Feel like packing it all in!

Is the entire UK depressed?

[lee_sufc]

I've been running my company for 17+ years...plodding along nicely. Throughout this time, I've had the usual customer complaint (maybe a handful a year), but nothing major. However, the past few weeks have been seriously depressing for me...seems that despite nothing that I do being any different and providing exactly the same service as before, I'm getting a drastic increase in complaints! Not just minor issues, but people being generally nasty, rude and out of order.

Any other UK business owners here experiencing something similar at the moment or is it just me?

Maybe the Brexit situation has people worrying?

[tangor]

Not to worry about Brexit, this is just entitlement behavior as taught by decades of progressive education. People simply aren't as polite as their elders and it will only get worse. :(

[martinibuster]

Same customer service people answering the phones? Is it outsourced or in-house?

[lee_sufc]

@tangor, I have to admit, your "entitlement behaviour" theory is something I've been talking about for a while...particularly with graduate-aged clients I have - a large chunk of them have a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

@martinbuster - yep, everything the same (if anything, due to the recent complaints, I've upped my "customer service game" a little bit!)

[engine]

Sorry to hear that news. Perhaps adapt by establishing a bot for the customer service. ;)
Nah, that was meant as a bit of fun, however, I have noticed an impatience and greater expectation from the always on generation. It's as if many have a disconnect from the real world and the virtual world. There's a loss of how to interact face-to-face. Everything has become virtual.

Don't give up, just adapt.

[lee_sufc]

@engine - My main issue is that they have me over a barrel - do this for me NOW or I'll leave a bad review, refund me NOW or I'll spread my experience online and share it with my friends.

People are just generally horrible. I wouldn't mind if my work warranted it, but I'm working harder than ever!

Your bot idea is good - although I'd design a bot to pay a visit to these lovely people and teach them some manners and respect!

[engine]

do this for me NOW or I'll leave a bad review, refund me NOW or I'll spread my experience online and share it with my friends.

Wow, that's positively awful: It's bribery, and close to extortion. They are one step away from doing something illegal. It's as if they don not realise they are dealing with another human being.

[tangor]

It is the nature of the body beast ... children now becoming adults who got "participation throphies" just for showing up are continuing their demands in the real world market place which is NOT the same as where they were coddled as whippersnaps.

The FEW I have had to deal with acting this way learned the HARD way it COSTS to make threats or be abusive without cause.

What I ended up doing, to avoid more of this, was contract an arbiter board and include that in my TOS, wherein, if one wants to make a complaint they have to file it in MY jurisdiction, present their case in MY jurisdiction, and are BOUND to agree to the terms of the arbiter, else they have no complaint other than manufacturer defect or failure to fulfill an order.

"Please read Section X in the TOS at: " has shut many would be abusers down.

[zulu_dude]

Tangor, could you elaborate on that? I understand that you're specifying the complaints procedure in your TOS, but how would you enforce that if they're in a different country? E.g. if they decided to leave a bad review on TripAdvisor or similar (or even just their FB page, but that's less of an issue as they probably don't have many friends if they're this way inclined!)?

[Essex_boy]

Ive stopped dealing with the public, ive come very close to hitting several customers - One in particular - Porsche driving idiot who threatened to 'knock me out'. You just get to a point and think thats it ive had enough, I am no longer dealing with the public.