Ahhhh, good ol’ fashion customer service…or lack thereof. Probably one of my favorite topics to talk about in the business world is customer service. The good, the bad, and…the worst. I think it stems from my career in hospitality, or my stint thus far as a husband, but for whatever reason, I am dialed in to how customers are handled during the course of service related business.
Last month, my 2000 Toyota 4 Runner decided that it was time I spend some money on her and get her a new transmission. Apparently, she thought she deserved it. She was right.  1 call to AAA, a tow to the dealer, and $4000 later I’ve got myself a new transmission. The customer service was excellent, I was treated exceptionally well at the dealership. They even gave me the pen I used to sign the credit card slip. Boy did they love me. Their favorite customer.
Last week, I needed to get my car inspected. I’m thinking…’schedule it early at the local shop, send some emails from your PDA, 20 minutes and you’re outta there and in the office. Yeah, right. 45 minutes later, the nice gentleman from the service desk comes to find me to let me know that he has to fail my state inspection because of leaking transmission fluid. “Have you had a new transmission installed lately?” he asked. “Why?” I replied. “Because the transmission fluid is leaking from there and blowing all over your exhaust. I can’t pass your vehicle like that. Would you like me to write up an estimate to fix the problem?” What do you think I said?
So, now I’m headed back to the dealership so they can “take a look at it.” Did I mention that this was during the nor’easter last week that dropped a foot of snow on us. Yup.  So, almost 2 hours later, I make it from Plymouth to Laconia, back to the dealership. I meet with Brian, who tells me he is sorry that this has happened and that he will make sure I am taken care of. Good service right? How long do you think that lasted? 20 minutes later, Brian brings me out to the shop to meet Wayne and to explain to me that the other auto shop should never have failed the inspection. The leaking transmission fluid has nothing to do with the transmission that he replaced a few weeks ago. This is something different. A seal on the transfer case. Now, I don’t know allot about cars…but I’m no stupid. So, I called him on it. “You mean to tell me that 3 weeks ago, to replace my transmission, you had to take apart the transfer case, and remove it to install the new transmission. And that in doing so, you did not notice the bad seal or have anything to do with the now badly leaking seal? You just installed a $4000 transmission and you didn’t think to take a look at a $3 seal?” A couple of deer in the headlight type stares later and I’m back in the waiting room.
I basically demanded that they repair the seal, and then when done, to put a state inspection sticker on my truck. I had a business trip to Cape Cod 2 days later and I needed it done. Brian comes into the break room to get me and to tell me that he is sorry, but they do not have the right part. They are going to order it and it should be in next week. In the meantime, Wayne is going to put a sealant over the leak, which should last no problem. Now all I have to do is go pay for the state inspection. Oh…don’t even get me started about that. They were going to cover the cost of replacing the seal next week.
Well, I am frustrated at this point, but still loyal to the dealership because they have always been pretty good to me. Monday morning, I got another call from Brian to tell me that the part is in and that I can schedule another visit. I’m thinking, ‘wonderful, this will all be over soon’. Another 45 minute drive to Laconia back to the dealership. Now, this time, I am prepared with work I can do while I wait. Except, of course, Wayne comes out 5 minutes later to tell me that he fixed my car last week while it was in here, the day I made a big fuss. “What? How did that happen?” Reply: “I’m not sure. Brian was on break while I fixed it, then he came back and I went on break, and Brian didn’t know that I fixed it, and I don’t really know how this happened. This seems to be happening allot around here lately.”
OH BOY. Can you count the customer service failures? All that I can think about is the chain of events that took place that led to this disaster. I mean that I am seeing it from their perspective. When it rains it pours. It seems that when there is an honest mistake with a customer, the second mistake comes a little more naturally. Then the third and fourth mistakes are almose inevitable. A comedy of errors. I am not sure that humans have any control over it. It’s almost as if the negative energy around an upset customer affects the staff of an organization in such a way as to make them prone to making more mistakes; Its miserable.
What can you do about it? Customer: Nothing, other than telling them that you are not upset…to change the energy. Staff: Slow down. Once you have an upset customer, you need to pay closer attention to the details than you would for any other customer. Be aware that you are likely to make another mistake, and that it will compound the issue. Break your routine down into smaller pieces and make sure that all of the pieces are done correctly. Now communicate to EVERYONE what is going on. You never know what that may save you in the long run. For every mistake that is made, you need to double check your work. If you have made one mistake, then double check yoursolution. If there have been 2 mistakes, then you need to check that solution 4 times. If you have made 3 mistakes, then find a rock and crawl under it.