By Emmanuel Cooke
May 13, 2025 9:10PM MST
Customer Service Is Nonexistent In 2025…..
Where did customer service go? I continue to ask myself the same question. A few years ago, customer service was the norm, but now it seems like nobody cares about their customers anymore. What happened? Why are employees so dismissive, disrespectful, and unhelpful in an increasingly difficult world? Why make things difficult for the customers? Why the nonchalant attitudes? Let’s discuss this further.
Encounters with Unprofessionalism and Dismissive Attitudes
Customers have been complaining about one-word answers, no eye contact, or greetings when walking into stores and asking for help. A lot of employees even seem bothered when customers approach them, further creating tension within the customer experience. The staff is typically on their phones while customers are talking to them; some staff hide in the breakroom to avoid interacting with customers, and customers are often left waiting to be assisted while workers chat amongst each other.
Online customer experience has been abysmal over the years as well. Customers typically have wait times of up to 3 hours on the phone, which can be frustrating, as everyone has busy schedules and wants to get on with the rest of their day. Employees are typically unhelpful in assisting customers, and the customer has to be put on hold and connected to different departments to solve a simple issue. Customers are often met with an answering machine and cannot speak to a human customer service agent directly. At times, the customer receives no answer and is hung up on multiple times, fueling the frustration.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
The Maze of Inconsistency and Elusive Accountability
Another issue with customer service is the lack of consistency in the customer experience. One store may have great customer service and employees who care, while another may have poor customer service and a high employee turnover rate. Employees are typically burned out and depressed working retail jobs, which means that the quality of service is based on the mood of the employee. If the employee is drained and tired of working, there will be a lack of interaction, attention, help, and genuine interest in pleasing the customer. I guess the customer is not always right!
Now, who is responsible for solving our customer service problems? It should be the customer service representative, right? But no—many times, those representatives don’t feel responsible for solving their customers’ problems. They feel as if, when they “try their best,” that effort alone is enough. Often, simple issues that could be resolved on the spot have to be escalated to management, which takes much longer.
A Necessary Conversation: Service Standards in Black-Owned Businesses
Let’s talk about Black-owned businesses and the entitlement that some Black owners have when it comes to supporting their businesses. My name is Emmanuel Cooke, and I am a Liberian American who does not mind supporting a Black-owned business as long as it provides quality service to me. The problem is that many Black owners think that just because we share skin color, we should give our hard-earned money to subpar services simply because they are Black-owned. That is not how it works. I don’t care what race you are. If you provide me with good service, I will support you. But if you don’t, I will not support you. It’s as simple as that.
Photo by erik reardon on Unsplash
Unpacking the Systemic Roots: Wages, Morale, and Investment
Poor customer service is a result of low wages, low morale, and no investment. I have worked in various stores since the age of 18. I worked at three restaurant jobs and two retail jobs, and I can tell you—working in retail sucks! When I worked at Walmart in 2019, I was getting paid $12 an hour, which was minimum wage at the time in Colorado. The work environment was toxic, managers were lazy and constantly micromanaging, and there was no morale when it came to working together as a team. Many of the temp workers at Walmart used to hide in the bathrooms, work slowly, pretend they didn’t speak English, and avoid customers just to get out of doing any work. Many times, I was left to pick up the slack while also handling customer questions, and the frustrations built up until I couldn’t take it anymore. Not only was I doing the job of three people, but I was also expected to smile at the customers and help them out while completing my tasks and other people’s tasks that were left for me. This is the situation at many retail locations.
Many times, companies invest in corporate expansions but neglect training managers at the local level and providing the staffing and resources for individual stores. Whenever corporate employees used to come in, the managers who were doing a poor job pretended to be working hard and acted like everything was under control, basically giving eye service just to avoid losing their jobs. But the investment in customer service was poor.
The Path Forward: A Necessary Shift in Prioritization
We know that bad customer service exists, but how do we fix it? I believe several steps can dramatically improve the overall customer experience. The first step is for companies to pay their employees livable wages. In a city like Denver, for example, a retail worker at a large company should be paid at least $21 per hour. The level of work and the pay must align. While low wages are often associated with low-skill work, low skill does not mean easy. In fact, many of these jobs are physically demanding and require significant manual labor. Cash compensation should reflect the effort required. Simply put, good wages lead to better service.
Companies must also train all of their employees, especially management, to ensure a consistently positive customer experience. Poor management is often the result of tenure, not talent. A miserable person who has no other options in life but to work as a retail manager will likely be a poor leader. Companies should hire managers who are enthusiastic about their roles and skilled in leadership. Employees should be trained in social skills and conflict resolution, with part of that training taking place on the job. This allows companies to evaluate how well employees interact with customers in real time. Customer service must be treated as a top priority because without paying customers, a business cannot survive.
Recognition and incentives play a huge role in motivating staff. Companies should reward excellent customer service with monthly incentive programs at every store. Employees who go above and beyond should receive cash bonuses, not just pizza parties. The best way to incentivize great work is through financial compensation. Additionally, when corporate visits a store, they should speak to every employee about their experiences with management. They should ask whether employees believe their managers deserve to be in their positions. If the majority says no, that manager should be let go. This approach would encourage managers to treat their teams with fairness and respect.
