Hey, where has good customer service gone? “When the going gets tough ... the tough get going!” Really?

Well, economically speaking, it seems the last few years have been as extremely “tough” as it can get for maintaining a business and customer service. Recordhigh unemployment, cutbacks, exploding gas prices and a wave of fi scal restraints are crashing over our community like a tsunami. This has many business owners struggling and wondering whether they can or will survive.

Well, of course, we hope they do.

However, the low-level of customer service we are experiencing in the marketplace does not refl ect much of this “sense of urgency.” Usually, when business is off and sales and production quotas are not being met, the level of customer service, which costs next to nothing, gets better as businesses compete and attempt to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Well, at least you would think it would. However, not so much, in reality.

In too many cases, customer service is getting worse or being eliminated all together. This is not good. As a community, and as a nation, we must be careful not to forget or diminish the positive effect customer service has on our productivity and how it defi nes and fulfi lls the American dream. In other words, we should be working harder in these tough economic times and all Americans need to step up their customer service and productivity levels for the betterment of the community and nation.

Everyone must realize that we cannot work at the same intensity during a recession and tight economy as we did in a vibrant, stable economy. It just doesn’t work.

Businesses need to work harder, smarter and more effi ciently in a tight economy. Eliminating and cutting back services and productivity are the worst things a person, business or organization can do in these challenging and stressful economic times.

So, to improve our community and our local economy, I recommend that businesses step up their levels of productivity and customer service. Consumers should expect and demand excellent products and customer service and settle for nothing less. In doing this, everyone one will be contributing to getting America back on the road to fi scal stability and out of the grips of this stifl ing recession. So, let’s all get to work.

Thanks for reading.