Outstanding Customer Service Is NOT Rocket Science!

As a Customer Loyalty expert, I spend a lot of time talking about the customers feelings and how each interaction directly impacts how they feel. I also focus on the difference you can make to each of your customers, I am often dismayed and frustrated when I see examples of businesses and employees not doing that or doing the exact opposite and?making it difficult?for the customer to do with business with them.

Whether it is a customer support interaction, online purchasing interaction or face to face interaction?it doesn’t matter. In every interaction we have with our customers it is about making it?EASY for them to do business with us and that every experience stands out.

Delivering outstanding customer service is NOT rocket science!

Recently whilst working in the US I flew into New Orleans. The flight itself and service was as you would expect, however when it came to collecting our luggage the experience took a turn – it was a disaster. We waited and waited and waited. Most airlines in the US guarantee a maximum 20-minute wait time otherwise you get recompensed. Clearly American airlines does not!!!

But in this case after waiting 20 minutes, there was no announcement to inform us that our luggage was delayed, in fact there was no communication at all.

After 30 minutes people started approaching the American Airlines baggage service office which we could see in the distance. Those people came back and were sharing their feedback with the rest of us whilst we were waiting, saying that they didn’t seem to care and saying it’s not our job to unload the plane, we just handle the baggage complaints. People were extremely frustrated by that experience and started talking to each other. One guy had an Apple air tag, and we were standing around him watching his bag which didn’t seem to move.

By 40 minutes and then 45 minutes, still nothing. More people went to the baggage service office and came back equally frustrated.

One nice side thing that did come from this experience was that people started to have conversations with one another getting to know each other whilst we were all waiting and watching other planes luggage coming out on other conveyor belts, people collecting their luggage and leaving the terminal.

After 1 hour and 10 minutes they eventually made an announcement. And all the announcement said was that our bags would be coming soon.

So, what I decided to do was to add the part I thought was critical and so I put my hands together like a megaphone so everyone could hear me and said ‘on behalf of American Airlines I sincerely apologise for the delay. I know that it is completely unacceptable that you have been waiting for over 1 hour to get your luggage when all you want to do is get to your destination, so once again I sincerely apologise on behalf of the airline’. It may have been a silly thing to do but everyone clapped in appreciation at the end.

When the bags finally came out, one bag did not, and it was mine. So, after all of that I took a few moments to clear myself because by this time I was pretty annoyed I had waited 1 hour and 25 minutes and I don’t have a bag, but I didn’t want to go and speak with them whilst I was grumpy because I needed their help. This time the staff were pretty good they gave all the normal information like the tracking number. At this time, I did have a conversation with them about the fact that they didn’t make an announcement for a long time, and they responded with we did make an announcement, I replied pointing out that there was no apology. I said just think about how you would feel if you were us. And they got it.

The point for me is that this is a basic thing. For an airline like American Airlines this should be a basic part of their service standard. Which would be to apologise for the delay, like they do on a plane. What’s going on that, that didn’t happen?

And just to round off the whole experience, they did promise me my bag by 1am yet I didn’t receive it until after 1.30pm the next day. That was because I went back to the airport to chase it because the telephone number they gave me to ring was a generic number for the airport that didn’t even have baggage services as an option so it was completely useless.

In these situations, it’s important to get into the world of your customer, they want to be heard and feel understood. Customers want to know what you can do, the truth, rather than being left in the dark. If you get this right, you at least have a chance of them staying loyal unless this happens all the time.

On the flip side I had a fabulous experience with my chosen car rental company AVIS.

Working in Louisiana I had to travel from my hotel across The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway which is the second-longest bridge over water in the world. It spans 24 miles across the lake from Metairie to Mandeville on the Northshore. An estimated 12 million vehicles use the bridge annually, and unfortunately, not all of them make it across without incident. In fact if you google Guide to Safe Driving on The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway there is multiple tips on how to prepare for your trip and what to do if you experience a breakdown.

As part of my set up for the session the next day with my client, I drove the causeway. My intention was to familiarise myself with the drive, the location and of course understand the timeline. I crossed there and back without incident. What an amazing drive… there are parts of the causeway where you cannot see anything other than water and places to stop are few and far between. To be honest, I breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day on the way to my session, I wasn’t so lucky, my tire blew out on the causeway. Emergency stops are few and far between approximately every 5 to 10 miles apart and of course I was nowhere near one. These stops are designed for emergencies and for the police and service vehicles to sit on the causeway. I had to slow right down, turn my hazed lights on and drive on the wheel rim until I managed to get to the next emergency stop and park the car. As I went to fix the tyre a guy from the service truck who was parked there backed his truck up next to me got out all his tools including a nematic air gun and said, “I’ll fix it for you.” When he finished, I asked, “how much do I owe you” and he told me it is part of the service. Within 7 minutes, I was on my way.

Amazing service. I would have paid whatever he said yet, he went out of his way to get me back up and running as quickly as possible.

I thought to myself, there was no way I was going to drive back on the thin spare tyre with no traction after my session and I remembered the day before I had seen an AVIS office, so I decided to pop in there and again, the lady was amazing. I arrived before the office was open, yet she opened the door and greeted me with a smile. I told her what had happened and she immediately stepped into my world and told me she had one car that was available although it hadn’t been cleaned and asked if I would be happy to take it. I was and was on the road again after exactly 4 minutes leaving the car and paperwork with her to sort out after I had left. This experience was outstanding.

I talk a lot about standing in other people’s shoes. The American Airlines did not stand in the shoes of us, they did not look at what it would be like to be waiting for that period of time. The normal expectation is 20 minutes. What would it be like waiting for over 1 hour and 25 minutes and then another 10 minutes and still your bag hasn’t come out. You must wait for every single bag to come out to know that yours hasn’t.

The contrast between these two experiences is chalk and cheese. The AVIS lady was located a tiny office not some big branch which may have played into my good fortune.

I don’t use AVIS as much as I used to because they are more expensive, but the outcome is that I have certainly been using them a lot more since this experience. That type of customer experience makes it easy to do business with them. It stood out and made my life simple.

The AVIS lady did not need to ring a manager for permission, she was able to make the decision and provide an outstanding level of service.

If things go wrong in your business, do your team know what they can do? Do they have the authority to make decisions on the company’s behalf in the moment to support the customer and provide outstanding customer service?

Craig is considered one of the ‘top 10 speakers’ to the largest CEO group in Australia and regularly speaks to CEO groups world-wide. Craig has over 30 years’ experience in improving business productivity, no matter the type of business or industry and therefore generally attracts a diverse audience and is often interviewed on radio to discuss current situations and trends.

At the heart of each speaking engagement, Craig’s message is that the secret of any successful businesses is that their current customers want to come back and tell other people about them.

As the information discussed in his presentations is relevant to all businesses and industries Craig is highly skilled in delivering his message through high energy and fun presentations that provide huge take away value to a wide range of audiences within a room.

See Craig in action click here

Warm Regards

Craig Cherry

Managing Director | The Loyalty Zone?

Net Promoter (NPS) Certified Associate?

Mobile: +61 (0) 400 542 017

Email: [email protected]

Web:www.theloyaltyzone.com