Tightrope: Bad customer service? Your money is your mouthpiece

• Not getting good customer service? Take your money elsewhere

Hello, Gladys, Many times I print your columns on customer service and give it to business owners who do a poor job at it. It is a growing problem; I haven't noticed a bit of improvement when it comes to customer service, especially with small businesses. What can we do to get better treatment from some of these companies? -- Glenn

We can start by not spending our money with them. On my old cell phone I had a ring tone of Donna Summer singing "She works hard for the money . . . and you better treat her right."

This is still my mantra. It's a reminder that we do work for our money and we deserve both respect and fair treatment.

We have to let our money become our mouthpiece, because bad service will always be among us.

For example, a friend and I arrived at a local restaurant for our 5:30 reservation but weren't seated until 6:00. About 10 minutes after we were seated the waiter came over and asked us if we were ready to order. My friend said we had not yet looked at the menu. Waiter: "Well, I suggest that you two take a look at it and get your meal ordered, because I want this table back by 7:00." He went on to say that the management likes for the tables to turn over three times in the course of an evening.

As ridiculous as this sounds, it actually happened! Now, I don't doubt that management probably said they would like for the tables to turn over several times in an evening. However, management failed to properly train the wait staff on customer relations.

There was no way that I would waste time discussing this situation with the restaurant owner. There is nothing he could say that would encourage my returning to his establishment.

We did not give up the table at 7:00. We took our time, ate our meal, had a nice conversation, paid our bill, gave the waiter a nice tip and left; knowing we would never go back there for any reason. And, we told everyone we know about our experience. Surprisingly, many people we know have told us of their own insulting experiences at the same restaurant.

On the other hand, one block away is another restaurant that's in the same price range, which welcomes and appreciates its customers. Once when I was there, a storm came up as we were ready to leave. The waiter invited us to stay and have an after-dinner drink on the house until the storm passed. Or, he offered, someone on staff with a large umbrella would be glad to help us to our cars.

We as paying customers have to insist on good service and above all we must show appreciation when we get good service.

There are companies out there that will bend over backwards for our business and provide us with pristine service. They know and respect that we work hard for the money and they are prepared to, in the words of the song, treat us right.

In writing this I realize that I miss my old Donna Summer ring tone. Perhaps I'll get it for my current phone. Meanwhile, keep in mind that, yes, you do deserve good service and if you don't get it, take your money someplace else. And the competition is fierce these days, so you will have no problem replacing a company that doesn't treat you well.

Gladys Edmunds' Entrepreneurial Tightrope column appears Wednesdays. As a single, teen-age mom, Gladys made money doing laundry, cooking dinners for taxi drivers and selling fire extinguishers and Bibles door-to-door. Today, Edmunds, founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh, is a private coach/consultant in business development and author ofThere's No Business Like Your Own Business, published by Viking. See an index of Edmunds' columns. Her website is www.gladysedmunds.com. You can e-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com.