The decline of customer service (what should we do to fix it?)

It is really a frustrating time to try and get something done correctly. At times it appears that nothing goes right, but then something does, but that is typically the exception.
Let me share just a few exceptions that I have dealt with in recent weeks:

1. We often would order from a local chain restaurant. The order would rarely be correct, but we knew the staff was doing all they could and that the location had constant staffing struggles. We drove by this location two weeks ago and saw that the restaurant is now closed.
2. We subscribe to a local newspaper and a national newspaper that should be delivered on Sunday. That same carrier brings both papers on Sunday, but we typically only get the local Sunday paper. We have contacted both entities and there is a lot of apologizing, but little action to correct the problem.
3. We were scheduled to fly from Nashville to Vancouver via Minneapolis last week, but our original flight was delayed and that kept us from making a connection to Vancouver for a 10-day Alaskan cruise. We learned early that morning of the delay, but the helpfulness of the airline in question was poor at best.

I am curious to learn what types of customer service challenges you are experiencing. Are you seeing any improvements or are things only getting worse?

In addition, how are you handling these types of challenges? I sometimes get beyond frustration, but then in many cases, I have to realize that many of my issues are only “first-world problems” and nothing that will be life-changing or life-threatening.

Thus far I have chosen to move in almost every case. The flight issue listed above caused the cancellation of a cruise and we are working through the trip insurance process.

What about you?

How are you dealing with the decline in customer service?

What are your suggestions?