It’s Not Just Me, Right? Something’s Off With Customer Service

I don’t really enjoy shopping. I go when I need something, I know what I’m looking for, and that’s about it. I’m not browsing for fun; I just expect a fairly normal interaction when I walk into a shop.

The other day I went to buy a pair of waterproof black trainers. Nothing complicated. I walked into a well-known premium shoe store in a busy, well‑established London location: four staff on the floor and not one of them acknowledged me. Not even a quick “be with you in a minute.” Just nothing.

I tried a couple of times before I finally got someone’s attention. And when I did, it sort of unravelled from there. Vague answers, no real product knowledge, no one really taking ownership of the conversation. At one point someone pulled a colleague away from another customer to help, which already isn’t great, and even then no one knew.

So I just made it really simple: you have this model, in this size, can you check?

And somehow even that didn’t go anywhere. No urgency, just a lot of standing around.

After about fifteen minutes I just said, “Never mind, it’s fine,” and headed for the door. As I left, I gently suggested they might want to get some basic customer service and product knowledge training. As I was walking out, the staff were laughing together, still not engaging with anyone else in the store either. I did ask for the manager, but it was one of those conversations where you can tell it’s not going to change anything. And it stayed with me a bit longer than it should have, mainly because I caught myself thinking: is this just how it is now?

I’ve been on the other side of that interaction. I know what it takes to show up properly for a customer, even on a long day, even when you don’t feel like it. I used to go out of my way to get things right, to be helpful, to make sure someone left with what they actually came in for.

Then the next morning, completely different setting, same feeling. I stopped at an independent pop-up cafe bar - I chose it over my trusted chain, because I like supporting local. Ordered a £5 oat flat white. The guy serving was on speakerphone the whole time, barely present, with no eye contact. The coffee came out wrong as well: almond milk.

What if I’d had an allergy?

But it’s not really about that, is it?

It’s the lack of attention. The sense that no one’s really there. No care in the interaction, no real pride in what’s being handed over. And I think that’s the part that’s changed.

I’ve seen genuinely great service and not‑so‑great service in all sorts of places: independents, luxury stores, five‑star restaurants, clinical environments, convenience shops. It’s never been about the type of business. It always comes down to the people in front of you.

But people don’t just naturally deliver that. They’re shaped by how they’re hired, how they’re trained, and what’s expected of them day to day. And that’s where things feel like they’ve slipped. There’s a noticeable gap now. Some people are excellent: really switched on, aware, easy to deal with. And then others just… aren’t. Not even in a “they’re new” kind of way, more like they’re just not connected to what they’re doing at all. There’s no real sense of responsibility for the experience, and no clear idea of what “good” actually looks like.

You feel it straight away when you’re on the receiving end of it.

And it doesn’t happen overnight.

Standards don’t suddenly disappear; they fade. Bit by bit. Hiring becomes about filling shifts. Training becomes lighter. Managers are less present, and expectations stop being reinforced.

You can show someone how to do something, but if no one’s holding the line on how it should be done, it drifts.

That’s probably why AI is starting to look more appealing in some of these spaces. Not because it’s necessarily always better, but because it’s consistent. It shows up, it responds, it follows through. There’s no mood and no disengagement halfway through.

My take is that most people don’t actually want less human interaction. They just want it to feel… normal. Like someone’s paying attention. Like it matters a bit.

When you strip it back, this doesn’t start as a service issue. The problem is what’s happening behind it. What’s being accepted, what’s being ignored, what’s actually being led.

If you walked into your own business as a customer, would you genuinely be impressed by the people on the front line?

If not, that’s probably where the work is.

At The Boutique Consultancy, we think about that work in a very practical way. We believe:

• Standards should be clear, visible, and non‑negotiable, not just words in a handbook.

• Consistency is built through rhythm: regular coaching, feedback, and performance checks, not one‑off training days.

• Mystery shopping and real-world observation are essential to test what’s actually happening, not what everyone assumes is happening.

  
  

It’s something we see a lot: there’s often a gap between what a business thinks it delivers and what’s actually being experienced in real time. And most of the time, it comes back to the same things: people, standards, consistency.

Nothing complicated. But not easy either.

If this resonates, we'd love to start a conversation, email us on connect@theboutiqueconsultancy.com