Sorry for such a delay, but things have gotten really hectic at work.

The surgery went fine, she emerged feeling instantly better. The physical mass she was feeling is now gone, the heartburn is 10% of what it was, her appetite is back to normal (and then some). She has been sore, still has some pain every now and again, and her system is starting to figure out how to process food sans one organ. She was back to work in 4 days and has been working ever since.

I am unsure if we should keep her appointment with the specialist our local doctor scheduled for her a month ago. It's in July. At the time we were told of the appointment in July, I told the doctor she would miss the appointment...that she would be dead by then. And I was deadly serious. She was failing that fast. The doctor did not like my comment, but was unsure how to respond.

Thank heaven for the one doctor we found that was not affraid of a lawsuit and went ahead and operated, doing what he knew was the right thing. I asked him if he was concerned about operating on a patient that had no visible stones. He said, "If I was worried about every little lawsuit, I chose the wrong profession." He got my vote immediately.

Pathology revealed that there were multiple stones. Either they were tiny, which was not indicated in the report, or they ran all the tests wrong, or they can't read them from shit. Either way you look at it, someone (just about all of them) is incompetent. Stones are calcified...they show up. A word to the wise: if you think your doctor is operating in his best interests rather than your own, find another doctor. YOU'RE FIRED!

I guess not....

I like deli meat. Fresh sliced ham, pastrami, swiss cheese genoa, all very good to me. I went to Food Lion tonight and the first place I went in there was the deli counter. It was 7:PM. The lady was in there, in the cooler, so I waited. She came out and I asked if I could get some items. She said she was done for the night. I asked for sure if there was any way I could get something. She said she had broken the machines down and cleaned them. I understand all that. I have no idea what their schedule is for the deli.

I waited for a second, just to make sure she didn't want to go just one inch of the extra mile......nothing.

I went to the sandwich meat isle and got some sandwich fixins. I proceeded to the meat counter. All but empty. Is this a grocery store? Are they in business?

My point is, they wasted two perfectly good opportunities to excel at customer service....blew it. FAIL.

No, that's not "Poor Customer Service Skills", it's "Poor Customer Service Kills".

Poor CS will kill any company, especially considering that we are living in the age of service industries. Think about it...20 years ago we, as a Nation, created mostly products. Now, most of our 'product' is service. What happens to companies when their 'product' sucks? You guessed it, they collapse. And if your service element is poor, you die.

I was raised in the service industry, therefore I can spot 'em a mile away. So naturally when I see a person or company that sucks, I call them out...ruthlessly.

Join me, right here, for a periodic look at some of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the service industry. I will highlight some of my daily experiences right here so you can check yourself from time to time. If you are stellar, I will blog it. If you suck, well, of course I will blog it. From CEOs to wait staff, all included here. Click the RSS link and be notified in your favorite reader when I post.

Thanks,
and Smile!