Servicing customers can and has been a very rewarding experience. However,
in the past probably 3 to 5 years it seems that customers are becoming more
and more demanding and less and less informed.
How many times has a customer called for professional, manufacturer
qualified service, and then will not even comply with a scheduling date.
Numerous times our corporate dispatching group has set up service
appointments with customers, these are normally arranged 24 to 36 horus in
advance (of having the technician make the trip). About 30% of the time,
when contacted by the technician on the day of service, the customer
demands to change the allocated time frame, informs the technician they
have gotten the item serviced otherwise, or are just plainly rude and
obnoxious.
Specific case in point, Mister Blockhead is contacts 24 hours in advance
and given a two hour window in which the technician will arrive, diagnose,
service/order part, for the unit in question. Technician calls customer
the morning of the route and gets blasted with foul language about the
stupid routing and time scheduling and then is again blasted when the
technician suggests having the call run another day when the time frame is
more acceptable. End effect, Mister Blockhead will probably have to carry
set into a shop for service.
Secondairly, customer calls regarding a specific isue or feature of their
$XXXXXXX device, when querried the respond 'No I do not know where the
operations manual is, nor have I read the ****thing. Get out here and fix
it!!' Ignorant of the product they have spent hard earnt funds for, not
willing to learn about said product, and aragorant enough to complain
about and totally exhibit thier stupidity.

BTW been servicing Consumer Electronic Products, in home and bench level
since mid 60's. Yup remember the 5U4, OZ3, etc!!