Oh Where Oh Where Has Good Customer Service Gone!

Edward Dean
Jul 10, 2017 · 3 min read

I am taken aback by the amount, no wait the non-amount of customer service has become. It seems that the more I patronage any business their customer service is horrible and actually going lower. I’m in Centerville, Tennessee for a funeral and burial service. I’m sitting in the Quality Inn and Suites in Centerville, Tennessee. Just a short 50 yard walk from the front door of the hotel is a Sonic Fast Food Restaurant. Granted it is a drive up and eat in your car primary business. Since it is a short walk away I decided to walk to Sonic to get an ice cream treat. Adding the current weather condition of light to medium rain and a chilled 49 degrees I still decided to walk to Sonic. Sonic does have a walk up menu ordering system of course, it was in the rain and not covered. So I went to the menu to look at what I wanted to make sure I was ordering the correct treat. Pushed the button and waited for a last a minute. I look over to my right and I can see inside the restaurant where the food is prepared. Finally, the young lady asked what I would like. So I tell her:
I want one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Chocolate Waffle Cone Sundae. The voice that I was talking to asked what I would like again, so I repeated my order again. I look on the screen and there was nothing on the screen that I ordered. Then she asked if that was all. I said yes, so she repeated my order and it was incorrect, so I attempted to correct the order. Again it was wrong on the screen, She asked it the screen was right. I said no, let me try this again and repeated my order again. Mind you this was the now the fourth time I’ve order and I’m standing in the rain waiting on her to say something because the screen was wrong again. There was a long pause. So I said into the speaker, I’m getting wet, it’s raining out here is anyone there. About three minutes later a young man who was delivering orders to the cars that were parked waiting for food comes out and asks me for my order. I responded to him, okay for the fifth time I repeated my order to him. His response was I have no idea where they got, you wanted strawberry something. I said to him no way would I order anything strawberry. I don’t even like strawberry. He then went back into the kitchen area to repeat my order once again. He then came out and said that my order would be ready in a minute. It took another ten minutes. The young man walks out and hands me my order and takes my money. I then ask him if I could have a spoon. He said he had to go inside and get my change and the spoon that he should have brought out the first time. I got my change and spoon, thanked him and left. I walked back to the hotel in the rain with an uncovered sundae and cone. Needless to say the treat was melted a bit when I got to the room.
It is awful what customer service has come too. I like to leave tips, at least 20% or more. If I’m going to leave a tip, I like to have at least good service. I’m trying to understand how any service business can be successful when their customer service is so awful. On a pleasant note, I do patronage places that had good service.

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