Customer service isn’t all about smiling and being nice. It’s more than that. It’s about going that extra step. Put simply, it’s about being genuine and thoughtful.

When I was on the bus this morning I witnessed the bus driver waiting for an old man to sit down before he drove away. By just waiting an extra few seconds he showed care and respect for his customers. Compare this to what I have experienced many times before where the driver rushes off seemingly more concerned about his schedule than the safety of his passengers.

HOW YOUR STAFF BEHAVE IS A DIRECT REPRESENTATION OF YOUR BRAND.
This morning I was walking to daycare with my daughter in her stroller. As I was about to walk across the pedestrian crossing a  van came down the hill and stopped (like any decent driver should). I waved as I always do to say thank you to the driver for stopping. How he then reacted on the grand scale of things was nothing much, he just nodded his head and waved his hand in acknowledgment; but it made a personal connection between him and me. It wasn’t until the truck pulled away that I saw the BC Hydro logo on the back of the vehicle. Instantly that warm fuzzy feeling I was having was transferred over to their company. This then led me to think that they must do a great job in hiring and training decent people with manners and respect. Again, this transfers more positively to their brand. All of this brand value from a simple head nod and wave of a hand.

The opposite of this example can also leave a brand message but in a negative way. Ever been cut off while driving by a branded corporate car or truck? Or has a driver of such a vehicle ever given you a hand gesture that utilizes just one finger? It boils your blood, and has you relate to that company in a way that is less than positive. You then tell all your friends and colleges about your experience creating even more negative brand association.

Another example was the two cashiers in my local supermarket who talked about how strange and peculiar their previous customer was. They were right, he was a little bizarre, but never talk bad about anyone while you are in front of customers. It left me wondering what they were going to say about me behind my back once I had left the shop. It left me distrusting them, being cautious about what I said and did in front of them.This is not a great way for your customers to relate to your staff and your brand. If you are an employee be conscious that all your actions do leave an impression. Make that extra effort to make it a positive one. If you’re an employer, expect the best from your staff; train them in how to be amazing brand ambassadors and treat them well so they care to make that extra effort.

FROM NEGATIVITY TO DELIGHT
If someone has a negative experience of your brand you have a lot of extra work to do to reverse that experience. If it’s an ongoing complaint from a wider user group you may have to take a look at the bigger picture and make some fundamental changes to your business.

A good example of this is my recent experience with Apple. I downloaded two rental movies from Apple for the first time and when I transferred them over to my iPhone to watch at a later date only one worked.
I wanted to email Apple but remembered how difficult it had been in the past to find an email address on their site. They (like many companies) would rather drive you to A FAQ to see if you can solve it by yourself. This time though it was relatively easy to find their email address which was very refreshing.

I explained my situation and sent off my email not really expecting to hear back from them for several days, if at all. In retrospect this is quite sad that I have experienced such poor service from them in the past that I would be resigned and not expect them to reply. Is this something you would want associated with your brand?

What followed was a refreshing surprise and it really impressed me (and believe me, it takes a lot to impress me). Apple has obviously as a company-wide initiative addressed their customer service problems and have made the interactions personable and easy.

I got the automated response from Apple saying someone will look into this straight away. Within nine hours I had a reply in my inbox from a real person with a real name, one that wasn’t called ‘customer service’. That in itself impressed me. I continued to be delighted as I read the rest of the email. Here is that email with my comments (in Italics) about why their email is so successful:

Dear Matt,

Greetings from iTunes Store Support. My name is Lalchand. (By using first names it set a personal tone and creates a personal connection)

I understand that the movie “Town” that you rented is missing. I can certainly imagine how a situation like this could be disappointing. I can imagine you must be eager to get this taken care of. I am happy to assist. (The best way to defuse any angry person is to ‘recreate’ the situation, letting the person know that you fully understand what happened and that you can relate to how they are feeling).

