What happened to customer service?

I left school at 15 and went to work at a company called Boots the Chemist. In the UK this is a large, well known store with branches throughout the country. There's nothing quite like it here in the USA. Boots sells just about everything, from records, dog food and jewelry to all the medicines, first aid items and prescriptions you would expect to find at a chemists. It was always (and still is) the place you looked if you wanted to buy a great camera or have your photos printed. In the very early days Boots also had a lending library, and I do remember seeing some of those books at home, with the Boots logo stamped into the front cover.

I spent 12 years working at Boots, starting out as a junior sales assistant, eventually becoming head of Display and Design, responsible for all the window and in-store displays. During my years there, I was trained in customer service, trained on how perfumes are made and what leather is used to make a great handbag. But no matter what else we learned, customer service was paramount. The customer was always right, and had to leave the store feeling happy with their purchase, happy with their experience and wanting to come back and shop again. But now, I am wondering what happened to customer service, it certainly doesn't seem to be the same as it used to be. The reason I am wondering this is because of my bicycle! (Post of 08/18/08). I am still waiting for it to be delivered and having an incredibly difficult time determining when it will arrive.

We ordered the bike from Sears and were perfectly happy to do so. Sears has a great reputation, has been around a long time and would surely ensure a good experience when shopping with them. We placed the order online on 15th August and received a confirmation email that the bicycle would be delivered on the 25th, which was perfect as we were having a vacation at home and would be able to go out for bike rides. But the 25th came and went and the bike was not delivered. I called Sears customer service department who told me the bike was going to be shipped from a store and they didn't know when that would happen! I was amazed they couldn't tell me that, it seems impossible that Sears customer service associates cannot contact one of their own stores to check on a delivery date. So another week went by, and although Chuck sent two emails to the customer service department we heard nothing else!

Yesterday I called Sears again and was quite cross. I was told the store who was going to send the bicycle out had been emailed to try and ascertain a delivery date, the associate I spoke to said she "hoped they would respond, but couldn't promise anything". I find it incredible that this is the way Sears carry on their business, and also really angry. We have paid in full for the bike, and we don't have it, and have no idea when we will have it. Yesterday afternoon I spent some time online looking up the names of some of the Board of Directors and the CEO, and have already sent one email out to express my disappointment in the service that Sears is providing. I don't expect a response, nor do I expect anyone to try and remedy the problem. Which is why I am wondering what happened to customer service. Once upon a time, any customer like me, who was experiencing such difficulties, would be helped out as quickly as possible. The problem would be resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned, because the company would want the customer to come back and buy from them, they would want their reputation to remain as high as possible and they would want their customer to be happy! It's a shame it's not like that anymore. But I know one thing, whenever we are in the market for a bicycle again (and it will happen often, I have two sons) I will not go to Sears for them!