Do you think service levels in general have gone down? Do you continue to find yourself amazed at the poor level of service at a restaurant, drugstore, supermarket, clothing department, etc….
Several years ago when I expressed frustration about the level of service one of my friends was receiving for a service she had purchased at an upscale salon, the sales person turned to me and said, “Mam, you just need to lower the bar.” I COULDN’T BELIEVE that the sales representative who earned their living by repeat business was spewing these words:
“Mam, you just need to lower the bar”
Well, those words were not the words I wanted nor needed to hear. I was flabbergasted that an upscale service provider’s sales representative would even think such a thing. I responded with, “NO, I’m NOT going to lower the bar. We’ll just take our business elsewhere!!!”
Shortly after that incident, an entrepreneur friend who prided himself about providing good service said, “Laura, if most people weren’t mediocre, I wouldn’t stand out”. Sadly, I’ve now come to realize the reality of what my entrepreneur friend said, and perhaps that’s why when somebody does provide good service, it seems they really do stand out in a positive way!
What do you think – should we lower the bar?