As a corporate speaker and strategist one of my most requested topics to speak on is customer service. I imagine you are not surprised by this … I’m not. After all-all businesses require customers to succeed and customers expect some level of customer service every time they choose to do business with someone. Therefore we can all agree that customer service is crucial-that customer service is important, right? I think we can also agree that most companies have some sort of customer service mantra that they proclaim to the world.

Macy’s: “Macy’s, Inc. clearly recognizes that the customer is paramount and that all its actions and omnichannel strategies must be directed toward providing a personalized merchandise offering and shopping experience…”

State Farm Insurance: “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There

Nationwide Insurance: “Nationwide is on your side.” (Is it just me or do you hear Peyton Manning humming the Nationwide theme right now?)

So, here is my question. If everyone can agree that customer service is important, why do we keep having bad customer service experiences?  Remember this epic rant of a Starbucks barista caught on video?

In case you were not sure of what happened-from what I understand (and I might be wrong) the barista accused the customer of trying to steal an edible straw worth about 99 cents. (And yes, the barista no longer works there. Some reports say she was fired, the barista herself says she quit, I’ll leave it to you to decide what is true.)

So, I’ll repeat my question again-why do we keep having bad customer experiences, when we all know that customer service is important? And maybe even more important, what can we do about it?

We’re all human!

I think the reason there continues to be bad customer service is because we’re all human…and we bring all of that “human-ness” into the equation every single day. The fact is there are some customers you like better than others. There are some people that just bug the heck out of you, right?

Some customers take advantage of the system, which can be frustrating. Some customers lie! Some people just have no clue which can be irritating for you.

Let’s face it, we all have bad days, months or years and that has an effect on how we serve our customers doesn’t it? 

The barista in the YouTube video I referenced was later interviewed and according to the iDigitalTimes this is her reasoning for going off on the customer, “According to her, not everything that happened was correctly captured and that her reasons for melting down were completely justified.

“It was like a ticking time bomb for me,” said the former Starbucks barista. “ I have been disrespected by customer so many times. This is not the first time …

… Ok, so if the story isn’t all being told, then what did this customer do that got managing barista Melissa so uptight?

“She kept calling me names,” the former Starbucks employee said, “and then she took the Frappuccino straw and kept pointing it in my face, so I was already getting really upset.”

The barista said she then asked the woman to step to the side, at which time the customer began engaging other customers in the argument and this appeared to be the breaking point for the barista.”

This barista had enough of people no respecting her. She had enough of people treating her poorly. She had enough of feeling like she was being taken advantage of, and finally she SNAPPED. Epically, I might add.

Did you read the part where this barista, who lost her job, felt that she was justified in what she did? Even with all that happened, she felt that she was justified in what she did. In other words, she felt like she had a viable reason to act the way she did.

So, let me ask you, “Was it worth it?” Was the potential “theft” of a 99 cent straw worth losing a job over? I don’t think so.

Now, I know that you might now have an epic rant on YouTube posted for the whole world to see (please keep it that way!), however I would guess that there are times that you fought your own customer service battles that seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but now makes you wonder, “Was it worth it?”

The next time you find yourself helping a customer, remember the secret phrase, “Is it worth it?” and judge all that you’re about to say and/or do with that secret phrase in mind.

• Is it worth it for me to tell that customer I think he is a moron?
• Is it worth it for me to roll my eyes?
• Is it worth it for me to ignore that phone message because it has been a long day?
• Is it worth it for me to go the extra mile to satisfy the customer’s request?
• Is it worth it for me to accuse the customer of something I don’t have proof of?
• Is it worth it spending two hours fighting over $10.00?
• Is it worth it to keep my mouth closed right now?

You get the picture! Please share your success stories and also lessons you learned the hard way in the comments below!