Customer Service? Do It Yourself!

Our communication skills are dying! Why? Because of “Do It Yourself,” cell phones, and social media. Let’s look at “Do It Yourself.”

Many years ago, when the gas gauge showed the need, people would pull their vehicle into a service station. An attendant inside, dressed in the company uniform, would hear a bell as the car drove over a sensor near the gas pumps.

The customer, sitting in their vehicle, would crank down the window. The attendant would smile and say, “Fill her up?” hoping for a big sale.

Cash was the typical payment method back then, the days before countless credit cards options or Apple Pay. If the customer was low on cash, they might answer, “No. Just four dollars please.”

Then the attendant would start the gas pump, walk back to the driver’s window and ask, “Check the oil?”

It didn’t cost more. This was a service station. They served. So most people would pop the hood latch and the attendant would grab the dip stick to see the oil level. If it was low, the attendant would show the dip stick to the customer, proving the need for oil, and ask, “Should I add a quart?”

A simple nod of the customer’s head and the attendant disappeared, reappearing moments later with a can of oil. As the oil emptied into the engine, the attendant would ask, “Get the windows for you?”

No extra cost, so people would say, “Sure!” and the attendant would squeegee and wipe the windshield first, then the rest. The sharp attendant would even give a swipe of the cleaning cloth on the headlights, after cleaning every window on the vehicle. The attendant would then offer to check the air in the tires, and get them up to proper pressure if they were low. No extra cost for that either. It was a service station.

The customer sat in the comfort of their vehicle, as they were serviced. How do I know? As a teenager, I was that attendant.
We don’t have service stations anymore- we have gas stations. We service ourselves, often with no interaction with another soul.

So, what happened to the attendants? Where did they go? What happened to the assembly line worker? Why is there a machine doing what they used to do? What about the cashier at the big box store? Why are we left alone with the three big letters- DIY? Do it yourself!

If we are stuck doing it ourselves, and obviously, we are- we won’t be talking with people. We won’t be communicating. That skill set will continue to weaken and diminish. Then what?

We will seek safety in our phones and the AI friends we cultivate there. What suffers?

We all do! We need to grow our communication skills, not let them die! That is my mission!