“Service, in short, is not what you do, but who you are.”
–Betsy Sanders
Corrected postcard
Is fabulous customer service a memory? A once caring corpse trampled by indifference? Still around, but on slow-drip life support? Are we so used to being treated with a “take it or leave it” attitude that we accept poor service as normal? Well, I’m inviting the powerful, second half of life, women to turn it around. Let’s spread the word about businesses that still care and show it to the best of their ability. There are 38 million Baby Boomer women who know what they want, and it’s time we raise the bar.
Last week my friend, Linda Cullen Gallagher, spread the word on Facebook that her hot pink Beats headphones stopped working on one side. Here is her post:
“When I started my on-air job at KBEK I bought a nice pair of Beats headphones on sale. Last week the right side stopped working, so I called the warranty line. Much to my surprise, my call went to Apple Care. (Apple owns Beats, who knew) Within two days a postage paid FedEx shipping box arrived. We mailed it to PA earlier this week. They received the headphones yesterday and sent out a replacement pair that is being delivered today! They kept me in the loop every step of the way. Apple understands that good service is what makes loyal customers. That’s why “once you go Mac, you never go back!”
I don’t know about you, but I’m much more apt to do business with a company that exceeds expectations. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We are flooded with negative reviews and faultfinding. It has become somewhat of a blood sport. But I don’t want to know where NOT to go! Tell me about the “wow” companies. If I’m going to focus on something/someone, let it be positive. Here’s my great customer service story from today:
I’m part the Old Hwy. 61 Coalition (http://www.oldhwy61.com) and for the past year have been driving up and down the 100 miles that were decommissioned in 1990 and re-routed to Interstate 35. No, I’m not lost. (To those of you who know me well…say nothing!) I’ve been taking photos. (Essentially from Wyoming, MN, to Esko, MN.) My goal is to create artistic images that are familiar, fresh, and maybe a little funky. On Oct. 14th I will have a gallery show opening at the Pine Center For The Arts in Pine City, MN. If you’re not doing anything that night come on over! It will be from 4-7 p.m. with wine and nibbles!
To promote the event I ordered 100 postcards from Post-Haste in North Branch, MN. The problem is I failed to notice a rather painful typo. The cards were printed and paid for, and it wasn’t until I dropped off the first one at the North Branch Chamber Of Commerce that the typo was discovered. “Nooooooo!”
I emailed Post-Haste, explained the issue, said it was my mistake, and asked that they redo the cards. Not only did they re-do them immediately, they only charged me half of the regular fee. It was my fault for not triple-checking, but they helped me out. Will I do business with them again? Mmmmhhhmmm.
How can I be of service?
How about you? Tell me about an extraordinary customer service experience you’ve had. We need to know about it!
Unexpectedly good service? The best part of my day.
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