I was just thinking back to my youth today, and while it sometimes seems a long time ago I can’t help but thinking of how things have changed in such a short time. Growing up in Southern California was not unlike “anytown” U.S.A. We worked hard, played hard, and when it was time to go on vacation we packed up the family GM for the customary two weeks and hit the road for parts unknown. My mother and father insisted we buy American, and it was an easy thing to do because you were buying a solidly made beast of the highway. We were a GM family, but some of you out there could have been Ford or Chrysler families. It matters not because that was just an issue of taste and family upbringing. Kind of like being a Pepsi or Coke house. The products were good quality, the price was right, and the corporations cared about what the customer wanted and what would make them happy. I am not saying it was a scene out of Leave it to Beaver or Father Knows Best, but it certainly was simpler. Things today are no longer simple by any stretch of the imagination, but I am also not saying this is a bad thing in most cases. After all, I wouldn’t be able to “blog” here without the complicated life we live today, but not everything had to change. The lost art of customer appreciation and satisfaction seems to have been crossed off of the curriculum of most business schools in favor of “Bottom Line 101″, “Shareholders 250″, and “Upper Management Bonuses 550.” The last one is taught in both the BA and MBA program.

I guess I was busy this morning lamenting the America we see today, and sad at the thought that I don’t think our parents and grandparents would be proud of us. Those that lived through the depression and fought in WWII gave their lives so that we could enjoy the life that we have today, but somehow, somewhere along the way much of it was squandered. GM, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists as an American company. Chrysler is in the process of being sold to Fiat, and who knows how long Ford will hold on. These were powerhouses of American industry, and now what? Hummers made in China, Chryslers made by a company that hasn’t been able to sell a car in the U.S. for more than twenty years and is not considered to be top notch. What is next?

If we want to ask ourselves why we have to do a combination of things. Yes, we need to look in the mirror, but it is far more than just a turn away from “buying American.” It has been a long time since these companies have given us something worthy of buying. While foreign car companies were being innovative American car makers were giving us more of the same and losing focus on the customer. They were late to the game of hybrids, still producing oversized monsters designed to make soccer moms and underachievers feel powerful, and providing such low quality in order to get the customer buying more frequently. This was not and is not the American way, and yet somehow it became the American business model in a relatively short time for Detroit and others.

Two years ago I finally shook the invisible cultural shackles I had been raised with and purchased my first foreign vehicle, and I have never been happier. The first thing I noticed is that I am treated like a valuable customer; something that had been lost along the way in my years of dealing with GM and Chrysler. Simply said, they stand by their product. The last American car I had happened to be a convertible and when the rag top blew off after only a year and a half they told me it was my problem because it was “not a covered item.” In my foreign car I have been to the dealer twice in two years. Both times were for a “yearly” oil change. That’s right; YEARLY.

My father is still alive at the ripe old age of 78 and will probably live to well over a hundred at the rate he is going. He spent many years in the auto industry and helped to frame my “All American” girl persona. Is he proud of what has happened? No, and the sad part….he also drives a foreign car.

I have talked many times about the theory of “the customer is always right.” Once again, it is not necessarily that the customer is in the right, but they should at least be left with the perception that they are being given the benefit of the doubt. While many companies out there are very good with this others are not. It should be remembered that not all customers can be satisfied, but when a company goes the extra mile to make a customer angry their existence in the business world at all should be questioned. When this occurs it not only breaks the basic rules of customer service but delves into unethical behavior.

A perfect example of not only bad customer service, but unethical behavior can be seen in the company Music Express Limousines. About a year ago I utilized their service for a pick up at LAX airport, which a friend had booked through her company at the suggestion of Music Express’ VP of Sales, after a grueling business trip to Mexico City. My flight arrived very late, and needless to say I was exhausted. The driver was there waiting, as I was his last run for the evening, and promptly took control of my luggage cart while escorting me to the car. He opened the door, gave me a nice cold bottle of water and proceeded to put my luggage in his trunk. It took us approximately 45 minutes to get to my house during which I could barely keep my eyes open. Upon arrival he handed me my bag and shut the trunk. I immediately asked him for my second bag at which time he indicated that there was only one bag. Trying not to lose my mind I asked him why he didn’t put BOTH of the bags on the cart into the trunk. He spent the next 10 minutes arguing with me and insisting there was only one bag all the while I became more and more frantic at the knowledge that he had left my carry on bag with my computer and camera on the cart. He never for a single minute took responsibility, and he even called his dispatch to say I, the customer, must have left it at the airport. I was livid, and his response was to call his dispatch and have someone get back to me in the morning. At that point I demanded that he drive back to the airport immediately WITH me in the car. While in the car I called the VP of Sales, whom I had known for many years and let her know what was happening.

After 45 minutes more of pure hysteria at losing all of my equipment, and his lack of care, we arrived back at the parking spot in the nick of time. A very honest LAX employee collecting carts saw the bag on the cart and called the airport police. We had pulled into the lot just behind the police vehicle, which informed us that they would have treated it as an explosives scare, but luckily they carefully reviewed my ID and released the bag without further incident. At this point you would think all’s well that ends well, but you would be wrong.

The driver not only still never took responsibility for his critical error, but the situation got worse. The VP of Sales defended the driver! Let’s face it folks, when you hire an expensive limousine you are paying to be picked up and taken care of. When the driver tells you to get in the vehicle and he will secure your bags you also expect professionalism. THAT is what you are paying the exorbitant rates for.

The VP of Sales for Music Express finally offered to refund my money or give me a complimentary airport run at a future date. I thanked her for her help and accepted the future ride in good faith. From there I thought we had solved the problem, but alas this was not the case. She called the company that I booked the limo through in order to try and get my friend in trouble, which was curious considering I had paid the bill and it had nothing to do with my friend’s company. Still I left it alone.

Cut to today, a year later, at which time I wanted to collect my agreed upon “make good” transportation. After asking nicely to redeem the make good, this is what I received:

From: Maureen *******
To: mpawl@pawlconsulting.com
Sent: Jun 1, 2009 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: Hey you

Hi Morissa,
I hope this email finds you well.
Unfortunately time has expired to use the one way transfer and ****
******* Travel is in agreement of our decision.
Thank you, Maureen

This was interesting as I am NOT an employee of this Travel company that made the booking, nor was it a “free ride.” They booked it for me after this same person had suggested I do so, and it was a paid trip. One in which, I might add, almost cost me thousands of dollars in equipment due to their driver’s error.

So the moral to the story is that for many companies customer service has not only become disposable, but executives tend to feel that they are impervious to normal ethical behavior. When a company is wrong they should admit it! The customer is not always right, but to go out of one’s way, as with the case of Music Express, is not only a poor business practice but highly unethical. In this case, there are plenty of good transportation companies that treat customers properly. Not only will I not use Music Express, but I will encourage all I know to not use them as well.