Over the weekend, I had one of the worst customer service experiences of my life — and the wild part is, it didn’t even happen to me directly. It happened to my lovely wife. The whole situation made me so mad that I couldn’t believe anyone would think this kind of behavior was acceptable. But then again, common sense isn’t so common these days.
Now, I’m not here to drag a business through the mud, so I won’t name names. It was a food establishment we visit pretty regularly. In the past, the service has been decent — nothing spectacular, but reliable enough. And to be fair, we won’t stop going there because of this one incident. But good lord, this was something else.
My wife placed her usual drink order through the restaurant’s app. When we pulled up, we initially thought the place might be closed — it looked completely empty. Turns out, they were just going through a lull. We drove up to the pickup window and waited. No one was in sight. We sat there for maybe four minutes — not a long time, but when you’re unsure if anyone is even going to show up, it feels like forever.
Finally, we saw movement in the back. An employee slowly approached the window. As he opened it, he stuck his head out and gave us the most confused look — like we had just knocked on his front door trying to sell him a set of kitchen knives. He looked completely thrown off. After about five seconds of awkward silence, my wife politely said she had an online order.
Without saying a word, he slammed the window shut.
A minute later, he returned, handed her the drink, and closed the window again — still without saying a single word.
As we drove away, I was stunned. My wife looked over at me and burst out laughing, knowing how seriously I take customer service. I had no words. She, being the better person, wasn’t bothered and chalked it up to the guy having a bad day. But it really stuck with me.
Here’s the thing: customer service matters. Whether you’re in a business-to-consumer or business-to-business environment, how you treat people makes a difference. It’s not just about being polite — it’s about creating an experience that makes people want to come back.
So here’s my call to action:
- Bosses – train your teams and lead by example.
- Parents and educators – teach kids the value of kindness, respect, and communication.
- All of us – let’s do our part to keep customer service alive.
Let’s bring it back. Let’s make it matter again!
