Remembering the oldest instance of poor customer service to the latest one, here I will indulge in a little wishful thinking.
I will be naming people and businesses here. These are all true incidents and are listed here as examples of poor customer service to show how it impacted the customer's experience and how things could have been done differently.
The Lufthansa Airlines incident:
I must have been 12 years old. My mother, my brother and I were on a flight from Dubai to Mumbai. My brother's seat was in a different row. My mother requested the airhostess to check with the passenger seated next to us whether he would swap seats so that my brother could sit near us.
The airhostess was visibly unhappy to be given this extra task. As if she did not have a tough job already. She spoke to the passenger and he agreed to swap seats. As the airhostess saw my teenage brother she exclaimed quite rudely, "Oh, THIS is your 'kid'!" Now I may not be explaining this quite well, but try picturing my petite mother, she was over 50 then. Less than 5 feet tall. My brother and I were as plump as any well fed teenagers would be. We are taller than her. The airhostess must have not understood why my mother was so anxious about her teenage son. He seemed old enough and capable enough to survive a flight sitting away from his mother for a few hours. Perhaps she felt that we put her through unnecessary inconvenience for nothing. Whatever her reason may be, the statement was rude, personal and unnecessary.
In my mind, Lufthansa provides poor customer service. Yes, just one incident that lasted for a few minutes is enough for me to dislike this service provider. What are the chances that the owner of that huge business knows or cares? Zilch, right? But remember the saying, "Every drop of water makes a mighty ocean."
What should the airhostess have done?
She should have smiled and politely said,"Let me check if that can be arranged, Ma'am." And when she saw a teenager instead of the toddler she was probably expecting to see, she should have kept her thoughts to herself.
The Mobile Store:
In 2007 I walked into a branch of 'The Mobile Store'. The attendent was super attentive and smiley. We had already zeroed in on which phone we wanted to buy - Nokia N 72. We bought 3 of them. One of them was a gift for my brother and so I didnt open the pack until a few days later. We found out that it did not connect to the PC as it should, for us to be able to transfer pictures. When I rushed back to The Mobile Store, the same attendant listened to me patiently and then almost as if instantly, his personality changed from attentive to aloof. Quite unfeelingly he directed us to go to the Nokia service center. His whole attitude said "not my problem".
We were furious of course, having spent over Rs 9000 per phone and ending up with two faulty phones. He did not even pretend to be concerned. Not only was there no empathy, he did not even provide us the address of the service center. He seemed in a rush to get us to leave the store immediately before other customers got affected. While arguing with him he happened to mention that he could have helped us if we had reported the faulty phones within 24 hours. This made us livid with anger. Isnt this something he should have specifically mentioned to us at the time of purchase?
If the storeperson would have honestly told us upfront that we should check the phones for issues and return them within 24 hours if we wanted them exchanged, it would have meant some losses and inconvenience to the store. The would have to rough it out with the manufacturers. But in the process, they would be winning their customer's confidence. By doing the best that they can to ensure that the customer is happy they would have secured all our future purchases of phones and phone accessories. They would get some more business by word of mouth publicity as well.
Do you think the store manager or the owner of the business knows about this little incident that cost him two loyal customers? I dont think so. If he were to know about how much poor customer service at his stores was costing him annually, I am sure it would matter to him. Add to that the volume of purchases that would have been all his, if I had not narrated my experience to every friends and family member who was willing to listen. Not to mention that all of us have been through several phones and a pile of phone accessories since then. All of that business could have been his, if it werent for the indifferent salesman at one of the 800 outlets of his store. Ouch.
Next: Poor customer experiences and how they impact business - II
I will be naming people and businesses here. These are all true incidents and are listed here as examples of poor customer service to show how it impacted the customer's experience and how things could have been done differently.
The Lufthansa Airlines incident:
I must have been 12 years old. My mother, my brother and I were on a flight from Dubai to Mumbai. My brother's seat was in a different row. My mother requested the airhostess to check with the passenger seated next to us whether he would swap seats so that my brother could sit near us.
The airhostess was visibly unhappy to be given this extra task. As if she did not have a tough job already. She spoke to the passenger and he agreed to swap seats. As the airhostess saw my teenage brother she exclaimed quite rudely, "Oh, THIS is your 'kid'!" Now I may not be explaining this quite well, but try picturing my petite mother, she was over 50 then. Less than 5 feet tall. My brother and I were as plump as any well fed teenagers would be. We are taller than her. The airhostess must have not understood why my mother was so anxious about her teenage son. He seemed old enough and capable enough to survive a flight sitting away from his mother for a few hours. Perhaps she felt that we put her through unnecessary inconvenience for nothing. Whatever her reason may be, the statement was rude, personal and unnecessary.
In my mind, Lufthansa provides poor customer service. Yes, just one incident that lasted for a few minutes is enough for me to dislike this service provider. What are the chances that the owner of that huge business knows or cares? Zilch, right? But remember the saying, "Every drop of water makes a mighty ocean."
What should the airhostess have done?
She should have smiled and politely said,"Let me check if that can be arranged, Ma'am." And when she saw a teenager instead of the toddler she was probably expecting to see, she should have kept her thoughts to herself.
The Mobile Store:
In 2007 I walked into a branch of 'The Mobile Store'. The attendent was super attentive and smiley. We had already zeroed in on which phone we wanted to buy - Nokia N 72. We bought 3 of them. One of them was a gift for my brother and so I didnt open the pack until a few days later. We found out that it did not connect to the PC as it should, for us to be able to transfer pictures. When I rushed back to The Mobile Store, the same attendant listened to me patiently and then almost as if instantly, his personality changed from attentive to aloof. Quite unfeelingly he directed us to go to the Nokia service center. His whole attitude said "not my problem".
We were furious of course, having spent over Rs 9000 per phone and ending up with two faulty phones. He did not even pretend to be concerned. Not only was there no empathy, he did not even provide us the address of the service center. He seemed in a rush to get us to leave the store immediately before other customers got affected. While arguing with him he happened to mention that he could have helped us if we had reported the faulty phones within 24 hours. This made us livid with anger. Isnt this something he should have specifically mentioned to us at the time of purchase?
If the storeperson would have honestly told us upfront that we should check the phones for issues and return them within 24 hours if we wanted them exchanged, it would have meant some losses and inconvenience to the store. The would have to rough it out with the manufacturers. But in the process, they would be winning their customer's confidence. By doing the best that they can to ensure that the customer is happy they would have secured all our future purchases of phones and phone accessories. They would get some more business by word of mouth publicity as well.
Do you think the store manager or the owner of the business knows about this little incident that cost him two loyal customers? I dont think so. If he were to know about how much poor customer service at his stores was costing him annually, I am sure it would matter to him. Add to that the volume of purchases that would have been all his, if I had not narrated my experience to every friends and family member who was willing to listen. Not to mention that all of us have been through several phones and a pile of phone accessories since then. All of that business could have been his, if it werent for the indifferent salesman at one of the 800 outlets of his store. Ouch.
Next: Poor customer experiences and how they impact business - II
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