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What’s More Important, Customer Service or Efficiency?
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherBelieve me, I understand how efficiency and technology have substantially reduced business process costs. But give me a break! This past year, my heart medication pills were running low, so I logged onto the online pharmacy service I was using and reordered the medication. The service sent me a message saying that, by their calculation, it was too early to get a refill; they could not (and would not) process my order. I counted the pills, which come with 90 in a bottle, to see exactly how many were left. Because the online drug service refused to send me the pills, and in an effort to make the medication last until a refill would be allowed, I skipped taking a dose every third day. Several months later, I became aware of a small pharmacy in my doctor’s office building by the name of Oakland Pharmacy. What a breath of fresh air! Lynn, who usually takes care of me now, will call me when I need refills, and she arranges same-day delivery to my home. This ordeal made me wonder, where am I being efficient, but totally ignoring the impact it makes on my client?
What Was She Thinking?
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherStarting in 2003, I had the privilege of traveling regularly to China. Prior to this, I would have said I was tuned into customer/client service, and I would have considered myself relatively easy to please. My experience in China, though, opened my eyes to a new level of customer service. For example, many times, I was the only foreigner on domestic flights in China. The attention and care paid to me, even by non-English-speaking flight attendants, was over the top. Even though I may not have fully understood what was being said, I was always treated with respect and graciousness.
At the close of one trip, after receiving phenomenal treatment everywhere I went in China, I boarded my international flight to return home. I was sitting in an aisle seat across from the bulkhead, where families with children often sit because there’s more room. There was an elderly Chinese gentleman in the bulkhead seat, and he was holding an infant. His bags were on the floor, not in the overhead compartment. (If you’re a frequent flier, you know that bags, etc. must be stored in the overhead compartments during takeoff and landing.)
The flight attendant came by and, in a cranky voice, told the man to move his bags to the overhead compartment. She left, but he was preoccupied with the baby and did not move his bags. The flight attendant came back two more times and barked out her orders. Finally, she moved the bags herself. During the flight, as I reflected on the situation, I thought, “I bet he doesn’t understand English; maybe this is his first airplane ride.” I was embarrassed by the poor customer service he received, especially when I contrasted his experience with the thoughtful service I was given in China. It made me ask myself these questions: Do I ever speak a “language” my clients do not understand? Am I focused on my clients’ comforts or making my job easier? How would I like to be treated if I were my client?
85 Years of Great Customer Service
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherA lot has been written with regard to customer service. In fact, I have written about it numerous times myself. The attached video is a refreshing locker-room talk from a very wise man—auto dealer Dick Mullen, of Mullen Motors in Southold, N.Y. Although it’s been in business for 85 years, Mullen Motors would not quite make the “Built to Last” study conducted by Jim Collins; the study’s subjects were required to have been in business for a minimum of 100 years. Even so, I think there’s a lot we can learn from Dick. I invite you to open the link below and enjoy. I guarantee you’ll gain a wealth of valuable, common-sense advice on how to take care of customers/clients.
Dealer Dick Mullen at 75: No games with customers – Automotive News