S CARPENTER complains of the poor attitude of shop staff in York (Letters, December 1). He is amazed at the lack of respect and miserable attitude shown to customers and asks what has happened to customer service?

True, a smile costs nothing, and most shop staff receive excellent training in customer relations, so what has gone wrong?

To find the answer you have to go to the other side of the counter and become a sales assistant.

Putting on your best smile and adopting a pleasant, helpful attitude you stand eager and ready to please, waiting for the onslaught of the great shopping public.

After eight hours of being abused, both verbally and physically, having had things thrown at you, been shouted at, sworn at and just generally treated like dirt you may find that the smile has slipped a little and the helpful attitude slightly dented, but things might be better tomorrow, mightn't they?

A couple of weeks on, you find that the buzz you had when you first started the job has been replaced by a dull ache in the bottom of your stomach, you're stressed, the smile has gone and as for the helpful attitude, well why bother if the customer doesn't give a damn about you?

You forget about the genuinely pleasant, friendly customers and all you see are the obnoxious ones heading towards you, ranting.

Don't believe me? Well give it a try, most shops in York are recruiting seasonal staff at the moment. Truly, you will be amazed at the arrogance and rudeness of an increasing number of the shopping public in this modern age.

Paul Snowden,

Chapel Walk,

Riccall, York.

...WE cannot imagine where S Carpenter does his shopping in York but it cannot be in any of the shops we regularly use.

We would particularly like to highlight the friendly and helpful service we regularly receive in Lawrie's Deli, Marks & Spencer, Bettys, Banks Music Shop and Caf, Barnitts and Cross's Fish Stall. There are many others in York too where service with a smile is the norm.

As shop owners ourselves we always look out for and appreciate good service.

Christine and Duncan Waddington,

Stamford Street, York.

...OH dear, here we go again! Mr Carpenter complains about customer service. Regrettably, he's right! And so were your previous correspondents.

They are not the first - and they won't be the last to query the attitude of those who pretend to serve.

But, it's all about training. And that's really about showing people in any business how they can introduce the WOW factor into dealing with customers.

It's about a business - its size, location or trading classification are unimportant - deciding that it wants to be known for 'outstanding' service. 'Good' isn't enough any more.

The problem is that business owners are under pressure - cash flow, administration and bureaucracy to name but a few. So the time they have to think about their people is often minimal - or non-existent.

All is not lost, though, as there are some enlightened business owners. We have run courses that have reduced absenteeism by 30 per cent - because we've shown 'front line' people how to get out of bed feeling 'Great, I'm going to work'. And there are many York businesses that are achieving exactly that!

Can I stress that this is not a 'commercial' - I am aware of many other training organisations in the city that can help - it's more a plea to recognise a problem and do something about it.

Let's make York known as 'great' for customer service. It really is not too hard to achieve.

Mike Broderick,

Lawrence Street, York.

Updated: 10:28 Tuesday, December 04, 2001