Yes, this is going to tie into codependency.
The vast majority of my jobs over the past 25+ years have been in customer service in one form or another.
It's an art, and it takes skill. There will be difficult customers, those you can't please, no matter what you do.
I have had to deal with my share of irate customers, and it takes self-restraint, and diplomacy.
That being said, before I really got into my recovery from codependency, I was a pushover for poor customer service on someone else's end.
I wouldn't voice my dissatisfaction about anything. I didn't want to make waves. That was uncomfortable for me. I figured I didn't deserve any better.
Last night I told Amber I was going to treat us to a steak supper, and then see the movie "Salt" here in town.
We could have driven to Wichita or Hutchinson to a steakhouse, but I told her we would go to the small steakhouse in a tiny town 12 miles north.
I like to keep my business local, and in the general area if I can.
They were busy as expected, only being open a 3 days a week.
The waitress was very pleasant, and although we had quite a wait for food, that was expected given how busy they were.
I had ordered my KC strip well done, and Amber had ordered her steak medallions medium.
Most places I know of will have you cut into your steak before they leave your table, but again, this is a small steakhouse, and was busy.
So, the further I got into my steak, the redder it got. I ate what I could around the edges.
Amber's medallions were overdone.
When the waitress brought back the check, I told her about the meat not being done as asked for either of us. She apologized, was obviously flustered, and said she would be back to get my Visa card.
They were not cheap. I didn't expect them to be. However, I could have gone to a steakhouse in Wichita where the customer actually gets to pick out his/her own cut of meat from the display case, and for almost 40% less than what this joint charges.
We continued to sit, waiting on her to come back for my card, and we were running out of time to make the movie.
Some guy finally comes up and asks if we would like him to run my card and I said "Yes, please." He was obviously some sort of management.
When he came back, he asked how the meal was, and so I proceeded to tell him, and very calmly, about my steak first. Twice I was told I should have sent it back to be cooked longer.
I told him very plainly that we were on a schedule to see a movie, and there wasn't time to send it back. I was not rude or short with him.
Then Amber told him her meat was overcooked, and he says "I'll bet they got the orders mixed up in the kitchen." We pointed out that we had two totally different entrees (she had steak medallions and salmon stuffed with crab).
No apology for the quality of the food, no 'what can we do to make this right', just excuses for two orders not cooked properly, and I 'should have' sent mine back.
Of course this was all after my card had been run for the charges.
Guaranteed the owner will get a letter from me in regards to the customer service. I will be civil. I also will never eat there again. I don't expect anything from writing the letter other than the satisfaction that I have stated my dissatisfaction with more than the food. That's it.
I encounter better customer service in a large city like Wichita than I do in my tiny podunk town.
So much of it is just common courtesy, but that too seems to be a dying art form.