Teenagers Deserve Better Service

You would think that $300 would be enough.

That is exactly the amount I had in my pocket when I set out to purchase a woman’s business suit last month. Not that I wanted to spend a large amount of money on clothing I will hardly wear; it was for the National Debate Tournament, an event where I needed to look very professional.

I had no idea what an ordeal I was in for. Never mind the difficulty of finding something that fit and didn’t cost a horrendous amount, the major irritant I found was a lack of costumer service. When I did have the good luck to flag down a salesperson and explain what I was looking for, the majority treated me as if I were an incompetent annoyance - someone to get rid of more than someone to help.

Several times I was just pointed toward an area with a dismissive, “There might be something for you over there, but I’m not sure.” I couldn’t believe people treated me that way when I was serious about spending a large amount of money in their store.

And I wasn’t exactly sure why until my mother happened to be along when I went shopping one night.

Suddenly, pleasant inquiries of “Can I help you?” trailed us from one department to another. I was astounded at the change - especially in stores I had already gone to. Salespeople were leading us from rack to rack with suggestions, information about sales and even asking detailed questions about what type of suit I might want.

One thing didn’t change from these trips, though: The person actually making the decision about a purchase was me - not my mother. Where was all the courtesy when it was just me, by myself?

For some reason the salespeople I had encountered alone decided I wasn’t a customer worth spending time with, or even being courteous to because of my age. Several times during my shopping experience I just wanted to throw my hands and yell, “I have money. I want to spend it! Can someone PLEASE help me?”

This phenomenon is nothing new to most teenagers. At restaurants, shops and other areas where we are spending our money, we often don’t get treated as well as adult customers. You would think by now salespeople would have figured out teenagers spend a lot of money. That we are a valuable contribution to their business. That today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s adults. That when I get treated badly somewhere it makes me never want to go back. As a matter of fact, I ended up buying my suit where I did in part because of the outstanding service I received there.

I bag groceries as my summer job and I work with people a lot. I think that I know more than some adults do about customer service. I know you should treat customers well whether they have three hundred dollars or three. Or even if they’re 17.