The service industry should be abolished

[nnmartin]

What I am referring to here is the unnecessary service industry in which the customer is made to feel important.

Places such as Starbucks or the local large chain store where the employees are ordered to humble themselves in front of the paying customer.

This should be abolished forthwith as it only serves to fuel an overblown sense of entitlement in the nobody customer just because he is buying something.

This has been increasing gradually over the years and we can see the effects of it now - more violence, crime, corruption and exploitation.

The belief that you have some kind of power and entitlement just because you are buying something is utterly absurd and is only a charade that causes segregation and inequality.

If anything, the customer should be on a lower level than the staff.

- agree?

[InformedIgnorance]

Originally Posted by nnmartin

What I am referring to here is the unnecessary service industry in which the customer is made to feel important.

Businesses exist for the purpose of generating income, this is achieved through sating perceived customer needs; therefore the customer perceived need IS the most important thing.

Originally Posted by nnmartin

This should be abolished forthwith as it only serves to fuel an overblown sense of entitlement in the nobody customer just because he is buying something.

If you want to abolish them, do not go there, that is how capitalism (even the limited version we have) works.

Originally Posted by nnmartin

This has been increasing gradually over the years and we can see the effects of it now - more violence, crime, corruption and exploitation.

Where is your evidence to suggest the two are linked? How is my asking for caramel in my coffee increasing the likelihood of rape in society?

Originally Posted by nnmartin

If anything, the customer should be on a lower level than the staff.

It would depend on what is being discussed.

If we are talking about the design or delivery of goods and services? Hell no. The store receives benefits (cash) in recompense for serving the needs of the customer and in doing so they pass along some of the benefit to their staff, thus assisting the staff to meet their financial needs. For that reason, design and delivery of goods and services MUST be client centric.

On the other hand if we are talking about administrative processes, such as training systems within human relations, information system design for staff communication and so forth then the purpose of these systems is to meet business needs which are determined by the personnel doing those tasks, so the design and delivery of these goods and services need to be client centric too - just in THIS case, the clients ARE the staff.

[zenzero]

Friend nnmartin,

The service industry should be abolished

Do take the lead, am behind you!

Love & rgds

[nnmartin]

Originally Posted by InformedIgnorance

Businesses exist for the purpose of generating income, this is achieved through sating perceived customer needs; therefore the customer perceived need IS the most important thing.

perceived is the key word here - this is where the perception of reality has gone astray.

None of this happened 20-30 years ago so why now?

People go into a store these days and expect to have the staff be subservient - thus the customer now feels he has a right to this.

This causes ego inflation and ultimately further segregation of the haves and have-nots.

If you want to abolish them, do not go there, that is how capitalism (even the limited version we have) works.

That cannot work because nearly all businesses are like this nowadays - ie: competing with each other.

This form of subservience needs to be abolished by law from all retail outlets.

Where is your evidence to suggest the two are linked? How is my asking for caramel in my coffee increasing the likelihood of rape in society?

This is all about the 'expecting it because you are used to it' scenario.

If you are used to being slaved over and groveled to then you quickly expect this everytime and take offence when it does not occur.

Through living in a country where this is the norm I see this behaviour daily - it really is the most false state of affairs and is in fact the modern day equivalent of master and slave mentality, albeit on a more virtual level.

We need to nip this kind of subservient behaviour in the bud as it really is the base fuel of social decay.

[4consideration]

Originally Posted by nnmartin

What I am referring to here is the unnecessary service industry in which the customer is made to feel important.

Places such as Starbucks or the local large chain store where the employees are ordered to humble themselves in front of the paying customer.

This should be abolished forthwith as it only serves to fuel an overblown sense of entitlement in the nobody customer just because he is buying something.

This has been increasing gradually over the years and we can see the effects of it now - more violence, crime, corruption and exploitation.

The belief that you have some kind of power and entitlement just because you are buying something is utterly absurd and is only a charade that causes segregation and inequality.

If anything, the customer should be on a lower level than the staff.

- agree?

Nope. Common courtesy, civility, and respect for other people -- whether you are in the capacity of a customer or an employee is sufficient.

Considering an employee less-than is shallow and uncalled for, and disrepecting of human dignity. Considering a customer a no-body is nasty and ungrateful. As I see it, both types of behavior are indicative of a person that feels themself to be be inferior and is trying to feel better about themselves by mistreating others. I don't think banning anything will handle the issue -- unless you want to ban self-esteem issues.

[nnmartin]

when you say common courtesy, civility and respect then, yes, I agee.

but what I'm referring to is the way that now, in many establishments, the staff are expected to grovel in a subservient manner to the customers who may only be spending a buck or two.

These are rules put in place by the owners/management in order to try and make more money, whilst paying the worker no more for lowering themselves to act like dogs.

this is what I am against , and the practice should be stopped by a system of government inspectors on the lookout for this kind of self-serving corruption.

[nnmartin]

Originally Posted by 4consideration

Considering a customer a no-body is nasty and ungrateful.

what makes a customer a 'somebody' though just because he is spending $2 on a latte?

[4consideration]

Originally Posted by nnmartin

what makes a customer a 'somebody' though just because he is spending $2 on a latte?

Everybody is "somebody." It is not about what he is doing at the moment, it is about who he is inside.

[4consideration]

Originally Posted by nnmartin

but what I'm referring to is the way that now, in many establishments, the staff are expected to grovel in a subservient manner to the customers who may only be spending a buck or two.

I guess I don't really understand what you mean by groveling. I would not support a business that I observed mistreatment or disrespect of their employees -- or customers.

Are you referring to something more than providing excellent service, by customizing service to the preference of the customer. I don't think anyone should have to "grovel." And, I do not think that good customer service needs to involve belittling anyone.

Would you give me specific examples of what you are referring to?

[Quintessence]

It's not the service industry I have a problem with. It is how large chain stores operate in general, including how they treat their service employees. There's a big difference between service staff at a locally-owned establishment and a cookie-cutter chain. It's hard for me to put that difference into words, but there's a kinship and familial/tribal feeling that local stores have that big boxes just don't.