Monday, November 3, 1997
Bad customer service universal, not limited to other
countries
CULTURE Despite comments, foreign students should retain
self-esteem, pride in traditions
By Richard Weissman
In response to poor service, the condescending bite of the
phrase, "What do you expect? This is (fill in the blank)!" could
too often be heard during my recent summer months in Turkey. But it
is seldom mentioned at UCLA. Why is that?
Probably everyone I know at UCLA has experienced, more than
once, an authoritative staffer explaining things one way, only
later to be contradicted by another staffer or by the printed
materials he cites. If this happens to a foreigner anywhere in
Turkey, especially at a Turkish university, the most predictable
response is "What do you expect? This is Turkey!" On the other
hand, I have never heard a Turkish student or anyone else comment,
"What do you expect? This is UCLA!" Actually, I can’t recall ever
hearing, "What do you expect? This is America!" either.
The ancient tradition of hospitality in Turkish culture did not
originate as a social methodology to deal with tour buses crammed
with demanding, critical Western tourists. Aggressive tourism and
commerce have required Turkish customer service to Westernize
overnight. Many Americans and other foreigners flock to Turkey to
experience historical moments while simultaneously comparing
Turkish services to their own. A ceaseless stream of arrogant
tourists’ condescending comments about customer services has taken
its toll on the Turks’ self-image.
Those "What do you expect?" comments, spiked with a spurious
connotation of superiority, have succeeded in making Turkish
customer-service people (most of whom have never been to the West)
feel inferior. But what they should know is that there is not much
difference between American and Turkish customer service.
There is evidence of this everywhere at UCLA. I will list two
random examples out of 10 similar personal daily experiences:
My "second-round" parking permit was denied; apparently just
about everyone who submitted a "second-round" application was
informed after the due date that no more parking permits would be
distributed.
A UCLA food-service cashier was completely befuddled by the
price of the "extras" on my sandwich. Even after conferring with
the neighboring cashier, she concluded that the actual price of my
sandwich was less than it would have been without any added
"extras," as she charged me about half what the final price should
have been.
Never once that day did I say, "What do you expect? This is
UCLA!"
I am not putting down UCLA by any means. Customer service here
is no different from anywhere else I have been – including five
extended stays in Turkey. That is my point. Using the phrase "What
do you expect? This is Turkey!" is not proper there any more than
it would have been for me to say, "What do you expect? This is
UCLA!" here. Instead, whenever customer-service expectations are
not met, the most appropriate phrase is, "What do you expect? It’s
like this everywhere!"
Therefore, to all the Turkish – and other Near Eastern students
as well – at UCLA, I say, "Stop those feelings of cultural
inferiority that poison your self-image. Your customer service is
on par with America’s – look at UCLA! What your countries’ customer
services lack in high technology are customarily compensated for by
genuine friendliness and concern, and seldom tainted by robotic
incompetence."