TELL 'EM WHY YOU MAD: Poor Customer Service

I was recently having an everyday convo with a friend of mine about customer service and how bad its gotten. We pretty much agreed that saying it's gone downhill would be an extreme understatement. Customer service is one of those skills that any human being should be able to have. It's not Rocket Science. Geez, it's not even simple Add and Subtract kind of math. But it is required when going for a position in a supermarket, mall or any kind of retail store. I haven't applied for a position in years where customer service is required but I'm sure the applications ask if you have any experience in it. So how are people getting these jobs but aren't qualified leaving us, the customers, feeling berated and confused. Therae's the saying that The Customer Is Always Right. Now, I won't whole heartedly agree with that statement but I will say that the statement there is so far from the truth nowadays that I'm afraid of having to deal with the employees for fear that I might actually have a question or need help.

My feeling is this: Customer service is dead! R.I.P.! Gone Fishing! On Vacation!

Now my question is this: Where did it go? Why aren't we fighting to get it back? What are we doing to reverse this epidemic?

Here's a paraphrased excerpt from my friend's email conversation:

"...Dude, mention how (expletive) annoying the (Retail Chain Store) in Waterbury is.. that we still ride out to Naugatuck and Wallingford instead of going to the one in our own town...because the people they got working there SUCK. You ask them a question and you want to say "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting your day by making you work? Yeah, my bad for not letting you finish your conversation with your homegirl (who, by the way, works there too) about how stank your baby daddy is and about the party you went to the night before...which everyone in the freakin' store knows thanks to your loud, rude, no work ethic having self." I'm saying, just making minorities look bad daaaaaaaaaamn!..."

Don't give me attitude, make angry facial expressions, or get mad at me because I need help. I didn't tell you to get that job. I didn't make you come to work. Leave all that negativity at home!

To put the question into a form that "most" young kids (who are the core of our customer service problem), WHAT'S REALLY GOOD?!?!

A COMMERCIAL MC?

Saturday afternoon text session. In the mind of O & Q. This is exhibit 200 your honor in the case of Hip Hop v. Fake Shit

Text From Q to O:
Looking at iTunes. They have Yung Joc listed under pop. Ha! What's that say about him?

The Response from O to Q
Pop is short for popular music. He's popular. With the same kids who can't pass a simple aptitude test and adults who can't name more than three presidents, but can tell you every American Idol winner and runner up.

Text back from Q to O
Meet me at the gap, it's going down...

Categorize This

This whole blog thing started as a series of emails back and forth between the two of us over the years. We’ve been complaining about several things as mentioned in the ‘about us’ section. They’re very silly things that are out there that frustrate us. Music is at the forefront of that frustration (Please look forward to the boycott on American radio). The following allows you to witness the process.

Recently, while watching the Video Music Awards (VMA) – on an unnamed music station that gives out a moon man as the award – I received a text from a friend. I’ve had several conversations with him about music and such, and he was generally disappointed about the direction of the show. There were artists winning in categories they shouldn’t have been in, beating more deserving artists. The following is the back and forth email after the text, sharing it with O.

----Original Message Follows----

O,

So, I'm watching the VMAs and I get this text from a friend...

"The VMAs are close to being irrelevant if the wrong people keep winning these awards. Pink? Pussycat Dolls? Black Eye Peas? Ridiculous. I hate music."

Yeah, some of the categories that they won, they shouldn't have even been in. "My Humps" is not a hip-hop song and should not have beaten Kanye West for example. "My Humps" couldn't be more of a pop song. The Black Eye Peas sold out their hip-hop roots a long time ago, and crossed over to the more lucrative pop game. Good for them. I’m not hating at all, I’m just saying please put them in the appropriate category. Pussycat Dolls "Buttons" best dance video? Yeah right. Not when Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" video is nominated in the same category. Shakira may not be the best singer, but the category was “best dance video”, maybe I’m mistaken, but her hips don’t lie at all. It’s all bullshit.


----Original Message Follows----
Q,

It just reminds me of a time I read a newspaper section that mentioned "Sisqo, the MTV rapper...." Well 1, I didn't know he singed to MTV Records. And 2, I didn't know he was a rapper.

