One of the most common customer
complaints is about the uncaring customer service they receive. From rude staffs, endless
phone systems, the list goes on and on. It seems that few businesses are going
above and beyond to truly satisfy and wow their customers. Fortunately, there are
some good companies out there that truly get it when it comes to customer service. I am starting a series on lessons learned
from some of best in the business. Let look at a practice that is a lost art
forum.
Make It Personal
The worst thing a customer service
department can become is impersonal. Yes, a certain amount of technology is
necessary for efficiency, but customers should never feel like they are at the
mercy of it when all they really want is to talk to a live person. Perhaps no
company takes this lesson to heart more than Zappos.com.. They have legendary customer service and they
and their customers have come to expect the unexpected when they use them. In an article in footwear news written by
Jennifer Ernst Beaudry in 2009 she gives an great example of making customer
service personal.
One of the craziest stories,"
said Jerry Tidmore, who manages Zappos' help-desk concierge service, "was
that a guest checked in to the Mandalay Bay hotel [in nearby Las Vegas] and
forgot her shoes." According to Tidmore, the guest called Zappos, where she had originally purchased the style, looking for a replacement, but they didn't have any in stock. So the company found a pair in the right size at the mall, bought them and delivered them to the hotel - all for free.
Such anecdotes are a testament to the company's central tenet, which is written right under the Zappos logo on the Website: "Powered by Service." And while most customers don't call the company looking for pizza, Zappos takes its commitment to service seriously - sacrificing short-term profits for it, investing a minimum of four weeks of training for each employee and operating a 24-hour warehouse that is admittedly not cost-efficient.
The goal, Hsieh said, is to make Zappos' customers very happy - and that leads to big cost savings elsewhere. "We let our customers do the marketing for us.”
So what would your customers say about your companies customers service? Is it personal enough to keep them coming back Zappos says yes!
by,
Mark Wiggins
CEO Xtreme Effort Speaking and Consulting,
Creator of "Customer Service is as easy as, delivering news papers, making cookies, and selling t-shirts"
Mark@markthespeakerman.com
@speakerman87
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