I agree... the importance of customer service has really fallen by the wayside in retail stores and restaurants in particular. Each time I actually do have a really positive customer service experience it's a kind of a shock. Sad huh. I think the problem begins when companies treat their employees like robots instead of people. Then in return, employees start acting like robots who don't care. Of course there are the many exceptions where employors treat their employees extremely well and it shows in their work.