Episode 80: "Customer Service" - with guest host Stan Markotich (former News Director at CJIV Radio)

In this first of a K.P. Wee Podcast two-parter, Guest Host Stan Markotich invites K.P. to join him in an unvarnished look at the state of customer service today – from the customer’s point of view. 

Avid sports fans may keep buying tickets even when their teams disappoint, but can big business employ sloppy practices and still expect that same kind of blind brand loyalty? For many of us, today’s shoddy standards and neglectful customer service are just a fact of life; part of our consumer landscape. But this conversation asks: Does it have to be that way? Do we patrons deserve (and can we demand) better? 

There are systemic factors that have conditioned us to expect late or no-show technicians, disengaged retail clerks or food deliveries that arrive either cold or late – or not at all. As K.P. underscores, most service workers are doing their best and often feel undermined on the job. It’s understandable at many service workers feel squeezed, angry, or tempted to express their individuality on TikTok. The question is whether we – as a society – will continue to say okay to impersonal, unprofessional, even hostile treatment. 

“We have as a whole accepted this kind of lack of service that we are receiving and that’s unfortunate,” says K.P., who attributes some of the deterioration to pandemic dislocations and outsourcing gaps. Together with Stan, he sees a definitive trend but there’s still hope. Why? Because at some point people might develop a nostalgic yearning for reliable, kind, personalized service. 

“Maybe the only way (current customer service standards) are going to change is if eventually somebody offers something in the way of a counter-programming,” says Stan. Maybe it’s time to study the kinds of total fan experiences (and player personalities) that foster diehard loyalty because (with thanks to the theme song from "Cheers") nothing compels repeat business and customer satisfaction more than that special feeling of being “where everybody knows your name – and they’re always glad you came!” 

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KEY TOPICS:

• Customer Service Nightmare: K.P. shares his recent experience with an internet service provider repeatedly disregarding his schedule, wasting his time, inaccurately tracking and billing – and miscommunicating at every step along the way!

• Stan Relates! Crazy tales of negligent customer service are all too common!

• Is There a Root Cause? 

• Cost-cutting measures?

• Subcontracting rather than hiring full-time employees?

• Brands that don’t invest in the actual infrastructure required?

• Workers who are just biding time and don’t feel invested in the job?

• Tip, Please!? About the pitfalls of ordering food for delivery – especially if you’re trying to coordinate the timing with a break from work! Late. Lost. Even cancelled!

• Who’s to Blame? How outsourced systems are prone to over-complicate the basic communications and processes necessary to get the job done. 

• TikTok Nation: About K.P.’s theory that some poor performers are intentionally rebelling as a way to seem original, individual, or worthy of social media attention.

• Team Play: How the prevalence of outsourced employee functions can undermine the quality of products, services and their delivery – whether in the context of a sports operation, a retail chain, or restaurant franchise.

• Time for a Closer Look? Why it would make sense to examine customer service operations across a range of companies to see which are benefiting from subcontracting various functions, especially outward facing interactions!

• The Human Side: K.P. acknowledges the challenges large and small that delivery people face (including a fender-bender that recently delayed his meal delivery).

• Other Examples of Poor Service:

• Drivers who offer no hello, instead chatting with a friend on the phone.

• Clerks who look away and refuse to engage or provide direction.

• Workers who react to questions with hostility.

• Anyone who fails to smile and act with baseline courtesy.

• RIP Small-Town Charm? K.P. and Stan muse on the way Main Street mom-and-pop shops have given way to far more impersonal chain outlets. 

• Pandemic Cracks: How the lockdown accelerated business breakdowns and exposed workplace-related issues.

• What’s the Big Deal? Well, there are many reasons to miss the levels of service (and civility) we knew as a society in the past!

• What Can We Do? Just as fans continue to support sports teams, even when they disappoint, customers are likely to continue supporting businesses – even when their customer service disappoints. The norms tell us: Stop whining and move on!

• Everything That’s Old is Eventually New Again? At some point (we can hope) the outdated notion of personalized customer service will become the new big thing!

• Hockey As Metaphor: Part of what drew Stan to professional hockey was the holistic connection between not only high-level performance but articulate, personable players – who communicated hustle, passion, and a commitment to the fans.

KEY QUOTES:

• “(Poor service) is becoming so common that we think we should just accept it as a way of life … We’ve accepted it as a normal thing.” (K.P.)

• “There’s a whole generation growing up who are being conditioned to expect this kind of horrific service – not only accept it but believe it’s good or cutting-edge service when very often it’s lousy.” (Stan)

• “I’m guessing that sometimes employees in the service industry just want to do something different and not follow the rules of customer service ... They want to put themselves on TikTok and show off that they have their own individualism.” (K.P.)

• “If you’ve got multiple choke points where everybody or somebody is a disgruntled employee then the issues and problems are magnified.” (Stan) 

• “Our expectations are that certain minimal standards will be met … but certain models may actually be driving customers in the opposite direction.” (Stan)

• “We’ve created systems that are so poorly conceived that even when, we try to fix the problem in order to maintain the system, it will just make it worse.” (Stan)

• “You don’t get that ‘everybody knows your name’ kind of thing ... Times have changed and not for the better.” (K.P.)

• “It seems that our society has accepted this level of mediocre service … We have as a whole accepted this kind of lack of service that we are receiving and that’s unfortunate.” (K.P.)

• “People try to brainwash to just accept it and move on … People say, ‘You’ve got your internet, you’ve got your food, you’ve got everything. Just stop whining!’ That’s what we’ve been trained to tell each other.” (K.P.)

• “Maybe the only way things are going to change is if eventually somebody offers something in the way of a counter-programming … a way of doing something that’s so old that it looks new to the current generation!” (Stan)

About Guest Stan Markotich: Born and raised in Vancouver, Stan completed his undergraduate work at Simon Fraser University in 1985. From there, he went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Victoria. In 1987, he moved to Indiana University, earning his doctoral degree in history under the supervision of Dr. Barbara Jelavich. Upon graduation, Markotich accepted an appointment with Radio Free Europe, serving as Serbian analyst and remaining in Europe for roughly a decade. He is the main author of White Paper of the Independent Media Commission: Media and Democratisation in Bosnia and Hercegovina (2000). Markotich is currently revising a memoir that deals with his years in the Balkans. Now based in Greater Vancouver, he teaches classes at a private school, lectures for Brock House Society, and offers courses on the Balkans through SFU Continuing Education.

Follow Our Guest: Stan @LinkedIn 

About K.P. Wee:  K.P. Wee is the author of multiple books and a regular contributor to sports radio programs and websites. In addition to hosting The K.P. Wee Podcast, he also enjoys writing sports and psychological fiction with a twist of romance. He spent a decade working as a program developer and instructor for a private school before joining the Vancouver Canadians baseball club’s media relations department. 

You can find out more about books by K.P. Wee here.

Follow K.P. Wee:  K.P. @Twitter

Additional episodes of the K.P. Wee Podcast are available here.