I touched on the reasons why I serve in a recent blog post but have you ever thought about what makes good or for that matter bad service?
I’m certain we could all list bad service but would you include the like of the following examples that have all happened to me in the last 2 or 3 weeks – and personally being busy at Christmas is no excuse for not providing a reasonable level of service.
1. I’ve wanted to purchase a pair of ZEMgear’s for use with my martial arts training – the dobok (gym) where we train is usually covered in sand and other muck so these would help out. Also I could use them in my garage / decking when training at home.
Anyway I contacted the UK distributor of these only to not receive an answer. So I sent a fresh email and CC’d in the US manufacturer. I got a reply from the US within a day or two but still not the UK. Replied as such to the US whom apologised on their behalf, etc but still 2 weeks later and nothing.
2. Or then there’s the UK company (only just down the road from me) that have replied to my email but only opted to answer one of the questions.
3. Or how about the internet service company that needs 2 or 3 prompts to actually supply an answer to a query from a paying customer.
4. Or the service supplier who just closes tickets off without telling you what they did to fix the problem.
These are but 4 of many examples I could cite – but all are very recent.
And as I said above being busy over the Christmas period is not an excuse. It will cause me to give them more latitude in how long it takes to reply, but after several week amy patience wears thin.
But in truth it doesn’t take much to get it right.
So what about good service then?
Yes, I rightfully complain to, hopefully, the right people about poor service but equally I will praise a company and write to them to say thank you. I even go so far as to find out the name of the person that dealt with me and thank them personally as well as singling them out in the letter / email.
And how does one improve the level of service?
And I’m sure there are more you could add…. but ultimately it does come down to the senior management within a company – if the ethos they push down the line is all about profit then customer service will go by the by.
- so what’s your service like?
- how do you handle good / bad service?
Sadly, good service is so rare these days that it's noticeable when you actually receive good service. I always try to contact the right people when there is a service experience that needs to be addressed. Some companies do well in responding – International Hotels Group aka Holiday Inn is a prime example. Others much less so – Marriott International made a HUGE customer service error with my brother and has failed to respond to any inquiries. He reserved specific hotel rooms because my niece is wheel chair bound in a rather large chair. The offending hotels either gave away the room that was reserved or sold them a room type that did not exist. Sheesh. Anyway…
In most cases, I simply want to help the company improve its service – especially when service is at very poor levels like you mentioned above. I used to work more directly with the public and feedback on areas of improvement are necessary.
But, I make an extra effort to notify management when customer service is excellent. This is important. Yes, companies need to know when they mess up, but it is also important to let them know when they do well.
It's just like kids or pets – rewarding and acknowledging good behavior may contribute to that behavior being repeated! :)
Spot on Greg. We had a similar sort of experience to your brother with our eldest when we visited EuroDisney. My eldest, if you didn't know, is diagnosed as profoundly deaf. Anyway, Disney's T&Cs weren't 100% clear where their line was drawn in terms of reduced entry for a disabilty.
I pre-empted all that by contacting them and then double checking their reply. Then when we visited we took print outs of the email chain but still staff on the door refused to acknowledge the disability… a very embarrased half hour later we paid full price but then I went after Disney big time on my return to the UK. It took them 6mths to issue a refund and apology but I got it.
So like your lesson with the children – sometimes one needs to keep at it until the result goes your way.