I'm beginning to think that the ideas of good customer service and listening to the customer are dead. When we flew on United Airlines last week, we were admonished by the flight attendants several times via loudspeaker to hold onto our coats so that all the carry-on luggage could be put into the overhead bins. As we held our winter coats, we watched passenger after passenger juggling their huge, wheeled carry-ons into the bins -- some forced to put the bags in sideways. We were able to put our carry-ons under the seats in front of us -- the old fashioned way. But we had expected to put winter coats into the bin over us.
As the plane started taxiing, we rang the call button, and a flight attendant hurried to see what was wrong. We handed her our coats. She looked around and finally stuffed them into a spot over a bag in a bin across the aisle and slammed the cover shut.
When we left the plane in NYC, we suggested to the head flight attendant that United enforce its size limits on carry-ons. She said they would like to. We urged her to pass on our comments onto management, and she said that management doesn't listen. She was clearly frustrated.
It used to be that your carry-on had to fit under the seat in front of you. Supposedly, your bag now has to fit in a bin with the wheels or handle pointing out. Why have these requirements disappeared? Why is it less important for people to be able to put coats in the bins than over-sized carry-ons?
Why can't flight attendants or other employees be empowered to pass passenger and consumer comments up to management?
Clearly, the fees for luggage are shaping consumer behavior. But how the airlines are handling the customer response is wrong.
I believe the Democrats lost in Massachusetts because voters are angry that no one is listening to them. Well, consumers are getting angry that businesses are not listening to them, too.
We need to return to a culture of listening. One of my favorite local grocery stores (Stew Leonard's) has a motto -- The customer is always right. We need more companies and politicians and airlines to adopt the same motto, start really listening and start using some common sense.
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Friday, July 24, 2009
Business Tip - Deliver Great Customer Service
When I deal with a company of any size, I want to be treated well. I want polite and intelligent salespeople, customer service reps. and tech. support experts.
When I write business plans for start-ups, I always ask what the plan is for customer service. To me, customer service is a key component of your business and marketing plans. You can have all the advertising and PR in the world but drive customers away with poor customer service. Not only that, but you'll gain great word-of-mouth advertising, if your customers are happy. That's because customers are more likely to sing your praises when satisfied and tell everyone they know how much they dislike your company when dissatisfied. They'll even tell people they don't know by broadcasting dissatisfaction on the Internet. Just think of the songwriter who put a song about United breaking his guitar on YouTube, or the current diatribe about cell phone companies in the NY Times.
You want great PR - great viral marketing - great word-of-mouth recommendations.
Zappos is a company that has become incredibly successful because of its great customer service. Business Week and Advertising Age have both run articles about Zappos's customer service recently. I highly recommend the articles: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_49/b3962118.htm. Zappos essentially brings the shoe store to you via the Internet.
So as you plan how you'll start up or how you'll grow, remember to build in a plan for terrific customer service.
When I write business plans for start-ups, I always ask what the plan is for customer service. To me, customer service is a key component of your business and marketing plans. You can have all the advertising and PR in the world but drive customers away with poor customer service. Not only that, but you'll gain great word-of-mouth advertising, if your customers are happy. That's because customers are more likely to sing your praises when satisfied and tell everyone they know how much they dislike your company when dissatisfied. They'll even tell people they don't know by broadcasting dissatisfaction on the Internet. Just think of the songwriter who put a song about United breaking his guitar on YouTube, or the current diatribe about cell phone companies in the NY Times.
You want great PR - great viral marketing - great word-of-mouth recommendations.
Zappos is a company that has become incredibly successful because of its great customer service. Business Week and Advertising Age have both run articles about Zappos's customer service recently. I highly recommend the articles: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_49/b3962118.htm. Zappos essentially brings the shoe store to you via the Internet.
So as you plan how you'll start up or how you'll grow, remember to build in a plan for terrific customer service.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hyatt Makes Good
When I contacted Hyatt Concierge about my problem with promotional certificates, they were apologetic and helped me with my problem. They didn't have to help me because it was my credit card issuer -- Chase -- that had sent me the misleading promotions. Of course Chase didn't want to help me at all. They gave me a bureaucratic runaround.
Now, Hyatt has a better place in my mind, and Chase has a worse place. Hyatt redeemed their premium brand image. Chase still seems cheap and out of touch with consumers in my mind.
This is a great lesson in branding and the power of customer service to reinforce a brand image.
Now, Hyatt has a better place in my mind, and Chase has a worse place. Hyatt redeemed their premium brand image. Chase still seems cheap and out of touch with consumers in my mind.
This is a great lesson in branding and the power of customer service to reinforce a brand image.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Family-Owned Business Offers Best Service
Saturday, my husband and I had the chance to compare the service of a big box store and a family-owned business. I've been wanting to switch to an energy- and water-saving washer and dryer for a couple of years. I read Consumer Reports, shopped around, perused ads and finally decided to take the plunge. (Hey, I could help the economy at the same time.)
We went to Best Buy and had to wait for a sales person to be free. To complete the sale, we had to hear the pitch for the extra warranty. But the trouble started as soon as we said we needed to vent the dryer on the side -- not the back. Our sales person had no idea how to put that request into the system. She had to call the head of the department. He had to call Samsung (the manufacturer). They had to sell us a special part, and we would have pay extra for it to be installed by the person would would install the dryer at our house. (They had to go hunt for the part.) But they still weren't sure exactly how all this was going to happen or if this was the right course of action. They called in former sales people who had been promoted to flat-screen TVs. They did Google searches on the computer while we stood there. Soon, four sales people were standing around discussing what they should do.