Same shit happened yesterday when I saw "My Sweet 16" (channel surfing purposes) on MTV, which for argument's sake isn't Music TeleVision but Mostly TeleVision (side bar: When they debuted they started with the video “Video Killed the radio star.” Well, frankly reality TV is going to kill the video star) some young ass 15 year old told her mother she wanted to get someone to perform. Surfed the net and showed her who. She says, "I want Bobby Valentino to perform. He's a hot rapper out now."

So ummm yeah, it got me wondering – Who's advising who? Is it the kids to the adults that shouldn't have anything to do with music? Or perhaps it’s the adults to the kids who shouldn't have anything to do with music? Either way, they are both f**king clueless as to what real music is, regardless of category.

P.S. Who do I contact about getting someone in charge of the Award Shows' categorizing? Rocket Science? Hardly....

TELL 'EM WHY YOU MAD: Looked Better on MySpace

What's up with the pics displayed on your MySpace with nothing but headshots and tattoos? What's really going on? What are you hiding? I heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words and with that said, you've said enough. I mean, I get the picture, no pun intended. I know what you're trying to say. "Hey, I'm decent/attractive/sexy (yeah, maybe in the face) so, umm, you don't need to worry about the rest of me. Check out my tattoos. They're hot right? It says sexy!" But honestly, what does that really mean? In this day in age, America is looking at an epidemic. An unhealthy one. But I'm not here to post and blog about that right now. Gotta deal with the smaller issues first before I even think about tackling something major like that. Back to the topic.... What happens when all people see is the face? How much of a percentage can your face have when judging your entire physical attributes as a whole? Not trying to sound superficial but we are living in a world where pictures are taking with any and every form of technological equipment invented in a matter of seconds and displaying it to the world in minutes. So who's fault is that? I don't mind getting judged myself. It's cool. Be a critic. It's healthy. As long as you can take what you dish out. And I have a big appetite. So to sum up what I've been blabbering about here, I wouldn't purchase a car I saw online without checking it out in person. Not unless I can get a full money back guarantee.

EVER HEARD OF CONTROL?

As a parent, if you have to tell your child "you better start listening to me..." chances are they've stopped a long time ago, and don't plan on changing that any time soon. Far too often walking through the mall, grocery store and restaurants, I've noticed kids just doing their own thing and completely ignoring their parents. Get some control, grow some balls and let your kids know who's in charge.

This wasn’t a problem for my mom when she was raising me. I never talked back; interrupted 'grown folk' talk or came out of pocket. Parents just haven't set the standard for their kids. Too much freedom, and way too much allowing them to make their own decisions is just reckless. They will grow up and not respect anyone or anything. They’ll always think it’s their way.

My word of advice - lay the smack down, or your kids will be running over you forever! If you see someone out and it's noticeable that they've lost control, give that parent the head nod, shake the shit out of them and then say, "hey, grow some balls and lay the smack down!"

Retired Strippers

Found this sign outside of a strip joint. First thing I thought - really? New girls inside? With a sign like this it raises the question, what happens to the old girls? Do strippers retire? Is there a 401K plan to buy into? Did they get laid off? I want to know.

Not sure if you've ever been in this spot (no name to protect the innocent). But I can admit I have been in a brief moment of poor judgement. One night pretty fired up, I needed a place to chill and sober up. Didn't want to do the typical diner thing. Yep, my boys and I picked a strip joint. Rolled in and it must have been geriatric night. Old and sloppy looking chicks. One stripper came out with a walker. She had a spot in the floor that she could attach the walker, and instead of dancing on the pole, she grinded out on the legs of her walker. Another chick was poorly put together. She was moving about on the stage in some thrift store outfit, with unsexy holes in the costume. Then she pulled on a string that revealed her stomach. Yeah, I'm not going to go into to many details on that. I still have nightmares. Some dudes give strippers money so that they can reveal more, I gave her $20 to cover up and get off stage. I was sober about 15 minutes after walking in the door, and proceeded home.

So, when I saw this sign today - I was happy to know that they had acquired new girls. I'm just curious to know what happen to their old ones.