I'm of the opinion that most of us are ready to accept bad customer service from those who are supposed to be helping us and catering to our
needs, especially when we're paying good money for it. I've got some examples of this.
I'm part of an online networking organization of entrepreneurs, large and small, from all over the world. Last week, one of the members was talking
about a problem he's been having with his phone service, which was being provided to him by one of the new voiceover Internet protocol companies.
He mentioned how he had given them every opportunity to correct the problem for about two months, then finally decided it was time to change to a
different service. However, he ended up spending another two months trying to discontinue the service, but kept having difficulty because the
customer service people obviously had been told to go out of their way to not let anyone cancel the service. He eventually had to go through some
extreme measures to get the service canceled, which included the threat of reporting them to the SEC, as he was someone who had some pretty
high business connections, to finally get them to not only cancel the service, but to issue him a refund for the last two months that he'd been forced
to keep the service.
What was odd about the conversation is that not only did more than half the people who responded to him believe that he'd been too harsh, but they
thought he should have worked with customer service to try to solve his problems even more. I found that amazing, because I couldn't believe how
far we seemed to have come to allow those who we purchase services from to not give us the satisfaction we rightly deserve. This guy wasn't asking
for special bells and whistles; he just wanted equipment that worked, and he couldn't even get a technician to come back to his house to try to figure
out what his problem might be. And, really, how many of us know intimate details about most of the things we call customer service for help on?
This particular conversation was followed the next day by my wife and I going out to lunch to one of my favorite restaurants. When the food came, my
meal was barely warm. She asked me if I wanted to ask them to heat it up, and she asked me if I were willing to just settle for less than what I wanted.
It's the kind of thing that we don't often think about, yet it happens to us on a daily basis. We tend to settle for things that we shouldn't, both personally
and professionally, and in turn, we might think that others should settle for what we give them.
Maybe in our personal lives it's not always such a critical thing. If I'm at the grocery store and I ask for half a pound of turkey, and they give me just
over or under that half a pound, have I been given bad service? No, but if I've gone to a particular fast food restaurant and asked for something specific,
and I realize after I've left the establishment that they got the order wrong, how apt will I be to want to go back to that same place again? And, at
work, if someone has been given an assignment that must be done today, how pleased should I expect to be if I find out that not only wasn't it done,
but it's not even halfway completed?
People show up at work every day, not with the intention of really giving it their best, but giving whatever it is they feel they can give for that day.
One day that person might work like gangbusters; the next day, that same person might give you a few hours worth of real work. Understanding
that there has to be a balance in life, even at the workplace, we should all expect that every once in awhile we all give less than one hundred percent.
However, it shouldn't be the norm, because if that's the case, your business will surely fall apart at some juncture, and you'll be left wondering
what happened. As much as it doesn't pay to push people beyond sensible expectations, it's not wise to accept less than what's reasonable either.
I have another friend a gift basket company. Not only are her products great, but she's got customer service down to a science. The last time I
ordered something from her, I got an immediate response detailing my order after I actually put it through. Maybe 15 minutes later, I received a
follow up thank you message from her website. The next day, I received another email later in the day, telling me that my package had been
delivered. A few days later, in the mail, I got a copy of the written cash register receipt, along with a letter thanking me for the purchase, and of
course a flyer highlighting specials she would be offering for upcoming holidays. A week after my order, I received another email, this time personal,
asking me how my wife had enjoyed the gift basket I had purchased for her. Talk about feeling special! Why wouldn't I think of her first the next
time I wanted to make a special purchase?
No matter what your business is, or what your position within a company is, you need to think of everything you do during the day as if you're providing
good customer service to someone else. Even if you own your own business, it's not always about you, because without the "customer", you won't have
a living to worry about.
The best mindset to have in this regard is to give people at least a little bit more than what you would want for yourself. If you want people to jump at
your every whim, you must jump even more when taking care of your "customer". If you're kind of laidback and willing to accept a few mistakes here
and there, you need to make sure you provide the kind of "customer service" that's just a step above what you'd accept for yourself.
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T. T. "Mitch" Mitchell is president of T. T. Mitchell Consulting, Inc. He is also the author
of the ebook Using Your Website As A Marketing Tool. If you
would like to see more from this writer, check out his newsletters page.