So here it is,

I’ve been going on about this for a while and must say if there was a massive global survey done on this matter, it must be affecting some big people, at the top, with big consequences!

Australians are one of the most unhappy customers in the World when it comes to customer service.

A whopping 40% of us feel that businesses fail to meet their expectiations. With only France being on the first place, I think this should be an eye opener for all Australian retails businesses in particular. This was an international study and Australia obviously scored terribly. Read full article in the Sydney Morning Herald here.

“The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer also shows that Australians would happily spend, on average, an extra 12 per cent if it meant they received better service.

Two-thirds of consumers have abandoned a purchase because of a poor service experience in the past year but more than half have spent more with a company because of a history of positive customer service experiences.”

Just last week, I was telling my girlfriends and again today, to my colleagues, how a bad customer service experience almost ruined my night. (And when I say almost, it actually did ruin my night and I walked out of Westfield in Sydney CBD with no desire to shop any more, and that is unlike me!)

The shop assistants in a shoe store, starting with S and ending with Weitzman, gave me an impression that their store was an exclusive club and my mere presense there was not wanted from the moment I walked in.

Do we all remember that famous scene in the movie “Pretty Woman”, when Julia Roberts is snubbed by shop assistants on Rodeo Drive?

Are we still in the 80′s mindset and judging people by the way they look when it comes to simply doing your job as a sales assistant?

When I asked to try on some boots, the sales lady nearly refused to let me do so and when I finally put a boot on with a zipper that wouldn’t work, two of the staff present in the store continued to watch me struggle with the zipper with no offer to help.

The boots didn’t quite sit right due to the style and I was told that I wouldn’t be able to find what I am looking for in this store (clearly!)

I could not walk out of that store faster and felt so disappointed I wrote a feedback email to the store’s head office. It’s been exactly one week and no one has since responded to my email.

Yes Stuart Weitzman, I truly understand that your shoes cost anywhere between $500 to $1,000 but I was prepared to invest in a good quality shoe. And when you’re charging this much for footwear, can I add that customer service should be integral in the price, above GST?

Here’s some cold hard facts from Lisa Vehrenkamp, the MD of American Express Australia (from the same artcle in the SMH):

“With businesses competing for sales at a time when consumers are shopping around for the best deal, outstanding customer service can be the deciding factor in getting customers through the door,” she said.