Progress, technology, advancement. How often do we hear these words? In today’s society, it seems to be all about moving forward, what’s the next best thing, what corners can we cut? We don’t often hear as much about quality, service and integrity. In an effort to make more and more money, human interaction has been sacrificed for efficiency and cost savings. You call a company and you get an automated system, you want to check in for your flight and you have to touch a screen, I’ve even had to make a dr’s appointment by automation. I find that as I get older I’m more nostalgic about “when I was young” which I suppose is to be expected, but what I miss is the idea of service. When did it become okay for a company to make a promise but then not keep it hoping everyone would forget. There used to be a Walmart advertisement that they promised the lowest prices but when it was proven that many stores offered lower prices, they just changed their slogan instead of honoring the original and lowering prices. It’s business, I understand that, but it lacks integrity. I miss walking into a store and not being worried about finding someone to not only help me but to be able to answer questions, I miss stepping onto an airplane and not having to pay for a tissue to wipe my nose. What some companies may not realize is that there IS a market out there that will pay a bit more for good service. I would love to have a flight where I felt compelled to dress up because the service was that good. Do you really need to nickel and dime me for a blanket and an olive? What’s next, quarter toilets? Anyone else remember the prizes at the bottom of the cereal box? Do they even do that anymore? What about all the cool useless crap we used to get from McD’s and BK as kids? Oh wait, we’re already hooked on the food so there’s no need to spend that much to grow the customer base. How will I trick or treat this year without my happy meal punkin pail?
At least McD’s is trying to “healthy up” it’s menu. I wonder if anyone recently has done a return on investment study on simple service… I miss it so.
