Customer Service Blog

[Britney_413]

I'm kind of ticked off right now because not only tonight but in the past several weeks I've noticed customer service at a number of establishments I go to regularly has literally taken a nosedive. This is a free market economy where businesses must compete for our business which means that we--the customers--are ultimately in control of where we spend our money including how much we tip. I happen to work in customer service myself and have done so for years and I don't care if someone is making minimum wage or even just tips only nor if the server/employee is having a bad day. You put the customer's needs first regardless of your personal problems or disillusionment with your employer. Otherwise you find a different job and/or a different profession altogether.

So my solution is to speak out. I'm planning on setting up a free blog on one of the blogger websites and posting a review everytime something significant happens (either good or bad) when I go out. Since we--the trans community--are a minority and are discriminated against and I am trans myself I am also wanting to have this blog somewhat trans-related. I don't care if I'm dressed to the nines or just wearing jeans and a shirt if a business expects me to spend money there they better treat me right. Any thoughts? When I set this up I will add it in my signature here. Our voice is power.

[lisagurl]

Any thoughts?

How you dress effects how people treat you. Plane and simple if you project a poor image you are treated as such. People put there efforts where they think it will pay off the most.

Customer service strongly depends on pay. It you pay poorly you get poor help.

[Britney_413]

Yes and no. I do believe that expectations should vary depending on the type of establishment but certain minimums should apply to all. If you go to a very upscale restaurant where a typical dinner is $50 or more, you will be expected as a customer to dress up, act accordingly, etc. At the same time you will expect the staff to treat you like a king/queen because you are spending that kind of money there. Establishments do also have the right to set house rules governing what type of dress code is required (formal, casual, etc.) and what kind of behavior is expected.

However, certain minimums are expected for all customer service even at the dollar store or the 7/11 or the dive bar. You are choosing to spend your money at their establishment instead of one of their competitors. You aren't required to spend money there even if it is just a few dollars. Even 1-star and no-star establishments should still have reasonable professionalism. As long as you are abiding by the house rules (which should also be reasonable relative to the price paid) if a problem arises it is the management's responsibility to take care of the customer's needs. People wonder why bars and restaurants suddenly go out of business. This is partly why. They take the large crowds of people for granted but then when the service quality drops not only do a number of them stop going they quit bringing their friends along as well and the whole thing snowballs.

I also think that as trans people we deserve equal treatment to non-trans people. We have dollars in our community as well. I think it helps the trans and trans-allied public to know which establishments value our business and want our money and which ones need to be exposed for what they are. It really comes down again to free market economics. A business can choose to be a lousy place to go. I also can choose to tell everyone how horrible it is. Isn't freedom great? I'm doing this because these days bad customer service is becoming more of the norm than the exception. It is time to change that especially when it makes it even worse on the trans community.

[lisagurl]

It is time to change that especially when it makes it even worse on the trans community.

There is no trans community. There is just society's norm. If I do not conform to the expectations of the paradigm I live in I can be expected to be treated different.

Have you ever seen Seinfeld's The Soup Nazi? Customer service is not the only reason for voting your money.  Quality of product, morals and ethics used by the business, adherence to your personal beliefs and philosophy, etc.

I am a women, not trans, and stay away from gender variant establishments. It works both ways. It depends on the target customer base.

P.S. I cook all my meals and stay away from restaurants altogether as they serve too many chemicals and are unhealthy.

[lisagurl]

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[Britney_413]

There is no trans community. There is just society's norm. If I do not conform to the expectations of the paradigm I live in I can be expected to be treated different.

Your comments are rather counter-productive and some are off topic. Yes, there is a trans community. When one of us is killed in a hate crime and thousands in cities across the country pour out in candlelight vigils, that is a community. I was hoping for some other people's opinions here but instead I just got a troll responding. Oh well.

[lisagurl]

. When one of us is killed in a hate crime and thousands in cities across the country pour out in candlelight vigils, that is a community.

That is not a fact and you have no evidence of that.

[Britney_413]

I'm sick of your unsupportive and off topic posts. I don't care if you are trans or not, if you don't support trans people and trans issues, it is my opinion that you should not be posting here. I'm not playing your stupid games. Thread locked.