Customer Service...if there ever was a time for it

At one time, Ukrops was well regarded as the gold standard in customer service in the Richmond area.  In time, that level of service declined.  Some would say that as our prosperity increased, customer service, along with many other things, fell by the wayside.

Recently, however, some of my work colleagues and me have noted about improved customer service at places like Lowes, Food Lion, and Taco.  Food Lion and Taco, long the bastions of customer indifference, now being more helpful and friendly -- are you kidding?

Perhaps it is the economy or perhaps the leaders of these companies see such customer attention as the potential differentiator between them and the competition.  Regardless, I do enjoy the friendlier and more helpful treatment. 

With the continued trend toward using impersonal communication media such as e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, text messaging, etc., I still believe there is much value in the personal touch, the face-to-face interaction, the exchange of handshakes and smiles. 

I am not sure whether this personal touch will even be important to the generation raised on this impersonal media.  I do believe that the personal touch is the potential differentiator now and it puzzles me why many in our business and retail world today just seem to ignore this opportunity.