better?”

Over the last ten years, I have lived in numerous cities around the world and have seen a huge decline in what the U.S. was always known for . . . Customer Service. I had been living in Europe, Asia, and Australia where the customer service isn’t always great and, depending on where you go, you may wait for more than twenty minutes just to see your waitress at a local restaurant.

So when we decided to move back to The States, I was extremely excited to return to World Class Customer Service. No more bad attitudes and long waits. The land of where people would greet you with a smile as they usher you to your seat. But when I moved back and visited some of my favorite restaurants again, my American Dream was shattered. No more smiles, no more emphasis on customer experience, no more smiling or receiving the coveted ‘thank you” for patronizing the restaurant.

And to my shock and surprise, it was recently summed up in one comment made by a waitress.

I walked into a restaurant and saw a dog running around. This shocked and surprised me, mainly because I think it is unsanitary and I am extremely allergic to dogs. I explained to the waitress that I am allergic and asked her discretely if the dog could move out to the patio. I asked the restaurant manager, "What's your policy on dogs?" She replied, "Oh WE LOVE DOGS! We always let them in and we think they are much better than our customers."

There you have it! Dogs make the ideal customer. Except dogs don't pay the bills. People pay the bills.

People enjoy the company of dogs because they are perceived to be:
And of course, we can go on!

I am sure you could add many more positive qualities to this list.

So let's take that list and think about this. If we even took one of those attributes and really focused on valuing it in people, we could really change the nature of our customer service! Because, let's face it, at least some of you are snuggly.

What do you think? Do you think sometimes dogs or pets are valued more than people in our society?

Do you think looking at people the way we look at our pets could make a difference, or is that really offensive?

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