I deplore incompetence

Not the other side of the coin - that's not people not doing their jobs. Customers using cell phones is a different issue/topic.

I agree....annoying as it must be for the server to have a customer using their phone while paying for their goods ...the point is that the customer is not being paid to give a service...the employee or customer advisor is, so therefore the job they are trained, employed and paid to do should be their number one priority and not conversations about trivial issues with friends and co-workers!
 
Its a shame that your local servers are so incompetent, those of you in UK and US. Here where I live I never run into it. Our customer service is supreme and top notch cashiers and servers always there, and ready to do their job. Must be very very annoying for you, who have this problem.
 

Its a shame that your local servers are so incompetent, those of you in UK and US. Here where I live I never run into it. Our customer service is supreme and top notch cashiers and servers always there, and ready to do their job. Must be very very annoying for you, who have this problem.

Cookie I obviously can't speak for the area that Holly lives in but I can assure you that it is not like that all over the U.K. and it certainly isn't like that where I live, you would always receive good service no matter which supermarket you shopped in, I have also shopped in supermarkets away from where I live and I have still received a damn good service........having worked as a supermarket cashier for 17 1/2 years I can speak from experience...................but there are those customers (who are in the minority) that make the job damn hard at times for cashiers.
 
Agree, Bee, can't generalize. This kind of situation might be unique to a certain shop or neighborhood. And of course there are always those customers from hell. I'm sure there might be many areas of my city where this happens, but on the whole, staff in most establishments I've ever been in are very good.
 
Try living in a third world country. Everything will be ready 'tomorrow', yet tomorrow never comes because when I go to pick up my 'work', it is not ready, and yet they are still saying it will be ready 'tomorrow'. Every day is tomorrow.

Here in the western world. its possible that government staff are unhappy with their jobs for various reasons, poor management, bad working environment, understaffed, etc. etc. Its a beaurocracy and things can easily go wrong and often do. I have worked in all many jobs for federal/provincial governments and have seen it all, also poor training and poor communications skills on the part of staff and clients. Downsizing has created all kinds of mess in favor of the almighty 'bottom line'.
 
Try living in a third world country. Everything will be ready 'tomorrow', yet tomorrow never comes because when I go to pick up my 'work', it is not ready, and yet they are still saying it will be ready 'tomorrow'. Every day is tomorrow.

Here in the western world. its possible that government staff are unhappy with their jobs for various reasons, poor management, bad working environment, understaffed, etc. etc. Its a beaurocracy and things can easily go wrong and often do. I have worked in all many jobs for federal/provincial governments and have seen it all, also poor training and poor communications skills on the part of staff and clients. Downsizing has created all kinds of mess in favor of the almighty 'bottom line'.

Understandable.

Still, I often thought that government employees were given special "incompetence training" as part of their indoctrination ... ;)

The "tomorrow" thing sounds funny but I'm sure in person it would be frustrating.
 
I think in the case of the government, it is often management that gets the incompetence training. And honestly, there is no indoctrination, people work for the government because the pay and benefits are so good and no one is a 'believer', except maybe the overlords. But once downsizing happens as with a government turnover, job security goes out the window.
 
Often the reason for the incompetence is not down to the person making the 'promise', but its down to others in the chain of command. I agree it is infuriating though. I tend to leave a comment on any website they might have as to their Customer service. Equally I will leave positive feedback when I get good service.
 
Hi there Catraoine :) - Don't see much of you. (I think you started one of the games I play often).

Anyway, yes it's true, often the ball is dropped further down the line than the person one actually speaks with. Things get lost, sent to the wrong client/customer, accidentally discarded, etc. When dealing with something like repairs, tracking a purchase, or something super important such as an insurance policy issue I always take notes, try to get names, write down dates/times, what was said, etc. And I always keep copies of anything I sign/send.
 

Back
Top