Would you like a side of bad attitude with that?

Just take one glance at a picture of a service station from the 1950s and it’s no wonder why everyone was so damn chipper. Beaming attendants would rush out to arriving cars, often weary from long car rides, and fulfill the car’s every need. Windshields were cleaned, the tank was quickly refueled and the tires were filled with air. All of this was done while the satisfied family sat in the car, not needing to move a muscle.

Imagine this scene taking place now and it’s hard not to laugh. Yeah right! Times have changed and it’s hard to find good service anywhere. Sadly, amazing customer service is the exception rather than the norm.

It would seem fair that paying outrageous insurance payments every month should guarantee you not only peace of mind but outstanding customer service. But let’s get real here. If an experienced teenager swerves into your lane unexpectedly, smashing in the front of your new (and beloved) car, get ready for frustration on a whole new level.

Being involved in a fender-bender is stressful enough, but dealing with the service of claim agents who are supposedly there to “help” brings forth a whole new wave of inconveniences… and if it’s a dispute over whose fault the accident was, you’ll most likely receive the worst customer service ever.

Expect a game of phone tag to last approximately forever between not only your insurance company but the other driver’s as well. If you’re in the “good hands” of Allstate, get ready for a letter in the mail saying “you’re dispute is being processed” instead of a return phone call, complete with an auto signature at the bottom. Makes sense; who has time to sign their name anymore?

While the powers that be are trying to decide who’s at fault, you get the privilege of driving a wrecked car around with absolutely no sympathy from anybody employed at the aforementioned insurance companies.

From there, you will most likely deal with a rental car company and a body shop where all of the employees seem to hate their jobs and make you feel as if it was you that filled out their job application and managed to get them hired. Would it really hurt anyone to smile and genuinely mean “have a good day”?

Bad service doesn’t only plague automobile companies. Try to flag a sales associate down at Macys and see how far you get. Or try to order a Dirty Martini from a bartender at a crowded bar and consider yourself lucky if you get as much as a nod. They can get a better tip from the hot guy ordering a round at the end of the bar.

It’s disheartening that this is where service is heading but just look on a local CraigsList job listing and it seems to make a little more sense.

With the cost of living sky-rocketing more and more everyday, shouldn’t employers pay accordingly? Wages are usually offered at 10 to 13 dollars per hour, and that’s with job experience. Forty hours a week will give you around 1600 (give or take) a month, which is barely enough to survive on.

A lot of the disgruntled employees that seem to enjoy making consumer’s lives miserable are just actually just stressed about how they’re going to make next month’s mortgage payment. Combine low wages with a lack of emphasis placed on the importance of good service and it’s a recipe for not only failure but angry customers.

So what’s the answer then? Employers should get back to the basics and mimic companies such as Nordstrom that have a reputation built on excellent customer service. They must be doing something right; the Nordstrom brothers might as well have dollar signs tattooed on their foreheads and their employees are always (genuinely) smiling.

Even if the customer ISN’T always right, is it so hard to fake it?