CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, WHAT A JOKE!

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, WHAT A JOKE!

I laugh sometimes at the companies that brag about their high ranking in customer satisfaction. These are the same companies that fall short of their promises, preach about their policies and consistently put you on hold, or better yet throw you into an eternal pit of "Please press HELL".

At one point in my life I used to believe that it was the fault of the companies providing these substandard practices, but over the years it has become very apparent that the real culprit is the consumer. We have allowed this to happen to us! We have accepted this behavior and made it a part of doing business as a consumer….. When has there become a cost of being a consumer?

An example of this point; my wife recently passed away while I was on a business trip. The company that I worked for went to great lengths to get me to the airport in record time. When we got to the ticket desk the lady at the desk spoke broken English, and most likely didn’t understand the magnitude of the situation. We told her the circumstances and asked her for the next flight out. She told us that there was one leaving in 2 hours but there was no way I was getting on that flight. Then she elaborated, “If we do get you on to that flight, which we can’t, you will have to pay another $200”. WOW! My wife just died, I would pay a million dollars to be home with my 12 year old daughter, and you can’t get me on the flight anyway. Why rub it in? I am not the kind of guy to hit a lady, but at that moment, I think it would have been justified.

I was horrified obviously at her response and instead of arguing; I politely thanked her for her lack of compassion and told her and her supervisor who was standing nearby, that I would call a real airline. I got on the phone and called another airline and explained my situation. She gave me her condolences and informed me that there was a booked flight leaving from another airport in the next hour and a half. She assured me that not only would she get me on that airplane, I would be the second person on it.

The first scenario could be categorized as customer service. I was a customer, and to some extent, I was getting service. The second scenario was beyond customer service. Beyond even customer satisfaction. It was “customer is going to come back for a long time”!

I have to ask you in your business, what kind of experience are your customers getting? If they are complaining, will you really listen to their worries? Will you take them by the hand and guide them to “customer is going to come back for a long time”.

You see when a customer complains, they are giving you the opportunity to make things right. You are actually lucky that they cared enough to even give you a second chance to make it right. Only eight percent of the people who feel they have received poor service will give you a second chance.

8%!!!!!!

Come on people; let’s get it right the first time! Bottom line is, “TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS, OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL!” and that is a proven fact. When your customers know you care about them, they WILL care about you.

By the way, the first airline was American Airlines and the second was Southwest Airlines. Kind of funny, who is posting a profit in down times and who isn’t!