Dave-

I agree completely. There are a rare few exceptions anymore (the Brewers being one ) but for the most part, I am noticing that customer service and pride in job well done have gone completely out the window.

And the frustrating thing about it, Josh is probably not the only CM customer to have issues with the service. In my opinion, one dissatisfied customer is one too many. But it should be an opportunity for improvement.

The other issue that I think is sad, at the end of the day, is there no satisfaction of a job well done? I think it's a shame that no one seems to take pride in the fact that they offered the best quality/service/sales that they could possibly offer. They are just getting by.

And it's not just this industry..it's wide spread. We bought a swingset and noticed that it had a little issue with it (the slide is so hot you could fry an egg on it) Now the slide we had before never got hot. So I called the place to see if there would be another slide we could try. She said "Oh yeah, we've gotten complaints about that before...that's normal" If you've gotten complaints about it before, take that opportunity to improve your product...not keeping passing the same product thru. AAAGGHH.

Didn't mean to rant on my own, but I strongly agree with both of you that customer service is fading rapidly. And that is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Becky

Dave,

Boy you hit a nerve on those questions. We are having troubles finding employees that will go that extra steps for our customers. Since I bought the business 4 years ago, we have gone through twenty six employees with only 1 of the original employees.

With the way things are today, it has been my experience that setting up different systems within the organization and ensuring the procedures are followed each time is the only way to ensure things are being done the way they should.

And as for waning customer service, I think it's just who you decide to patronize. As more customers express their dissatisfaction with a vendor and take their business elsewhere, there are only two things they can do: improve or shut down.

I am reassured about customer service by the Florida staff at Tropar, anybody at JDS, the folks at Acrylic Idea Factory, the people at Slee to name a few. As customers we really need to take a stand and stop supporting companies that do not want our business and give it to those who are looking out for our interests.

BTW, do you ever sleep Dave?

Good Morning,
What many of us fail to realize is that the manufacturers and disbributors we work with today are no longer manufacturers. They are all buying from factories in China or elswhere. They must buy months in advance and wait for shipment from overseas. Even the best of them cannot anticiapate what will be the hot sellers of the season.
This is the price we are paying today for shipping our manufacturing overseas. I agree it was nice when you were dealing with a manufacture in Ohio whose plant was in Ohio not in China, Italy or somewhere else.
There are some who do a better job than others,i.e. JDS, Acrylic Idea factory but even they have there problems.
Just my thoughts on the issue.
Larry