How to Get Great Service Anywhere!

I've worked in my fair share of customer service jobs. I've had some awesome customers who I would happily bend over backward for. I've also had some customers I wanted to bend over a barrel- they didn't get the best service I could give, and with good reason. If, like most people, you like getting top quality service when you're dealing with a waitress/receptionist/sales associate, follow these tips to make sure it happens.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Basic human decency

1. Be respectful, and don't talk down to him or her. Yes, they're working at a crappy, minimum wage job, but they could be working their way to a PhD and already more educated than you. They could be independently wealthy and simply in need of some entertainment. Or they could be a career criminal with little to lose.
2. Be clear about what you want. When your waitress drops off your food and asks if she can get you something else, don't make her make fourteen trips. SHE HAS ACCESS TO YOUR FOOD! If you piss her off, something unsavory could end up in your next refill. If you're trying to negotiate a better rate on your credit card, say so. Don't ramble on with some obnoxious story about how you're trying to get your debt under control because you (insert ridiculous scenario here) and hope he reads between the lines. You're only wasting his time, and the decision he makes could be very good for you, or very bad.
3. DON'T YELL, CUSS, OR CALL NAMES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. Do you wonder why, despite all your success, winning type-A personality, and assertive nature you continually get crappy service? It might just be because you're an ass. If you treat someone really bad, they will flag your account. They will scamper by the hostess stand as you walk in and tell her to seat you next to the party of screaming toddlers. They will "mistakenly" forget to apply your payment, causing your power to be shut off. You know how you like to stand around at the water cooler and gossip on your break? Well, we do it too, and it can extend as far up as management. Every time you call or come in, we will remember, and you will continue to get the lowest possible level of service from everyone in the establishment.
4. If you seem to be getting nowhere and need to speak with a supervisor, keep these tips in mind. While your waitress is "finding" her manager, she is actually sitting in the office briefing him on the fact that you tried to grab her butt. While you sit on hold, the guy who answered your call is explaining to HIS boss that you should not receive discounts of any kind because he's checked your account history and you find fault with every single product you buy from the company. Behaving appropriately up to this point will ensure that instead of saying bad things about you, your customer service rep will be asking her supervisor, "What can we do to make this right?"
5. If you do need to speak to a supervisor, DON'T LIE about the employee. Calls may be monitored for a reason. It's so both the employee and the customer will treat each other with the utmost respect and professionalism. Getting caught in a lie about a valued employee is a great way to get your account terminated.
6. For God's sake, TIP. Obviously there are some situations where this doesn't apply. However, in many parts of the country, waiters and waitresses don't even make minimum wage. It's expected that the tip will make up for the difference. They're also required to claim 10% of their total sales as tips, even if they didn't make that much. It's not appropriate to ask about tip share, especially if you then decide NOT to tip to make sure that lazy dishwasher doesn't get any of your hard earned money. Trust me, no competent employee likes tip share, and you only make it worse when you screw them out of any compensation at all for those 27 special things they did to make sure your order came out perfect. If you got really terrible service, leave less than normal, or none at all, but if they treated you well, return the favor, dammit!