Putting your customer first

If you want to learn more about customer service, go to Nova Scotia.

We found in our recent trip that staff at hotels, restaurants and in local stores all treated you with such a friendly, helpful manner. It was refreshing.  Everyone was cheerful, asking questions and would strike up a conversation with you. As a result, you left feeling respected and valued. 

And who doesn’t want to feel that way?   It was almost as if they were thrilled to see you.  When I think about how you are received elsewhere, it can be way different.  Sometimes you are lucky to get a smile and everything seems a chore to the person "helping" you.

We chose to stay in bed and breakfasts as we travelled around, and that’s where we noticed some real differences.  At the first B & B, the owner, who in fairness was heading off to Europe the following day, was a bit curt.  Quick to tell us all the rules and regulations of the establishment, and we had to say exactly what time we would be down for breakfast, with three choices provided.  And when we selected the latest time possible, it was met with a frown of disapproval.

Fortunately for us, the “guest hosts” were charming.  Hannah Clare was warm and friendly, taking an interest in those staying there.  She’d just retired as a palliative care nurse, and I am sure she was amazing with her patients and their families.

At our next stop, the welcoming reception was so different.  Maps, advice on local places of interest and restaurants all provided. Breakfast was available for three hours and you just came down when you were ready to eat. 

Whereas the first B&B was focused on what worked for them, the second one was paying attention to the needs of the guests. Now, there’s a real customer service lesson to be learned here. 

When we focus on what we want to deliver, whether it suits the customer or not, we somehow miss the boat. On the other hand, when we think about what the customer needs and wants, and provide it, we hit the jackpot.

I know I have been guilty of putting my needs first.  For the last couple of years, for example, I stopped offering evening events.  Oh I kidded myself that the women were busy and didn’t want to come out at night, but truth is, I was the one who didn’t want to work evenings.  Wrong decision, made for the wrong reason.

When we let go of what we want, and focus on what our customer wants – we are way ahead.  I am pleased to say evening events are back at Company of Women.  I don’t come to them all – but then I don’t need to.  I have a great team – but that’s a whole other blog.

To wrap up this one, I thoroughly recommend Nova Scotia and if you want to know where to stay – give me a call.

Where have you received the best customer service lately?

I think I shocked everyone at the breakfast meeting with my response - “Canada Post.”

We have a small Canada Post outlet at our local Shoppers Drug Mart, where you can wait forever in line as this grumpy employee slowly serves you.  

So no, this was not where I received the great service.

I had several copies of One Red Lipstick to ship out and with time to spare ventured into the main post office in Guelph, where the two staff both worked on the best and cheapest way to ship the books out. 

They checked around and found the perfect size envelopes which were on sale if I bought a box.  They helped do the labels and generally got the books lovingly sent out.

One looked up my Venture One card number and wrote it down for me, so I could continue to access discounts.  As a result, saving me $5 a book compared to what “grumpy lady” had charged me. 

Now that was not only great service, but saved me money too.  In other words, they put the customer first.  They cared.  They also took an interest and where curious about the book and what it was about.

Here’s some of the conclusions we reached as we brainstormed about good customer service. 

• ·      It’s about going that extra mile to make sure the customer is satisfied – in fact when you wow them, you become memorable, like my ladies at Canada Post.

• ·      It’s also about follow up, doing what you said you would do and when you said you would do it. 

• ·      Taking an interest in your customer, remembering small details, tells them that you care.  

• ·      Sending articles that might be of interest also keeps you top of mind.

• ·      Hand-written notes to say thank you, especially if they make a referral.

My Canada Post ladies could just as easily just shipped the books out and charged me the highest price.  Instead, they took the time to work out what was best for me as the customer.  They put my needs first.   

Often we try to persuade customers to do what we want to offer, rather than looking at what they actually need.  When we listen and then deliver the goods, we all win.

Do you want my money or not?

Recently I had a big challenge paying my invoice to one of our website hosts.  You’d think they would want your money, rather than putting you through so many hoops to get the bill paid.

The problem started because I have not been getting all my emails, including their invoice, so when they didn’t get paid, they disconnected the site.  Fair enough, I guess. But I only happened to find out by chance, and then the fun began.

When you phone, you are given three options, one of which was to pay your account, but they ask you to do it online.  OK, but I can’t remember my password and when I tried my usual one, it didn’t work.  All of which means that I can’t log in.  Yes, I can click forgot password, but they can’t email me the password, because their emails are not getting through.