My husband and I just looked at each other and said, "Forget it." We walked out of the store empty-handed. After a bit of calming down and going shoe shopping, we decided to go to a local family-owned store where we had purchased appliances in the past. It's called Aitoro. I hadn't gone there for because their Web site isn't very useful or informative, and they had remodeled the store during the boom to look very upscale. The formerly modest store now featured very fancy new kitchens designed to cater to the hedge-fund employees who live in our area. I was scared that Aitoro was now just catering to the wealthy extreme.
We walked in five minutes before closing. The saleswoman who greeted us as we entered helped us immediately. She saw I had Consumer Reports and encouraged me to look up the ratings as she showed us the various models they had. She questioned us on our needs.
Then she showed us a G.E. washer and dryer at a sale price plus rebates. The washer was Consumer Reports' top pick. Side venting of the dryer? NO PROBLEM! They service the machines themselves and had someone on-site who would install the needed part and get the dryer ready to go within the week. "We'll take the pair," we said.
By now, it was well after closing time. But our saleswoman didn't rush us. "We close when we stop making sales," said one of the other sales people, who was selling a new kitchen to another person.
As we walked out of the store, I realized what a key component superior customer service is to the sales process. Personal attention, care, knowledge all go into closing a sale. Family-owned businesses can just do this better, in my opinion.
What are your thoughts?
We went to Best Buy and had to wait for a sales person to be free. To complete the sale, we had to hear the pitch for the extra warranty. But the trouble started as soon as we said we needed to vent the dryer on the side -- not the back. Our sales person had no idea how to put that request into the system. She had to call the head of the department. He had to call Samsung (the manufacturer). They had to sell us a special part, and we would have pay extra for it to be installed by the person would would install the dryer at our house. (They had to go hunt for the part.) But they still weren't sure exactly how all this was going to happen or if this was the right course of action. They called in former sales people who had been promoted to flat-screen TVs. They did Google searches on the computer while we stood there. Soon, four sales people were standing around discussing what they should do.
My husband and I just looked at each other and said, "Forget it." We walked out of the store empty-handed. After a bit of calming down and going shoe shopping, we decided to go to a local family-owned store where we had purchased appliances in the past. It's called Aitoro. I hadn't gone there for because their Web site isn't very useful or informative, and they had remodeled the store during the boom to look very upscale. The formerly modest store now featured very fancy new kitchens designed to cater to the hedge-fund employees who live in our area. I was scared that Aitoro was now just catering to the wealthy extreme.
We walked in five minutes before closing. The saleswoman who greeted us as we entered helped us immediately. She saw I had Consumer Reports and encouraged me to look up the ratings as she showed us the various models they had. She questioned us on our needs.
Then she showed us a G.E. washer and dryer at a sale price plus rebates. The washer was Consumer Reports' top pick. Side venting of the dryer? NO PROBLEM! They service the machines themselves and had someone on-site who would install the needed part and get the dryer ready to go within the week. "We'll take the pair," we said.
By now, it was well after closing time. But our saleswoman didn't rush us. "We close when we stop making sales," said one of the other sales people, who was selling a new kitchen to another person.
As we walked out of the store, I realized what a key component superior customer service is to the sales process. Personal attention, care, knowledge all go into closing a sale. Family-owned businesses can just do this better, in my opinion.
What are your thoughts?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Importance of Customer Service
Ad Age ran a great article today on the importance of customer service. A link is in the sidebar and here: http://adage.com/article?article_id=125583. But here's the beginning of the piece:
YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- A Harris Interactive poll finds that a whopping 95% of people believe it is at least somewhat important that companies know "who I am, my buying history, past problems or complaints, preferences and billing record." Some 37% said knowledge of personal history is important, and more than a quarter -- 27% -- called it "very important."
This information is really telling. It shows that consumers -- aka, customers -- want to be treated with respect. While the old model of the local bricks and mortar stores where the merchant knows you personnally is practically gone, customers still want to feel a connection to vendors. I sure like it when I call a company with a problem, and they have caller ID that tells them who I am. LL Bean does the best job with this. I also appreciate being greeted and thanked at the grocery store or at Wal-Mart. Amazon.com knows what I've bought in the past and makes recommendations to me. All this creates important connections.
If you're starting a business, keep high quality customer service on the top of your to do list. Make it a part of your marketing plan. It's the face you present to your customers, even when you can't see their faces.
YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- A Harris Interactive poll finds that a whopping 95% of people believe it is at least somewhat important that companies know "who I am, my buying history, past problems or complaints, preferences and billing record." Some 37% said knowledge of personal history is important, and more than a quarter -- 27% -- called it "very important."
This information is really telling. It shows that consumers -- aka, customers -- want to be treated with respect. While the old model of the local bricks and mortar stores where the merchant knows you personnally is practically gone, customers still want to feel a connection to vendors. I sure like it when I call a company with a problem, and they have caller ID that tells them who I am. LL Bean does the best job with this. I also appreciate being greeted and thanked at the grocery store or at Wal-Mart. Amazon.com knows what I've bought in the past and makes recommendations to me. All this creates important connections.
If you're starting a business, keep high quality customer service on the top of your to do list. Make it a part of your marketing plan. It's the face you present to your customers, even when you can't see their faces.
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