Customer Service Revival
By golly, there is hope for good customer service…even at places where bad service experiences happen!
You’ll find in my recent posts about Guitar Center and Target, I was rather disappointed in the service I received. However, as I’ve said before, due to convenience, I continue to return.
However, my recent back to back visits proved otherwise and restored some hope for these large retail stores.
At the check out line in Target, I’m immediately greeted by the cashier, with a big smile and a “hello”. She proceed to check out my items while asking me about my day, did I find everything OK and if there’s anything else I needed. Her finger nails were painted multi colors and she told me the funny story of her daughter painting them.
Revived feelings: Felt engaged, appreciated and left the store with a smile on my face.
I then head over to Guitar Center to return the microphone holder they originally sold me—the one that didn’t fit on the stand. I walk in and am approached by a sales associate right away. I explain the situation and immediately, he says, “I know exactly how to solve this for you!” Turns out, the microphone holder had a little piece that screwed out, but this information wasn’t in the user manual nor was it given to me when I initially purchased it. I felt really silly not being able to figure this out and I’m guessing he could sense that. He said, “This happens a lot, in fact, happened to me! So, please don’t feel bad. I’m glad I could help!” Then, the associate that sold me my new guitar over two months ago (which was actually another decent experience) walks over and says, “Hi! Great to see you again. How’s that guitar treatin’ ya?”
Revived feelings: Felt appreciated, valued and empowered. Also left the store with a smile on my face.
The big question here, which Jeremy brought up to me when discussing this yesterday:
Was it the business that actually revived the service OR just the willingness of these individual people?
Now that’s a topic for another blog post.
No matter what though, it’s nice to know that there is a customer service revival in the works!
[custom_author=jenny]
Great post Jenny! The customer service stars have to lead the way in the revival until other people and companies have no other option but to be awesome to customers ALL the time.
Thanks! There truly is no other option than being awesome in customer service!
Great article, thanks! Customer service is probably one of the most underrated things in this world – truly a dying art. I have come across a website which allows me to receive the customer service I deserve. By writing reports about my Suppliers, and allowing them to respond to me regarding the matter at hand, http://hellopeter.com/ has helped restore my faith in customer service.
Thank you so much for your comment, Maryke! You summed it up with “truly a dying art”. It’s time for this art to be recognized and appreciated!
Great post. Love how employees engage customers at a level that is more personal than just all business. It doesn’t take much, either. Just a little interaction.
Shep, thank you so much for your reply! It really doesn’t take much at all and it’s amazing how many people do NOT take full advantage of this. A little interaction goes a long, long way.