Hi Joey,
You know, there's an old (cultural, social???) sarcasm about doctors and their perceived lack of bedside manners. But I do believe that historically, there's a lot of merit to it. Probably still is a lot of merit to it. What I've experienced first-hand is when a doctor and patient connect beyond the immediate fix, wonderful things can happen. I don't expect any doctor to become my buddy, but I do expect my chosen healthcare professionals to at least display some concern about me, my illness(es), my overall well-being.
As for your other question...goes right straight to my heart as I happen to have been the first female to service copiers in the state of Minnesota! Any time there is a front-facing employee...one who has direct contact with customers, whether face-to-face, over the phone, via email...customer service training is absolutely essential, critical, crucial.
A copier never goes down at a time that it won't affect people. It always-and only goes down at critical times. So you've got: an upset customer (or fifteen), a broken machine, stress, possibly anger, looming deadlines, people who want to get the job down so they can go home, and a service tech who needs to absorb all of this and do his/her absolute best to correct the situation.
And Murphy's Law says that the technician will find a major component needs replacing...something they are not allowed to carry in their vehicles. And they need to let the customer know the earliest they can fix the problem will be tomorrow.
I dare anyone to propose that customer service training is not relevant.
ksb | 