So I turn to Live Chat for assistance, three times.  Each occasion I get referred back to the website, and advised to get a ticket number, which you receive once you’ve logged in… but remember, I can’t do that.   

An hour later, my morning suddenly going from bad to worse, I phone again.  I am told all the lines are busy and to leave a number, and of course, the ticket number and someone will call me back.

Whatever.  All I want to do is talk to a live person, pay the bill, and move on.  Does anyone want my money?  It would appear not.  Eventually a live person phones me, he asks me again about our username and password.  Now we got this site eight years ago, can you remember your passwords from then?  I have a hard time remembering the one I came up with yesterday. Plus nothing about our account had stayed static – new address, new email and new credit card number and in fairness, I can see that this could seem suspicious, but I am wanting to give them money, not take it away.

Day 2 – we are still trying to sort this out and meantime,  my website is still down.  I have to re-register from another email address and receive the information, advised to log in and then I can pay the bill.  Guess what, the links don’t work.  We are back on Live Chat and Customer Support. Now we did get it sorted, but I had to come up with three, yes, three security questions that will be asked each time.  It’s like getting into Fort Knox.

All of which flags for me that if we want people to stay with us, to remain loyal customers, we have to make it easy for them to pay.  If you have to go through all this just to pay a relatively small bill, you start to question whether it is worth it.

So note to self – first I better remember the answers to my questions and somewhere safe write down the password, otherwise next year we could face the same challenge, and I am not sure I want to play this game again.

Users are losers

I always enter into a new business relationship thinking about what I can do to help someone achieve their goals, and if they dovetail with mine, even better.

But sadly I am learning that not everyone thinks this way.  Oh they may at first appear to be looking out for your best interests, but they can’t keep it up.  In the end their ulterior motives raise its ugly head, colouring and often damaging the working relationship.

Take the situation of a good friend of mine.  She has a supplier with whom she has had to detail every aspect of their working arrangement, otherwise they would twist it around to suit them best.  No win-win situation here.

Customer service is just not part of their vocabulary.  As far as they are concerned, there seems to be little pride in doing a good job, or let alone an outstanding one.  But like most rotten apples, they got caught out. 

A couple of the packages they mailed out have come back to haunt them, totally damaged because they took short cuts.  In studying the photos from the unhappy customers, my friend finds that these suppliers were not using, yet still charging for, the required packaging and instead were using free material which was inadequate for the task.

To me this flags two issues – they clearly don’t care and they have no ethics.  Their actions are totally dishonest in that they have been charging for a service they are not providing, and they know that they are not providing it. Now we are not talking about a lot of money, but their behaviour causes you to question their values, their moral compass and trust is gone.

The outcome?   They’ve lost the business.  So their attempts to squeeze more money out of their clients has somewhat backfired, because now they are not getting anything.  The gravy train has stopped. My friend is pulling the plug.

And let’s face it, once you have lost trust and there’s no shared philosophy on customer service, honesty and good old-fashioned ethics, you have nothing.  It’s done. It’s toast.

What continues to shock me, is how people can blatantly rip off others, without much conscious.  Another world I guess.  But at the end of the day, in my view, users are just losers, and it will catch up with them.

Personally, I prefer to take the high road.

A touching moment

I recently had the pleasure of observing true customer service in action.  I was at the spa getting my hair done and an elderly lady, with a beautiful head of white hair, was in a cozy gown, waiting for a massage.  I’ll call her “Daisy”  because she reminded me of Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.

Because she was a little early and waiting for her appointment, Diana at the front desk decided to spend the time chatting and getting to know her better.  Now she could have done this from her desk, but no, she chose to come over, and bent down so she was at eye-level with her, and proceeded to chat.

I couldn’t help but hear the conversation and it was touching.  They were talking about love and how you have to grab it, no matter what your age,  if you are fortunate enough to meet the right person. It turns out that Daisy had got married for the first time at 67 and she was congratulating Diana on her recent marriage at 54.

You could tell that the conversation meant a lot to both of them, and before Daisy left for her appointment, she stroked Diana’s face in a gentle and loving way.  After she had gone, I asked how old she was --- 92, and she’d only just moved into a senior’s residence.

That small, touching moment made my day and I am positive it did for both Daisy and Diana.  In the hustle and bustle of living our hectic lives, it was a lovely interlude; emphasizing the need to reach out, and just spend a few moments sharing our innermost thoughts – with friends or complete strangers.