Can I Have Some Service Please

As of late I have been noticing a disturbing trend in retail, as well as, a lot of other public service jobs. My wife and I walked into the Sprint store to see what other plans they had available. The clerks were busy except for one who was standing to the side talking on her cell phone. She saw us come in but made no move toward us to offer assistance. As we walked around the store looking at the different phones we heard part of her conversation. Was she on with a customer? No, she was talking to her boyfriend about something he had done which upset he. Finally we showed her a flyer and said that we had some questions regarding the different plans available. She gave us a look like; "Don't you see that I'm on the phone?" To sum it up, we are now with another carrier.

My wife went into a ladies clothing store, made her purchases and brought them to the register, but the clerk was on her cell and basically let her stand there waiting to be rung out. Again there was not a customer on the phone but the clerk's girlfriend and they were talking about something totally unrelated to her job. After a moment she did finally give my wife some attention, but not to the level of ending her personal call. She entered the items without ever acknowledging the customer as such. Her only words to the customer were to tell her the total and then a half hearted "Thank you" after completing the transaction.

The other day we ventured into a Dollar Store and found some items which we wanted to purchase. The cashier waited on the three people in front of us with the cell phone planted on her shoulder. She also only spoke to any of us to give the total of the items purchased. As we waited in line my wife and I began to talk about this new phenomenon which seems to be a part of our culture these days in lieu of customer service.

Having worked in the public service environment I thought it was policy to greet a customer with a friendly hello. A "Did you find everything you were looking for?" Is it to much to ask that when you walk into a place of business that the ones working there greet you and give you their undivided attention for the brief time you are there spending your money and thus insuring they have a job?

This is an area which I believe a bit of oversight should be in place. If I owned a retail business, or any which requires my employees to be the face of my business, I would make it a rule of no cell phones while on the floor. As customers we expect a bit of recognition, a bit of attention, since we are spending our money there.

But in today's society the cell phone seems to be another appendage for people in general. I have a cell phone, but not being a phone person meaning I talk on it very limitedly, I just don't get why so many are constantly on these things. You see so many people today walking with their heads down texting and paying little to no attention to the world around them.

Don't get me started on texting! Maybe because I'm older I just don't understand the fascination with texting. If I want to communicate with someone I call them or they call me. I say hello, they say hello and we have a conversation. What is it with texting? I have asked a few young people about it and they say it is because they don't want to talk to the person. But yet through texting, they are in fact talking to the person.

This I accept because I am by no means a technophobe, but when it comes to going into a business to spend my money, I want some attention dammit! At least tell the people on the other end that you have a customer and have them hold for a moment. Is this conversation with someone you talk to all the time more important than the paying customer in front of you?

Can I have some service PLEASE!!!