Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Annemarie Quill: Customer service clinches it

Bay of Plenty Times
19 Mar, 2016 01:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

When it comes to bad service, everyone has their war stories - from people being blanked in boutiques by snooty shopgirls to rude waiters slamming down plates.

My own bugbear is having to wait more than five minutes for a coffee. One Sunday recently, a cafe had a sign up saying "30-minute wait for a coffee". Unacceptable. Almost as bad - shop assistants who follow me round in a shop asking how my day is going or whether I have anything planned for the weekend.

It is a hard game, the retail and service industry. Not just having to be nice to punters all day but it's a tough job on your feet. Plus the pay is not great at the coal face.

A bad experience can also be turned around in the public eye by a swift smart public response that shows that a company takes customer service seriously.

Annemarie Quill

Yet anyone in the retail or service industry knows that those frontline employees can make or break a company's reputation. Ask the bosses at SkyCity or Glassons.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Both companies were in the spotlight this week for alleged less than desirable customer experiences.

Read more: Tauranga pupils back call for sugar tax on fizzies

First up was British Formula One racing maestro Lewis Hamilton who blasted Auckland's SkyCity Casino after a bad experience on his first night in New Zealand.

The 31-year-old posted an outburst on Twitter, telling his three million followers: "Don't ever go to the sky city casino in Auckland, they treated me like dirt. Can't believe how rude they were. Worst casino experience ever!"

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the same week, at Auckland fashion store Glassons, 19-year-old Christina Victor told NZME her day was ruined when she was pointed at, laughed at and told she "looked dodgy" while being wrongly accused of shoplifting a pair of shoes from Glassons clothing store.

Reaction to both incidents was mixed online.

Read more: Annemarie Quill: Stay-at-home role attractive

The teen shopper received an outpouring of support, with one Facebook poster receiving more than 1200 ticks of approval.

Discover more

Katie Shevlin: Tax is a sweet policy

21 Mar 05:30 AM

"The staff at ALL Glassons need to come down like 5 notches! They walk around like they workn at a Gucci or Vera Wang Shop."

Hamilton on the other hand, received little sympathy, with posters telling him to "stop whinging" and "boo hoo. Didn't they wipe your bum for you ya cry baby".

Which reveals in my opinion, the strange Kiwi phenomenon of "hating on" the successful or the rich.

It doesn't matter who the person is, a formula one racing driver or a young Auckland shopper, consumers have the right to be treated well and with respect.

After the reported allegations, both companies responded - a Glassons representative told media "it's being investigated", while SkyCity Group communications manager Kelly Armitage told NZME she would not elaborate on the British star's treatment.

"As with any customer, we don't talk about the specifics of their stay with us."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A bad experience can also be turned around in the public eye by a swift smart public response that shows that a company takes customer service seriously.

Read more: Annemarie Quill: Facebook's dark underbelly

We don't know the details of Hamilton's experience at SkyCity but his three million online followers are left with the impression, rightly or wrongly, from a guy who, let's face it has experienced the best of international hotels and casinos, that Auckland is a bit parochial.

The reaction of some Kiwis to his complaint just underlines this further.

Luckily it seems Hamilton enjoyed the rest of his stay, taking in the sites of Queenstown and Milford sounds, sharing a video with fans on Snapchat saying: "Yup. This is the most beautiful place I've seen!"

That is the sort of publicity for New Zealand tourism that money cannot buy.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But we can't just rest on the laurels of the natural beauty of the country.

Good service must also cement our reputation in tourism.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

live
Bay of Plenty Times

Radio distress post was hoax, 50 people evacuated, wild weather clean-up begins

11 Jul 09:42 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Powerful example': Mum overcomes addiction to build a life helping others

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Radio distress post was hoax, 50 people evacuated, wild weather clean-up begins
live

Radio distress post was hoax, 50 people evacuated, wild weather clean-up begins

11 Jul 09:42 PM

The North Island is expected to get off to a wet start this morning, with lingering rain.

'Powerful example': Mum overcomes addiction to build a life helping others

'Powerful example': Mum overcomes addiction to build a life helping others

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP