Another Issue with our society that boggles the mind

This past weekend I took my wife to her favorite cupcake store. (Yes a store the sells nothing but cupcakes) In that store the line to purchase these ($3.50 a piece) cupcakes wrapped around like a line to an amusement park ride. Now the thought of standing in line for a cupcake sounds insane but rest assured, once you taste one of these tasty morsels it’s a small sacrifice.

We waited the wait and the clerks waiting on us were pleasant and patient to each customer and despite the packed store the environment was friendly. It was such a good experience we bought 6 cupcakes (for the 2 of us) and I am sure we will frequent the store when we can.

Now since it was incredibly hot that day, I wanted sort of a blizzard from Baskin Robbins. Luckily, there was a Baskin Robbins right across the street. As we entered the store it was extremely empty, for such a hot day. I walked up to the counter and asked if they had something like a blizzard. The man behind the counter really didn’t talk too loud and you could tell he didn’t have the patience for many questions.

So I ordered my (what turned out to be a milkshake with chips of reeces pieces, and watched him make it. I got 4 scoops of French Vanilla Ice cream, 2 teaspoons of reeces pieces, (80 cent addition) and 1 cup of milk. Needless to say I was less then impressed about the amount of reeces pieces added to the mix. I could have bought a much larger bag from the freakin gas station. Once the blend was completed, I was asked if there was anything else, where I then asked for a glass of ice. Once I mentioned the glass of Ice, you would think I was asking him to harvest it off a glacier in Alaska.

Now the total to this milkshake was just under $7.00 and when I paid I had to ask for a copy of my receipt. Once again you would think I asked him to make the papyrus and write the copy in blood. Overall it was a horrible experience and guaranteed that I would not give any business to that Baskin Robbins again. (Since the counter clerk was the owner)

I share the two opposing experiences because in the first, I am gladly paying an insane amount for something that easily costs less then 50 cents to make because it’s what I wanted and the experience was wonderful. The second I paid far more then I should for something I didn’t exactly want and the experience was horrible.

Now you could take several things from this but the one thing I wanted to point out is that if you are in business and treat the customers crappy, please expect your sales to drop at some point. It seems to me that the best businesses out there are customer friendly and aren’t put out because they have to serve their customers. In recent years the decline in customer service has become more apparent and almost blatant. Is it the fact that our society is more self absorbed then we once were? Or does each one of us think we are better then the person standing next to us?

Whatever it is, it makes we wonder if we are really living in the best time. Maybe our parents had a better world to live in? Maybe even our grandparents had it better?

Now if you think times were better before the invention of cars –---well that’s preposterous!