Maybe it is just me at 73 y/o , but has anyone else noticed that customer service seems to be losing ground each day, I had scheduled a estimate to get two bathroom floors repaired and new flooring at 11 a.m. The time came and went so I called the company at 12:30 pm and asked if they were coming today.

I was told that the estimater was at his grandfathers funeral, (which I can sympathize with). Evidently, the estimate was not transferred to another estimater and I was left "hanging." When I was working and my Father died I made sure my boss knew what projects I was working on. The same when my Mother died.

I was trying to purchase something at the auto parts store recently and the clerk took four telephone calls while I had the money ready to purchase. Customer service seems to have gone the way of the horse and buggy.

Anyione else experience this?

Sadly not a new phenomenon here. But it does seem to be more and more frequent.

Several years ago I was at a department store service counter. The one person behind the counter answered the phone with customers standing right there, and serviced them first. I called her from the line and got service before the three people in front of me.

Couple of random thoughts...stores understaff to save money. Employees work to their plan: maybe they get credit for more calls than sales at the register, or how long it takes to ring up a customer? People do what you pay them for.

Expertise in any trade is a dying art.

It's been getting worse for a long time... I needed carpeting replaced in a building I purchased back in 1997. I had put a lock box on the door and had an early morning appointment. I showed up at 1:00 PM expecting the job to be done. No one showed up. They rescheduled for next week. I complained and they came back later that week. Only to find that the padding was the wrong type, I ordered 1/2" foam pad with plastic backing an they put down 3/8" pad with no backing. I ordered 29 oz carpet and they used 24 oz instead. I the cancelled all future jobs with that company and went with local mom and pop flooring providers.

Customer service?? What's that?!

It's not just Taco bell anymore. It's everywhere.

Getting worse as time goes on. Add to all the above reasons, the low quality of workers out there, no motivation, lack of skill set, less on the job training.

Due to COVID, trades are very busy and some are taking the larger, higher paying jobs. A "former" handyman that we'd contract $500-$1000 jobs, always paid as soon as he finished, always got caught up on taking $20,000 jobs that ended up not paying him. We had a bit larger job for him. While waiting for our pre scheduled, date specific job he took a large job for a bank. He showed up the first day of our job for a few hours. We went to pick up lunch and he was no where to be found, but left his tools. Never saw him again, after several calls so we had to drywall two rooms and paint for an end of week move in. He left all his tools. hired friends and hubby stayed up 36 hours, then slept while the rest of us painted. Heard he went bankrupt as he didn't get paid for the larger job. We are still using one of his drills today..