What is Great Customer Service?

My refrigerator has not dispensed water or made ice since November of 2020. I called an appliance repair company and informed them my refrigerator was not dispensing water or making ice and requested a service tech to come and repair the refrigerator; hopefully before Thanksgiving. A tech came to my house, looked at the refrigerator and stated the circuit board was shorted. Multiple weeks later he returned, installed the board, and stated the water dispenser actuator pad was shorted and required replacement. I ask if the replacement of the circuit board and actuator pad would also fix the ice-maker. “Ice-maker? The ice-maker is not working?”, stated the repair tech. Since then, I have not received a phone call, e-mail or text from the repair company that I contacted last year. I did receive a charge on my credit card for the replacement of the circuit board and the actuator pad. My wife called the company and after what seemed like an eternity was informed the actuator pad was on back order. When I called two months later to follow up and after being on the phone for over two minutes I was sent to a voice mail. In the voice mail message, they communicated very effectively that they are very busy and that they did not have time to be bothered with customers calling with request for updates. But to leave a massage and they would call back at their convenience and to have a “blessed day”.

Okay, what is wrong here? Obviously not to tell me to have a blessed day, even though it did not sit well with me. I would have a blessed day if my very expensive refrigerator would dispense water and make ice. The repair company did not have any control over the part being on back order. In this post COVID world everything is on back order. Supply is at an all time low and demand is at an all time high. The part being on back order is not the fault of the appliance repair company. The tech is not at fault for not knowing the ice maker was not working or even that the water dispenser actuator pad was shorted out and was the root cause of the circuit board failure. But, at the end of the day the appliance repair company failed! Now this type of failure is common in all businesses. Customer Service is at an all time low and the desire for great customer service is at an all time high.

So, what is customer service or for that matter what is great customer service? Before we start to define customer service I would like to mention that one of the best ways to have a successful business and grow the business is by having great customer service. The bar set for customer service is so low that in reality you do not have to have great customer service in most cases. Just okay customer service may be far superior than most of your competition. Now, I am not an okay or just good enough type of guy. I have disdain for mediocrity, but you may not be wired like me. And you know if you are just a little bit better at customer service than your competition you will do well. This article will help you be better than your competition, but my hope is the information in this article will assist and push you to be best in class with regards to customer service. The choice is yours and yours alone.

Great customer service is a choice. It is not dependent on having the greatest products or the latest technology. Another business will always have a better product at a better price. Technology is out dated as soon as you buy it. However, customer service could be boiled down to how we choose to reposed to our customers. I am sure it is safe to say most of us did not design or manufacture the products we sell. Shipping, that should be a four-letter word. Also, we can not control if and when the product is shipped or the cost of shipping the product. The only aspect of the customer interaction that we truly have control over is ourselves. To drill down even more we can only control the way we choose to respond to the customer.

To keep things simple, there are three ways to choose from how we will respond to a customer’s issue. First and not recommend is to be aloof. We just do not care. It is not our fault or problem and we are not going out of our way to address or correct the customer’s issue. Now we may be very polite, professional and on the right side of the issue, but we are not giving great customer service. Remember it is not about being right, but doing right. Second, showing sympathy. Better but not great. We may feel bad for the customer, understand the customer’s situation or say “I am sorry”, but we are not moved to act or go above and beyond to correct the issue. Lastly and our best option, have empathy for the customer’s circumstance. Step into the customers shoes, stand alongside of the customer and take ownership of the situation. Feel their frustration, allow that frustration to become your own and act to relieve that frustration. Work together with the customer and allow yourself to be driven to find a win/win that works for the customer and the company.

Now let’s break this down a little further and see what customer service looks like in real life. Environment is key to having a great customer experience which is at the core of great customer service. We must have a welcoming atmosphere. I know “they” say “you do not judge a book by its cover”, but everybody judges a book by its cover. So, make sure your book cover is inviting. This will set the tone for the customer and employee’s experience. For this to happen we will need a well-lit and bright showroom or office. It should also be clean, roomy and simple. And let’s not forget it must smell good! Some business will bake cookies for their customers just to have that fresh cookie smell; just like walking into your grandmother’s house as she was pulling out a pan of fresh baked cookies from the oven. The customer must feel safe and welcomed. This goes for your web-site as well (besides the fresh cookies smell). 

Next is communication. It does not matter if the parts are on back order or we do not have an ETA.  We must stay in communication with our customers! Most if not all of us humans will always go negative if given the opportunity. When my wife is late to come back from out of town and she does not call me I start to think of reasons she is late. Maybe she ran out of gas, got in a wreck, or has amnesia and is driving around in circles because she can not remember who she is or where she was going. The same principle applies to our customers. When we do not call them with an update they start to think these guys are idiots, I should have never believed them and they have no idea what they are doing. For an example let us take my experience with the refrigerator. The required part to repair my refrigerator is on back order from the manufacture. I have not received any communication from the repair company for over two months. Naturally what am I thinking? “These guys are idiots, I should have never believed them and they have no idea what they are doing.” Now, let’s say they called me as soon as the part went on back order. “Mr. Dowling this is John Doe from XYZ and I am frustrated. The part we need to repair the refrigerator is on back order from the manufacture. I have called all my suppliers and none of them have the part in stock. I also informed them that as soon as they get the part in to overnight the part to us so we can get the refrigerator fixed. No one seems to know when the part will be available, but I will stay on top of the situation and call you every week with an update.” WOW! Now I am thinking these guys are great. I am so smart to pick such a great repair company. This company is really looking out for me. The reality of the situation has not changed. My refrigerator is still not dispensing water or making ice. The only difference is the repair company called me before I called them. They framed the situation in a way that shows them in a better light just by communicating with me. Communication is the key!        

Action, this is what ties everything together. We have to do what we say we are going to do. Empathy will turn into sympathy if there is no action. Communication with no follow through is all talk and no show. We have to make things happen. When a situation goes south, it is a great opportunity to build customer loyalty and trust. When things go wrong and they will, are we going to run or are we going to take responsibility and make things happen? This is the time to separate ourselves from our competition by going above and beyond our call of duty!

What is great customer service? Showing empathy, standing alongside the customer, seeing the situation from their point of view, and working with the customer to resolve the issue. Great customer service is having a well-lit, clean, roomy, safe and customer friendly environment. Great customer service is communicating with the customer and not allowing the customer the opportunity to go negative. Great customer service is taking action, taking responsibility and creating a win/win scenario. Great customer service is a choice!

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Jesus of Nazareth