Poor Service-An Aussie Thing?

[niemann]

In a lot of places that provide "good" customer service - friendly, warm, smiling, courteous, responsive? Absolutely. Ability to resolve issue - low to zero. In Australia - friendly, warm, courteous, responsive? Not a chance. Ability to resolve issue - yes. Same applies to call centres. Even would comment that QF is actually very reflective of this.

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I think you're spot on with this one. There's a guaranteed way to get shocking service in Australia: talk down at someone, or be unrealistic in what you're demanding.
'Jack's as good as his master' is ingrained here, as is pragmatism over savings face/bullsh*t. If you work with it, you'll usually get a good result. If you fight it, it's all over. Alot of new arrivals to this country take a long time to adjust to this cultural shift, and pay the price through really shoddy treatment. Still, like anywhere, you do see examples of truly appalling service: we just don't put great service on some kind of a pedestal here, and this is reflected in the jobs, careers and payrates. Dead end all round.

 

[notzac]

I think I prefer a culture that doesn't involve a mandatory tip for the standard level of service. I also like knowing that the person serving me can feed their family at night and can go to a hospital if they get sick. If that means I have to be pleasant to get pleasant service, so be it. Rather that than have people kiss my backside to get money out of me. Falsehood is not good service.

This. All of this. I spent quite a bit of my life working in hospitality or in a customer-facing role, so I'm fairly biased about this topic .. I don't think Australian staff give necessarily poorer service - it's just different to what you get overseas. As a culture, we're not as subservient as many Asian cultures can be, and service roles here tend to be paid better than what a similar role would get in the US - so there's less cough kissing because tips aren't required to survive.

I'm not saying poor service doesn't exist in this country - far from it. A part of the problem is that many companies here don't empower staff to fix problems (I've worked for firms that do and also for a couple that don't and the difference is night and day). There are also certain stereotypes that are true for a not insignificant number of customer service employees in this country that don't help matters, but I'm not going in to detail lest I cop an infraction..

End of the day, if you're genuinely nice to the person looking after you and have a reasonable request that the person is capable of doing, you'll almost always get what you're after. If you're rude, aggressive, speak down to or are dismissive of the person looking after you .. you might have an uphill battle on your hands.

 

[QF10]

I just don't think many countries understand Australian culture and the way we "go about things". dajob made a good point about "Smart service" being efficient. I find that Australian's are typically less pretentious, and couldn't careless for personal status but will (in most cases) resolve the problem you have. The absence of airs and graces can sometimes be interpreted as poor service, but that's being short sighted.

Some airlines benefit from their national culture being very hospitable in a genuine way.

Personally I always enjoy getting on an Australian Carrier after some time abroad, it make me feel at home. I understand what "yeah sure" means when you ask for something. i.e they're about to get it. Some cultures might interpret that response differently

 

[tuapekastar]

End of the day, if you're genuinely nice to the person looking after you and have a reasonable request that the person is capable of doing, you'll almost always get what you're after. If you're rude, aggressive, speak down to or are dismissive of the person looking after you .. you might have an uphill battle on your hands.

Agreed. Whatever that saying is (something abut honey attracting) it is quite correct. I'm helpful by nature, but far more inclined to go out of my way to assist a polite person than a pig-ignorant rude entitled one (they will reap what they sow ).

 

[drron]

Certainly there is a lot in the idea that your attitude can bring about poor service.certainly witnessed that today when at lunch when a group of younger folks all with prams took over several of the restaurants outdoor tables,obviously had no intention of buying anything as they unloaded their brought from home stuff.Talk about a sense of entitlement-even wanted the restaurant to supply them with water and glasses.

Despite that unfortunately there are a lot of Aussies who take the egalitarian ethos way to far.Feel it is beneath them to offer service.
I got over that sense of happiness boarding an australian plane long ago.much too inconsistent.

 

[Justchecking]

Culturally, we have a low level of conformity in Australia, it's all about 'me'. In service terms that makes it extremely difficult for any company to get consistency going. They have to depend on hiring individuals who want to provide good service and agree with the way the boss wants it done. Not easy at all. You'll always get individuals who'll say whatever to get the job but then go ahead and do their own thing anyway. Not great for getting things right.

 

[Blackadder]

Not just a Australian thing, go to the US and try getting service in a Walmart,Target etc...

 

[Warks]

You also find here that very good staff members tend to be promoted quite quickly. I've often dealt with really helpful staff and then not long later they are gone. I usually find out they've been promoted, transferred or left (probably poached). Good service staff really stand out and are in demand so they don't stay long.

This is a good thread. It puts a few things in perspective. My sister lives in Canada and is always critical of service here but she's from a tip culture which makes me very uncomfortable when I'm there. Last time we just sucked it up and paid the 10 or 15% to everyone to avoid a confrontation. When we were there years ago we didn't understand tipping at all and were probably sworn at quite a lot after we'd left.

Here things tend to get resolved when you have a problem. The worst companies to deal with are telcos as everyone knows. If an industry has an ombudsman you know it has poor service or is full of sharks. I've found superannuation funds also fit this mould having spent the best part of three months trying to roll my money into a self-managed fund. I had to go right to the top and threaten them with the ombudsman before they complied.