Tis the season alright!

That time of year when everyone temporarily puts aside their faculties of logic to indulge in mindless spending. We even spend money we don’t have, but hey, that’s ok, it’s all in the name of … hmmm … I’m not quite sure what it really means anymore.

Whatever the case may be, Christmas is a time for sharing and a time to spend with family. It’s also a period that retailers should be cashing in with a beaming grin.

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There I stood three deep in a queue that seemed to be moving backwards compared to the other isles.

At the head of the line was an elderly woman laughing and conversing with the checkout chick. They appeared to be having a gay old time. I on the other hand was decomposing in my own anxiety, hot and noticeably bothered. Just let me pay for my stuff and get out of here, I scoffed under my breath.

The ash haired lady eventually paid for her groceries. She waved goodbye and then gleefully snatched her bags and wandered off. Finally we were moving. I quickly twitched my toes to make sure they were still there. I then skimmed through my iPhone, something I tend to do neurotically when I’m bored. With nowhere else to look, I slowly peered up… oh great…

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Last week I made a reservation to stay at the Novotel hotel in Darling Harbour, Sydney.

The booking was for this coming Friday. However, to my surprise last Sunday morning I received a survey email from the hotel’s parent company Accor asking to rate my stay. Perplexed by this, I rang Accor and quoted my membership number. I proceeded to query why this email had been sent given I was due to stay the following week? The response stunned me.

The customer support person told me the booking was complete. I explained the booking was for the following Friday. He disagreed. The customer support person then put me on hold and came back a minute or so later. He scoffed, ‘the booking was for the previous day and that had now passed, I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do as your credit card has been processed. He then suggested I call the hotel directly to see if they could resolve the matter.

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The retail industry in Australia is in disarray.

Sales are down across the board. However, the online space is growing rapidly, and for a good reason. Not only is shopping on the internet convenient, but we dont have to suffer the experience of front line staff who couldn’t care less about us.

Let’s resist the urge to blame the internet for the decline in retail sales. More sinister is the blatant lack of care and duty to customers from retail staff. Think about it, what customer in their right mind would willingly re-frequent a store that made them feel like a burden? Many of us have experienced standing at a counter for a long period waiting, only to be met by a sales person that appears as if they are doing us a favour by serving us.

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