Matt, I have posted a fresh copy of the movie to your account, please follow these steps to download the items: (Without further ado, they resolved the problem by reposting the movie).

Please reply to this email if you have not received the fresh copy and I will be glad to assist you. (Setting the expectation that they will continue to support me if I still need it is comforting. Also having his personal email address and not a generic customer service contact where you have to explain the same situation all over again to a stranger not familiar with the situation – is great).

Matt, I hope this helps to resolve this for you.  If you have any questions or require further assistance, just reply to the email and let me know. (This extends the hand of support again if I need it and by using my name it suggests that this isn’t a ‘cut and paste’ email).

Thank you for being a valued iTunes Store customer. Have a great day ahead! (An acknowledgment that I am valued makes me feel fuzzy and warm, and after all the content above in this email this type of statement comes across as genuine and not marketing rhetoric).

Sincerely,
Lalchand. iTunes Store Customer Support

Please note: I work from Sunday, Monday, Wednesday- Friday, 11 AM-8 PM CST (This is brilliant, by informing me when he works it is preventing me sending him an email on say Monday night and being frustrated because I didn’t hear back from him on Tuesday).

WHAT YOU CAN DO
The best customer service isn’t complicated, it just takes a little extra thinking and effort from a committed team of staff. Every person (including yourself) that works for your company is an ambassador for your brand. Where can you improve your companies customer service and take it to the next level? What can you do to go beyond your client’s expectations to leave them delighted and eager to share with their community how great a company you are?

Brand, customer retention, business development, profit, sustainability, these long-term, big-picture elements of a company can each be built or toppled by day-to-day customer service. Designers can develop a brilliant look for you, marketing strategists can launch brilliant campaigns, and really really smart people can develop fantastically impressive business models, products and service offerings, but if the person on the front line – the person who deals with your customers – drops the ball, he or she can turn a loyal customer into a business-busting, bad-mouthing machine in no time at all. Allow me to illustrate with some stories that I think we can all relate to.

The other day I was at Costco. Eager for my requisite Costco pizza slice, I withdrew $40 from the ATM and lined up at the food court. As I approached the cash register, I put a $20 on the counter and put the other $20 in my wallet. The cashier didn’t seem to notice me. She was busy counting the previous customer’s change. As she scooped up the pile coins and put them into the till, she also scooped up my $20 bill. A moment later, when she asked me for $3 for my order, I explained how she had already taken my money. That’s when she called the supervisor .

Her inclination to report the “incident” made me slightly uncomfortable, but since I was in the right I really just had to stand there and wait to be vindicated by the supervisor. Then I heard the cashier say, “If what the customer is saying is true…”  I quickly interjected, “What I am saying is true.” I’m no thief!

Then the supervisor asked for my Costco ID, “For the record.”

By that point I was frustrated, and a little paranoid about the whole Costco ID thing. Was I going to be black listed? I started to flash back to the last time I had to talk to the police. I sounded so guilty, I hadn’t done anything wrong then either but I might as well have. I even started to doubt my self. Was I going crazy? Did I really give her the $20 bill? I had to check my wallet to make sure there was only one $20 bill in there and not two. Of course there weren’t two. I watched her scoop up the $20. It was right there in her till.

Even though I got my order and finally my change from the $20, I was frustrated.

Had I left right then, I would have been angry and I probably would have complained to anyone who would  listen for the rest of the day. Instead, I decided to change the direction of things. I decided to talk to their manager.

I explained that I’d had a negative interaction with two of the customer service staff. On some level, I sincerely hoped they could learn and grow from our experience, and on another level I really just wanted him to know I was… unhappy with the service I received.

I explained what happened and said that in my opinion the cashier who served me need not have rushed so much, though I understood that it was busy,. I said that her comment about “if what the customer is saying is true…” was way out of line and that it made it seem as though Costco’s policy was “the customer is guilty until proven otherwise”. I also suggested it would have made a difference if the supervisor had explained in detail why he wanted my Costco ID.

