“The customer is always right.” There’s an adage from an era gone by that isn’t seen too often today. And nowhere is this shift in attitude more obvious than in customer service. Stop anyone on the street and ask what they think of the average customer service experience, and the reaction is likely to begin with plenty of eye-rolling. Most customers lament customer service, or the lack of it, in the typical retail environment.

But, after years of slowly sliding downhill, retailers are beginning to take notice and create new customer service expectations in an effort to set themselves apart in an overcrowded marketplace. Keenly aware that dissatisfied customers are impacting their bottom lines like never before, and with so many Internet-fueled alternatives to the bricks and mortar store, retail companies and their stock prices are quickly realizing they can’t afford to take the hit. Overwhelmed by globalization and a revolution in low pricing, customer service appears to be the last way in which retailers can impact price increases.

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