My daughter received a text from a hotel in NYC, called The Edison, asking her how they can make her stay fantastic. What special things could they do? She texted them back with a few requests and said, the number one issue for me is I want a room where the air conditioner worked. She was impressed by the 21st-century technology and how hip it was to be texted by the hotel.
The air conditioning in the room didn’t work. No matter how cool the promise, the hotel didn’t live up to it’s commitment. #Fail
I called Molly Maids, a national chain cleaning service to get someone to clean my screen porch. Their tagline is a Maid Service You Can Trust. They came up first on a Google Search. They had ads that were retargeted, meaning they followed me around the Internet. I called on Monday and left a voice mail.
One week later, no one called me back. If they call, I won’t hire them. #Fail
I went to McDonald’s to get a salad for lunch. I work in a very small town with few restaurants and healthy choices. The store was not very busy even if it was near lunch time. After I paid, I asked the cashier if I could get a cup for water now while waiting. She told me, “you have to wait until your food comes. I can’t give you a cup now.” I don’t’ blame the young woman, I blame the manager who forget to tell the employees to be helpful.
Why can’t McDonald’s train its employees to act like human beings? I understand following a process, but I just wanted a glass of water. #Fail.
In working on a photo album through Shutterfly, I called their 800 number to ask about the status of my order. The wait time was 45 minutes, but they said they can call me back instead of me sitting on hold. So, I didn’t have to sit on hold listening to bad elevator music. They called back in thirty-two minutes. They got me the information I needed. The order was late, and they reimbursed me for the shipping cost.
The album arrived on the day promised. #Success
I had a new Jenn-Air grill installed. When the electrician finished, I noticed that the grill wasn’t straight. He said that it is level and I would have to ask the company who sold the grill, and represent Jenn-Air. He said they will warrant any defect. I emailed the company, Kitchens and Bath Gallery, and within two days a service man came out and found a washer was missing. He replaced it and now the grill fit perfectly. This took about 20 minutes and apologized for the inconvenience.
This extra effort by Jenn-Air only reinforces why I love their product and have a strong attachment to the brand. #Success
Customer Service #Fails and #Successes
Think of how much money companies spend on marketing. When they don’t follow through on their promise, it is like pouring water down the drain. When you can’t live up to your tagline, you are setting up new customers for disappointment. Do you test your own customer service to see how responsive it is to new customers? How do you test the customer’s journey to engage with your brand? If new customers have bad experiences, most of them won’t complain or post about it – they will go elsewhere?
What tactics are you using to prevent customer service fails?
Need a guide to help you set up some testing of your own consumer’s journey with your brand? Give me a call and let’s create some success together.
