Every industry is an overcrowded airport lounge now

I think the author needs to shop at "richer" places for the treatment they want. Service is rich-people shit, and they're evidently not spending rich-people money. Inflation may recently have fucked up their expectations. It's been rough, I get it, I feel like I've dropped a "class" or so, too, just as I was clawing my way into upper-middle.

$300 full-retail for two pairs of sneakers in the downtown of a major city is not rich people money anymore, the goddamn trash-tier sneakers for my kids at Kohls often cost like $50+ a pair—on clearance. That's dead-center middle-class spending now, and the middle class has had shit service a long time.

I get it. $100 sneakers should be premium. $150? Pft! If you're somewhere that stocks those, it's gotta be nice, right? I mean damn. But not so much any more.

I suspect there's something similar going on with the rest of what they're seeing. Though yes, I agree that the middle class once again receiving any amount of actual service instead of constant attempts to fuck them over and nickel-and-dime them would be rad.

I definitely agree with the author that there are opportunities out there for businesses which provide good service. I'm at a point in my life where I don't actually care that much about price any more. I will pay a premium for a) good quality products and b) good service. I love going to my local butcher shop, even though it's often 25-50% more than the supermarket near me. Why? Because they have great service. If I need some soup bones cut in half to roast, they're happy to take them back and run them through the saw. If I ask for 3" thick steaks, they will say "no problem, come back in a day or two and we will cut some that size for you". They'll break down whole chickens for me if I ask, etc etc. That's well worth the premium in price, and they have a very loyal customer base because of it. Service really does matter.

> Because here’s the ugly truth: service is dead. The only thing still alive is the endless, humiliating upsell and self-service.

As I shouted "hear, hear" the author's substack blocked me from further reading with a giant Subscribe Now pop-up.

This person feels entitled to quality customer service. Maybe 30 years ago that was an expectation. Nowadays, if you want good customer service, you need to pick business that deliberately prioritize it, which often means paying more.

Consumer Cellular is a great example of a company that prioritizes customer service and costs a bit more. Compare their cellular service to a company like Mint, which gives you basically the exact same product, but for half the price due to having literally zero customer service.

For running shoes to use one of their examples, REI is a great store to get a human to show you where things are and to give their opinion on what the right shoe for you would be. If you go into a Macy's or a WalMart you'll pay a lot less, but you won't have anyone there to help you.

Every self checkout I've been at has always had an employee willing to help, in fact more often than not the person manning the self checkouts at Costco just ends up gunning all my items when they see I have an infant strapped to me, and I typically don't have to lift a finger. Of course, you can't get into Costco without purchasing an annual membership and you can't get out of Costco without spending at least $100.

You can get cheap stuff, and you can get less cheap stuff with good customer service. Peoples' time and energy is not free, and you should be willing to pay for it if you expect it. Feeling entitled to good customer service when you purchase bargain-barrel products lacks a certain awareness of how much an employee deserves to be paid.

Enjoyable read, but kind of ironic that it interrupts your reading half way down to nag you to subscribe. Everything is an overcrowded airport lounge, indeed.

Perhaps it would be better to look at this business dynamic from the point of view of the brilliant MBAs and executive suite McScrooges. It is all about maximizing shareholder value. The so called customer is a roadblock to directly lifting the money out of their wallet and into theirs.

I'm the CEO of a small company. Our team is super customer service oriented, and I support and reward that, even though it costs us extra. I agree with the article.

Provide great service and a product that works, and people will love you.

This exact notion is why I named my business "Native I.T." back in 2015 when I became disillusioned with the state of I.T. subcontracting and the emerging "gig economy". I've always been better at service than sales, so here's hoping I can leverage my strength with this particular niche. I can certainly say that I share the sentiments, and find most everyone I know does as well.

I recently travelled through both Chicago and Denver airports and was amazed to see lines of people queued up to enter the clubs. It seems like such a synthetic economy, like a theme park.

I’ve heard the “you can order the odd colour online” so many times I’ve started telling the sales people “if we all did that then you wouldn’t have a job.”

I think most brands have adjusted to “showrooming,” where customers check out the fit and finish and then order online anyway, specifically for shoes. Some stores place the order for you.

The extra charge for bags is mandated by many local governments (to “reduce waste”), businesses just tack on another few pennies of profit.

Not going to read anything with unironic em dashes

Hilarious and insufferable at the same time. Enjoyed it!