In January 1997, in a rather cantankerous mood, I wrote what I believe to be one of my finer columns: "Quality
Curmudgeon." In it I explained that it's not only my duty as a customer to speak up when receiving poor service quality, but it's also something I rather enjoy. The reactions to my column ranged
from praise to condemnation. A few readers were shocked when I admitted to demanding retribution when shortchanged but rarely letting cashiers know when they give me too much change. I justified
my actions as the businesses' cost of poor quality. I think I've mellowed over the years. I don't speak up as much as I should (and I rarely keep the extra change).
Nevertheless, I'm still disappointed that with all of the emphasis on this shining new service economy, we don't seem to be any better about expressing our dissatisfaction with poor service. H. James Harrington's column this month (page 24) presents a good example of needlessly tolerating poor service. Jim describes his frustration with an airline that he obviously
doesn't care for but which he's flown almost 3 million miles on. It's probably the dominant carrier at his local airport, but we know from his column that other carriers offer alternate routes.
Jim is a highly intelligent and articulate gentleman, and he certainly knows how to communicate. From all of the traveling he does, we also know that he's not a lazy guy. So why does he keep
flying with that airline? I'm no better. Why do I shop at my local K-Mart? Every time I go into the store I'm disappointed with how disorganized the store is; I literally have
to step over merchandise that's fallen into the aisles. Because I usually root for the underdog, I want K-Mart to do well--really. But it continues to disappoint me. I could go
on and on. Why do I put up with such poor service over and over again? I think I've quietly slipped into "NGS" (aka nice guy syndrome) or, to be politically correct, "NPS" (nice person syndrome).
NPS can best be described as equal parts apathy, laziness, resignation and the desire to avoid confrontation. It's a condition that I believe most Americans suffer from--at least as far as
tolerating poor service quality is concerned. More than 11,000 independently owned drug stores went out of business between 1990 and 1998, according to a recent National Public
Radio report. Was it really because Wal-Mart and Rite-Aid offer better service than locally owned drug stores? People complained about Wal-Mart displacing local businesses, yet they weren't
willing to pay a little more for personalized service. So what's the solution? Can you be a nice person and not tolerate poor service? Vote with your wallet. Stop flying on
airlines that you don't like; there are usually two or three others servicing the same routes. Don't tip when you receive bad service at a restaurant, and don't go back. Avoid grocery stores with
wilted produce. Drive a half-mile farther to buy gasoline from the station with helpful attendants. From this day on, I refuse to let Southwest Airlines treat me like part of
the herd, with no assigned seat. (Perhaps I'm naïve in the ways of airlines, but I can't believe that assigned seats double boarding times and ticket prices.) There will be no more tripping over
merchandise in my quest to find the Martha Stewart goods at K-Mart (sorry, Martha). I'll have no more of Circuit City's salespeople cramming extended warranties down my throat.
Maybe I'm not so mellow (or suffering from NGS) after all. E-mail me at spaton@qualitydigest.com
to tell me how you respond to poor service quality. |
