By Jim Whitt

To add a little more to Sondra’s post on Common Sense Customer Service…we’re shocked at how clueless store clerks and personnel in restaurants can be about basic common sense and courtesy. Simple things like saying please, thank you, yes sir, no ma’am and one of my all time major irritants is when you ask your waiter for something or thank them for something and the response is, “No problem.” Of course its not a problem…it’s your job! How about responding with, “It’s my pleasure,” or “You’re welcome.”

So, our idea is a Common Sense Customer Service skills course so businesses can send their newly hired teenagers (or anyone else) for one hour to teach them to say please and thank you, to make eye contact and smile and to act like they like the customer. After all, customers are the reason they receive a paycheck. So, what do you think?

PS: While I’m on a roll, my all time major irritant is when you ask how the clerk is and they respond, “I’ll be a lot better when I get off work.”