Where did customer service go?

Recently I have been on the road a little more, getting our WY office set up.  We drive as often as we can because flying is more stressful than it used to be.  Most flights start out requesting volunteers to change their plans last minute because the flights are oversold.  On top of that, there is no room for error, which of course happens all the time, and then you have to try and figure out how to make connections on other oversold flights.

Then if you need to stay at a hotel for more than 2 days you need to count on being your own room cleaner.  The last hotel I stayed in told me they are not allowed to come into your room until after 7 days.  So if your garbage is full, your coffee, TP, or shampoo runs out, or you need clean towels, plan on taking everything to the front desk to exchange them.  However, be prepared to pay the same $200+ per night. 

I am unclear whether this is truly a hiring issue since COVID or if some hotels have found they can make more money if they don’t hire as many team members because the guests are willing to help out.

So now there are a few team members who are either overworked or really slow depending on the organization.  Out of four hotels, we experienced one clerk with great customer service skills and she was hoping to try to keep all the balls in the air.

Next, you try a restaurant.  There is a 45-minute wait at least because they don’t have enough team to turn the tables faster and the prices have increased because now a $10 / hour job costs the employer $20 / hour.  

If you choose not to wait the 45 minutes and go to a grocery, you get self-checkout, again, no one to hire.

These jobs are not coming back.  The long-term economic impact of increased wages will not be good for most people.  Add inflation to the mix and where are we really headed?

So what really happened?  A question I hope more people will take the time to answer.

In Abundance,

Sue