Customer Service
Similar to many other countries, the employment in the USA is under stress. This was true when I wrote this in '94, and again (or still) is true in 2003. Competition, or continuous budget reduction in case of government institutes, has resulted in administrative functions performed by people with a minimum of education. The official unemployment rate is only a few percent, which sounds better than it really is because a substantial percentage of the jobs are very low paid, and people often need several jobs to survive. Getting a job for everyone can only be done with very precise work instructions to minimize the risk of error, which might have grave legal consequences, especially on the "legal trigger happy" US East coast. Result is, that expanding on the job instructions to deal with something new is nearly impossible. Allowing exceptions to the rules poses a risk for the clerks, potentially endangering their jobs. Decisions beyond the scope of their procedures will not be made. In the fairly hierarchical US society it is common practice to move to the next level of responsibility in these situations. Asking for the supervisor may help, sometimes. An example of this is the service desk at major shops. This desk does not only provide help with questions or product replacements, but also correct typing errors by people at the counters. Being used to staff at counters empowered to correct their mistakes, this time-consuming procedure is annoying. Staff at the counter would also rather have you, and the long line of customers behind you, wait 10 minutes to get the exact price, than to give you the benefit of the doubt and charge you a quarter less and keep the customers satisfied. Service friendliness will still be at the same high level as always in the USA in these cases.
I also
can give you a perspective from the other side: Many areas in the world (especially
Europe) are in their prehistoric days with respect to customer satisfaction
and friendliness. The first few times you traveled to the U.S. you may have
wondered if all these "Have a great day, dear" and "Enjoy!"
remarks from staff at supermarkets or restaurants is truely meant. Yes, it is!
There may have been a time, fifty or more years ago, when tips or other gratifications
were partially the cause for this behaviour, but it has settled already for
many years in the U.S. society and may even be seen as a heritage from the days
when everyone was new in the U.S. and was dependent upon their personal network
to survive. It fits in the same friendly and open atmosphere that you encounter
when you move away from the big cities into the smaller towns in the country
or if you travel anywhere in the South. Unlike the more reserved Europeans,
Americans like to chat about anything with a total stranger. Treasure this behaviour
and try to be more like that when you get back to your home country.
Example: If you want to have a true French meal there are several great restaurants
in the City you can go to. There, you will be served excellent food (for a very
high price) by a French "waiteur" with a cute American accent. At
the same time you will thoroughly enjoy being harassed and insulted by the French
staff like you would be in any good Parisian restaurant: "Feels like home".
An item that I found extremely annoying once I returned is the fact that any
company providing some kind of "service" (bank, airline company, etc.)
in Europe seems to think that their customer service department is a necessary
evil and certainly not meant to serve (prospect) customers. So, they let you
wait in line for minutes to get to their completely understaffed service center
while you pay $ 1 a minute before you get access to their "Help Desk"
or "Reservation Service". In Europe, Call Centers are treated as Cost
Centers and customer support is minimized because it costs money. The customer-friendly
perspective in the U.S. is that a call center is a terrific opportunity to meet
new customers, with great upsell potential. Therefore, call centers are often
regarded as profit centers rather than cost centers, which dramatically changes
its role. It is terrific to be able to call a free (800) number to find out
when your plane departs, or when a theater show begins, or what services a bank
can offer. Since my return to Europe I have avoided or even boycotted institutes
that think the customer is there to be robbed rather than to be pleased. I wouldn't
be surprised if some bureaucrat somewhere in Europe decides that the police
emergency number (911 or 112 or many European countries) should also be a pay
service.