One of the big problems in the world of Customer Service today is that too many companies do not trust their employees to take care of the customers. Since the employees are the ones who deal with the customers, not empowering them is the customer service “kiss of death”.
Mary Kay Ash, when asked why her cosmetics business had been so phenomenally successful, answered, “I try to hire really nice people and I try to let them be as nice as they can be.” Sounds simple but it isn’t. Companies must first start with HIRING. And it’s hard to find “really nice”, competent people. But it’s worth the effort for companies like Mary Kay’s.
(If you have an instance of excellent customer service that you have received from an Indianapolis-area small business, please let Danny know about it at dannyomalia@gmail.com)
Most recently I blew off some steam about a problem my wife and I had with Sears, Nordic Track and a third company whose name I don’t even know. Since then, we visited our newly married daughter and new son-in-law in St. Louis this past weekend and they were sharing their frustration concerning their brand new, inoperative refrigerator that they had bought from– guess where? Sears, of course. And the story was eerily similar. 
I get asked that question all the time. There are lots of theories, ranging