The manager was great. He listened. He didn’t make any excuses. He thanked me for the feedback and genuinely apologized . As a result, he sent me on my way feeling I had been heard and feeling a lot less frustrated.

The moral of the story is that you can spend years building a strong brand for your company and it can be demolished within seconds if your customers experience bad service from your staff. On the flip side, an apologetic and authentic manager can do wonders to restore brand loyalty (if a customer gives them the opportunity).

Ultimately, it is up to you to hire well and to train your staff to provide the kind of customer service your brand, your business and your customers demand. Inspire your team to want to deliver good customer service (even if they are having a bad day) and manage people to ensure that they deliver the required customer experience consistently.

Train your managers to listen, to be genuine about the customer’s concerns and to always work to relieve their concerns. Managers should NEVER make excuses for their staff. Frustrated customers don’t want or need to hear excuses and ultimately managers should know that they are there to defend and maintain the brand, not the poorly performing customer service staff.

Often, people don’t need to hear much more than “I’m sorry that you had that experience, we will rectify that situation immediately, and thank you for taking the time to give us the feedback. It takes commitment on your part and we appreciate that”.  The old phrase ‘A little goes a long way’ is very appropriate when it comes to customer service, and brand integrity.

Of course, if the situation deserves it, managers could offer a gift card or some other type of compensation to a customer who has received poor service. It is amazing how quickly a small gesture can rebuild a customer’s loyalty. And if you are able to obtain the customer’s address, send them a follow up letter thanking them for their time, and update them on any changes you have made based on their feedback.

Customer service has never been more important than in today’s tight economic times. Businesses are fighting to keep customers loyal. At the same time, the amount of people looking for jobs has increased substantially. Teens are competing with 50-somethings, so take the opportunity to hire the people who are going to best represent your brand to your customers. Manage them well. And train your managers to respond appropriately when your customers tell them what they think you are doing right, and what you could do better.

Now, allow me to tell you a little story about exceptional customer service to highlight the role you can play as a customer to build better businesses. A few months ago I was shopping at Save On Foods and was served by a delightful lady who was probably in her early 50’s. I had my bicycle with me and she enquired into my day and my ride. It was not the usual generic “how are you” that we tend to revert to in Northern America. It was a genuine conversation. We joked, laughed and connected. It was refreshing.

My personal commitment is to  ‘report’ great customer service to managers too. I enjoy seeing the manager’s face when they realize that you are there about a compliment, not a complaint.

In this case, I happily reported that I had received great service from Maggie and that the customer service initiatives they have in place for their staff were clearly working well. As customers, one of the most effective ways that we can demand excellent service, and get more of what we want from a company, is to praise them when they get things right.

As business people and as customers, I believe it is time we take a stand and demand better customer service. Let’s report poor service and let’s celebrate  great service. Let’s tell our friends and colleagues what we are doing and encourage them to do the same. If we want exceptional or even good customer service it is in our hands as customers, as managers, as business owners and as employees to demand this and to be proactive in making it happen.

At the end of the day, customer service is relatively simple, be genuine, be polite, and go beyond the expectation of the customer.

Let’s strive for a community where a $20 bill never disappears again, and where brands everywhere are safe from the destructive forces of disgruntled ex-customers and ex-employees.

As we entered this small café I saw the young waitress behind the counter, she looked bored and angry and I thought ‘oh great, grumpy youth of today’.

This could not have been further from the truth. She was so, so, so polite and accommodating. I love it when I am thinking a negative thought and it turns out to be totally wrong. It is always a good reminder to be “open” and not so judgmental.

We had eaten there a few years earlier and thought it would be good to return. It was also the only place open as it was super early. The food was good for a breakfast joint, not greasy and was a good size meal for the amount paid. But as stated earlier, it was the customer service that made it special.

Interior: 6 out of 10

Food: A good 6 out of 10

Customer service: 8 out of 10