This is one of the most frustrating things about shopping

With the convenience of online shopping, more and more consumers are opting to stay at home than shop in store. But the allure isn’t only in free shipping and not having to step foot outside the house, and retail stores cannot blame the stay-at-home economy for their recent struggles.   

Customer service across the board appears to be in decline, and there are few experiences more frustrating than shopping in a store with too few staff working or arguably worse, poorly trained and disinterested staff. 

In great news for Myer this week, an investor has poured $94 million into the struggling department store, buying 11 per cent of the brand.

Along with this much needed boost from renowned Australian businessman Solomon Lew, Myer profits have increased over the past six months, giving some hope to the once popular store making a comeback.

Although the Myer brand has poured huge amounts of money into renovations and ensuring their stores are polished and perfect, they are not immune to the recent trend of customer service sliding down the priority list. Many similar department stores now house dozens of mini-stores, staffed by their own brand employees rather than employees of the store. This arrangement means that the store doesn’t have to source its own stock, but this convenience comes at a cost for the consumer in the form of unnecessary confusion and inconvenience when looking for assistance. 

If you do happen upon a service desk staffed by an actual store employee, it’s likely to be the only one on the floor open and already 10 deep with queuing customers. Forget about assistance to find something or fitting; you’ll be just as well off shopping online. Add this to inaccessible or closed changing rooms, and it’s no surprise many customers give up in frustration and leave without buying anything.

For those who grew up shopping back in the days when customer service was a priority and one of the most delightful aspects of a day out shopping, this is all the more disappointing.

Starts at 60 has contacted Myer for comment.

Is better customer service the key to drawing consumers back to the stores? Let us know what you think in the comments below.