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Unforgetttable Customer Cervice - It's So Simple, Or is it?

Written by: Gary Hernbroth

Article Overview: Customer service is given a lot of lip service by a lot of organizations today. What it really comes down to is one-on-one attention, courtesy, and a bit of soft salesmanship as your front-line people interact with your customers. It sounds simple, but some people make it so complicated and difficult that it seems to be a vanishing talent these days. Here is one story of a simple yet effective approach.

Unforgetttable Customer Cervice - It's So Simple, Or is it?

I wasn't expecting much. When I pulled my Explorer into my local Ford dealership's "Quick Lane" for a routine oil/lube/17-point inspection recently, I was thinking about my last trip there 6 months ago. It was the customer service nightmare we've all faced at garages, repair facilities, and the like. You know the deal -- They quote you "about an hour" and I was left on the hook waiting for almost 3 hours because someone assigned to my car didn't get the paperwork, so it sat there until I rattled enough cages. The manager emailed me an apology and a freebie rain check. Still, my expectation button was near zero.

Boy, did I get a different experience, and it was a jolt. A smiling older gentleman in a clean uniform approached my car immediately, introduced himself with a nice handshake ("Jack"), and asked in a genuine voice, "What can we do for you today?

In a matter of moments, we were having a casual conversation about my car, lifting the hood, doing a few pre-checks (never had THAT before!), and I was answering a few general questions about how my car was running. I gave him a quick thumbnail of my last visit to the dealership back in the summer, just to see what reaction that would bring. Too many times, the employee either pretends not to hear such a comment, or says something innocuous such as "Sorry, we get busy like that", or something worse.

Jack turned to me and said, "Gary, I've been in this business for 42 years, and there is one thing I know. If you treat others the way that you want to be treated, they'll come back and do business with you again."

Bam. Wow. There it was. The mother of all Golden Rules, actually believed in and practiced by a customer service front-line "service advisor." It was like hearing him say that he also believed in Santa Claus -- A pure, honest, straightforward axiom for business and life. And when he quoted me a time that my car would be finished, he made it with time to spare. In addition, he also said he wanted to give me a complimentary car wash, because "he wants me to come back again." I pulled into the "Quick Lane" with trepidation, and I pulled out thinking I needed to get my wife's car in there for the same service soon.

Many companies unknowingly make their customer service approach complicated, convoluted, and hard to pull off. They espouse it, but they set up procedures and hire the wrong people and do everything to unravel or complicate the process, often in spite of themselves.

I've walked into retail stores where so-called "salespeople" (they were folding clothes and wearing headphones to speak to each other (about what, I have no clue) told me when I asked about finding a certain item, that they couldn't leave their area, and simply pointed "over there", leaving me to my own discovery adventure. I guarantee that is a customer service approach designed in a corporate office, not on Main Street.

Too many times, the first words customers hear out of front-line "service" agents is what they CANNOT DO, or what is NOT going to happen. We as consumers have become conditioned to put on our armor, grab our sword and shield, and "go into battle" when we approach the sales counter. Why is that? You can almost feel your blood pressure rise when you have to (banish the thought!) take something back as a return.

Try this -- hang out near a return counter, especially around the holidays, and listen to how some customers resort to pleading and begging for a little slack when returning a product that went "boom in the night." They expect to get THE LOOK that says, "Oh brother, and how did you say this broke?" It's almost as if the customer service is meant to grill people and grind them down into submission, as if they WANTED to buy the broken goods.

By giving your front-line service teams the ability to have reasonable conversations with customers (No headphones!), ask some helpful, disarming questions about their needs/wants/expectations, you have a better chance to build their loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals.

Take a serious inward look at your own current customer retention program -- and I don't mean how many times you mail them a come-back coupon, but how you treat them at the onset (on the phone, in the store, etc.), and especially how you treat them in the recovery phase when things go awry. See for yourself whether your systems and people are set up to drive customers -- or drive them out the door to the other guy!

Many customers give their loyalty to stores that not only sell them what they want/need at a fair price, but also those that provide memorable/unforgettable service, and that don't ask for a quart of blood when something doesn't work out. Yes, even if it's out of warranty, there is still a future customer at stake. Train your people and encourage/support them to make common-sense decisions on the front-lines, where the real business war is fought and won or lost.

One of the worst words that is pulled out from the employee when all else fails (or maybe when they just don't feel like getting involved in arm-wrestling with a customer) is THE POLICY. We all know what THAT is. The other version is "It's our COMPANY POLICY..." Whoa! If you want to inflame someone, including me, just pull that one out. Nothing infuriates customers more than the mental image of 12 "suits" sitting around a big shiny conference table at headquarters, drinking coffee, on the 112th floor in some brass-and-glass office in some downtown, deciding on the COMPANY POLICY involving the return of a sweater that is missing a button, or a bike with a broken chain, or a CD that skips.

You've got to do better than that. I recommend that you OUTLAW that phrase entirely. Instead, have the employee explain in an understandable, straightforward manner why it is so. It may relate to a question of ethics, law, practicality, etc. Have them finish with what they can DO for the customer, who, after all, isn't really interested in hearing what you CAN'T DO for them. Go figure!

Take a page from Jack's simple-approach book: Keep it honest, straightforward, and uncomplicated. Do what you can to treat others the way you want to be treated.

It's that simple. Or is it?

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Article Tags: customer service, salesmanship



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