Customer Dis-Service

I think I am out in the world too much these days because this is a recurring theme: I go somewhere and the level of service is so bad that I never want to return. And I am not looking for problems -- I just want to enjoy myself. But customer service has plummeted in many industries, especially food/beverage and hospitality, that it is going to backfire with long-term negative perceptions.

Here are three experiences in the past week that are the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Ugly: In Philadelphia this past week, I stayed at a downtown hotel. It is a business-class brand, part of an international chain, so there are brand standards and certain quality expectations. It is in the perfect location for what I was doing, so it made sense to stay here. By the way, rack rate was $400 per night, so there are expectations.

From the outset, the lack of staffing and quality of staffing was evident. No guidance to park, maneuver through a garage under construction, get to the lobby or anything. Long line at check in. One person working. The room was not clean and not functional. We changed rooms (done easily), but then each day, we had to ask for supplies that were forgotten by daily housekeeping. No toilet paper. No shampoo. No coffee. No good! . Add unhelpful and rude store clerks to the mix and something that would not be a big deal has now escalated to a bad review.

The final straw came at check-out when I was accosted by a "Karen" who was running late, asked to jump in front of me for a quick question, then tried to go through the whole check in process. When I told her no, she lost control. I checked it out. She was still screaming. Then she started complaining to the desk agent and both were laughing and looking at me. Last straw. Call corporate and report the problem.

The Bad: I went to a group guided meditation last night. Everyone was very friendly and it was a pleasant environment. However, when the organization's leader took the mic, I could not hear her. She did not project her voice at all. Several of us asked her to use the microphone and speak louder. It worked for two words, then she went back to mumbling. Same thing with the meditation leader. She refused to use the microphone. Same thing. Asked to speak louder and use the mic. Did so for one sentence, then back to mumbling. I did not hear the meditation and was getting annoyed. I saw others in the room struggling to hear, then we finally all gave up and sat there. In the discussion afterwards, same thing - - use the microphone! Nope. Several people voiced that we could not hear or understand the meditation because of the mumbling and no microphone. Well, "we got what we needed". We may have on a metaphysical level, but on our human level, we were aggravated and disregarded. Real time feedback was ignored repeatedly. What we needed to get the best experience was too hard for these presenters to do. So now I know that I cannot attend with this leader again because it is more aggravating than relaxing and not worth the price of admission.

The Good: My car dealer wins the prize. I took my car in for annual inspection and an oil change. Excellent customer care! I was treated like a VIP. The car dealer is very large, but everyone is treated so well and it is ingrained in the culture that even the employees washing my car were smiling, kind, and friendly to me as they handed it back. Quite the difference from nasty hotel snack shop workers. I don't want to spend time at the car dealer for service, but if need be, I know that I will be well treated and besides the cost, it will be a positive interaction. It was a completely satisfying experience that took nothing more than attention to detail, friendliness, and a cultural tone that was set very clearly and known to all. Every employee at the car dealer was trained and managed to provide an extremely high level of customer care. And it showed!

Each of these experiences has a high level of human interaction and customer care component. Each business executed very differently, with the results being crystal clear. As business owners and operators, we face unsatisfied customers but can usually finesse the situation to everyone's satisfaction. Customer service has a strong role in loyalty and in revenue, so many places place extreme focus on customer care and it shows. That is why we get so many surveys post-service. But what does it really take?

• Clear cultural focus on customer care. Everyone is on the same page of service.
• Proper staffing levels and people being customer-facing. Hire the right people.
• Reinforcement of standards at every level in every interaction.
• Customer feedback loop where concerns are addressed, and praise is shared
• Desire to have strong customer care. The organization must decide that this is a priority, then set everyone up to succeed with known processes, standards, and staffing.

There is much more to write on this issue but think about how your front line workers treat your customers. Are you the hotel or the car dealer? Do I need to write a bad review to get service or is it in your company culture?

If you are ready to take your business forward and create a top notch customer experience, I am here at [email protected] or schedule a complementary consultation via this website. As a client of Pivot TBC, you will be treated extremely well!