Alabama’s Career Center System is scheduled to host a customer service workshop this Wednesday at the Alabama Career Center on Water Avenue for businessmen and women to help improve the level of customer service within the Selma and Dallas County area.

In announcing the workshop, which is scheduled for 9 a.m., the flyer has an interesting question: Is your business suffering because of poor customer service?

Better yet, let us ask ourselves this question. Is Selma and Dallas County suffering from poor customer service?

In some cases, the answer is yes. There are those businesses who have gained a reputation of poor service, while there remains, in our opinion, a vast majority who not only provide tremendous customer service, but quite frankly, make you feel right at home.

From convenience stores to restaurants, from service stations to doctor’s offices, the service and experience provided to customers is often time the only thing that separates one merchant from another.

As a region, we are blessed to have events and destinations that attract thousands upon thousands of visitors each year and it is the way we treat these visitors, the experience they leave with, that will continue to grow those numbers, and as a result, grow the tourism dollars brought in.

In fact, regardless of profession, the job of providing quality customer service and a quality experience for customers and guests is a job all of us should take ownership of. Let it be our contribution to economic growth in Selma and Dallas County.

Wednesday’s customer service seminar is fantastic idea and one we thank Alabama’s Career Center Systems for organizing. It is a course many of us should take the time to attend.