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| - I normally use Southland Registrations on Horton Road but decided to give Shawnessy a try because it is closer to my new home.
Context is always important in evaluating customer service. If I had just walked out of a fish cannery, I would expect a little bit of hostility on the part of people around me, no matter how professional the service. I always keep context in mind when evaluating the service I received - time of day, how busy the establishment is, what the mood of the place appears to be, etc.
I walked into Shawnessy Licence & Registrations at 9:00a.m. on a Tuesday morning; first one in the door in fact. Perhaps they were not happy that I had interrupted their start up routine. I guess they didn't have to open the door. Perhaps the girl was later arriving for work than she liked. I have no idea. (The weather was fine out, for what it is worth). I do know that I was treated with a strange cool detachment. Never heard the word please or thank you, not once. More annoyingly, I was told - after attempting to use my mastercard in the debit machine - that they don't take credit cards. Their debit machine also doesn't accept chips, just swipes. It also tells you - after the girl stamps all your paper work for a licence renewal - that you are being charged extra for using your debit card. No mention up front of this fact. I didn't bother to ask if personal cheque was an option.
I suppose it would sound old-fashioned to mention the nose-ring on the girl at the counter, but it seemed to sum-up the unprofessional atmosphere that pervaded my interactions with the staff. I will be going back to Southland Registrations in future, where the staff is much more courteous, and actually talking to the person at the counter isn't such a chore for them.
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