Why do we only remember poor customer service?

"Why do we only remember poor customer service?" was one of the questions put to the class in one of the softskills sessions in college. True, good service is always expected and we don't even thank the party for providing us with excellent service. But when it comes to incidents of bad service we always remember them. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth. We never want to get back to them again.

Yesterday I went to apply for an new LPG connection with HP gas and was dumbfounded by their attitude when one of them said it would take me atleast 2 months before I get my connection and might take even longer. Though written in the website that it is not mandatory to take the stove along with the connection they insisted it was compulsory to buy the stove from them. Further more it was even surprising when the guy asked me to apply for a new connection with Bharat Petroleum instead as their service was good and also I can expect the connection in about a week. Asking a prospective customer to go to a competitor was indeed outrageous! Yes, these are the same guys who say "Pure bhi - Poora bhi" and "Promise yehi - weight sahi"

I was disappointed - terribly. I vowed then and there that I would look elsewhere for a new connection and even if Iam to take HP I will not take it from that agency. We remember bad customer service because it does leave a bad taste in the mouth.