Customer Service, a lost art

I am noticing a lot of hype about customer service. Seems everyone knows that something is lacking, but I fear they do not know how to rectify the problem. From the clerks at the market, to the representative on the telephone, to the youth of today, personal interaction has taken a backseat to perceived efficiency.

The young kids all use electronic devices to talk back and forth, to bank, to pay their bills, this bringing about a large group of individuals that cannot look you in the eye and say, Good morning, how are you today?

Yesterday while at the drive up ATM window at the bank, I noticed the person in front of me was a friend of my nephew. He was definitely making a deposit. The bank was open, several windows were available at the time, but he chose to go to the ATM, which did actually take him a lot longer than had he went to the drive-up window. But that would have involved human contact.

I spent over 25 years in the customer relations field, and I see a terrible trend developing. How as a nation can we continue to grow without human interaction. Getting to know our fellow neighbor or just a greeting to another person.

As a child I watched the Jetsons. What a great life, with machines doing our everything beckoned wants and needs. Did I ever see the Jetsons interacting with other humans outside of work? Did I ever see a dinner party or someone stopping by just to say hi? I don't believe I did.

So today, make it an extra effort to ask someone how they are doing. Tell them to have a nice day, but most of all, look someone in the eyes when you do it.