When will we Europeans learn customer service?

I've been on the US East Coast for the past couple of days and no matter where I find myself I am impressed with the level of customer service. From employees of major retail chains, to little shop owners, to service staff at JFK airport or policemen in the streets of New York, you will be greeted in a courteous way and people actually pay attention to your request and they do give you a useful reply that you can actually use to get closer to a solution for you (not the usual bull: "it's not my area, just go to office XYZ on floor ABC"). That's definitely something that has consistently impressed me in North America each time I came here and I think it is something we Europeans ought to learn from North America. Actually I am going to start with my own activities, starting with an improved way of greeting people on the phone. Just gve me a week!