Ruthless Customer Service — Some Get It, Most Do Not!
It’s Sunday — cold as a freezer, with a wind gust of upwards of 18 knots in Philadelphia. Some would describe it as a day to ‘Netflix and Chill’
I have 5 books heading my way from a recent order from Amazon. I was looking forward to eating a book today from the fresh lot. This will not be the case because most will not do whatever it takes to go above and beyond for their customers. (More on this …in a bit)
To sidestep and to ring in my point, I was asked a question by an interviewer last year for a position of a General Manager for an airline. The question.
“Please categorize these 4 words in the order of importance to you. As a General Manager where do you rank — 1. Operation 2. Budget 3. Customer 4. Employees?”
It was pretty easy for me: I told the interviewer, 1. Customers 2. Operation 3. Budget and 4. Employees. My answers apparently were not good enough — I got the call that said they would have passed on me for a more qualified candidate. I ended up training this person.
Why did I choose the way I did? Well my logic is illogical and I find that I am concerned with the folks that really signs our check. The customers. It’s similar to the horror of hearing about how someone’s mother or pop pop was physically abused in a nursing home by a healthcare worker. I never get that. How can you do that to the hand that feeds you — and feeds your entire family.
My next book is all about customer service and my methodologies about creating a customer centric environment through training, understanding, awareness and basic knowledge. People have got the game twisted and my Amazon delivery driver was no different. I received a notification a few hours ago that my packages were deemed ‘undeliverable’ and I must reach out to Amazon to make arrangements. — Absolutely NOT! On this beautifully chilled day there is a Street Food Truck Festival which is blocking off the main street that connects to my apartment. One street is blocked off — not the entire town. The street that runs parallel to the main street is open for business with no issues whatsoever. This could mean 1 of two things:
- The driver is lazy.
- The driver is not solution based.
The urge to write this article spawned from seeing and speaking to a Amazon driver downstairs in my apartment building. She was able to deliver a package to a not-so-thankful resident. I stopped and asked her how was she able to cut through the Food Truck Festival to deliver my neighbors package. Her answer is the reason I still believe in people — not ALL. Some.
“I am not lazy, I figured it out.”
To top it off, she did it with a smile. See, she has a goal. Maybe not a business, driver, Amazon goal — but a personal one. She understands who pays her. She understands that it’s more work to avoid doing work the first time. She understands that being a solutionist will yield $$$. She understands customer service. I am not at all worried about my package — it will get here when it does. What I am worried about is the state of businesses in addressing poor behavior in regards to customer service. Working with the airline for 7 years cemented my position. I believe in anticipatory service because consumers will pay BIG BUCKS for you to solve problems. The benefit and features of products make little to no difference upon the minds of customers with options. The #1 differentiator between loyalty, retention and repeat-business is a RELENTLESS approach in solving your customer service problem.
I read another book,
Stacy A. Cross
Buy my book here: https://goo.gl/HAHVmy
CLAP IF YOU FEEL WHAT I AM SAYING!
Email hello@thecomfortkillers.com (I respond to emails twice a week)
Mail:
The Comfort Killers
PO BOX 29103
Philadelphia, PA 19127
