WHERE IS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WHEN YOU NEED IT?

This past week I had the opportunity? to fly 4 times on an airline that I had not patronized for a few years. Here was my experience.

When told at the car rental center that I could check my bags there for return flights so I wouldn't have to load them on the bus and struggle with them at the ticket counter I was excited. The car rental company told me the process so I took off excited about the service the airlines were providing.

When I got to the level where the bags were to be checked I was told by a customer service? agent that the counter was at the far end of the building so I proceeded to go there. I could not find the check in area so I went to the information? counter to ask what the procedure was. The person told me he didn't know that the service was available and if it was they probably wouldn't start that service until later in the day and he thought it was at the opposite end of the building. My question to him then was, "So you don't really provide information at the information counter". His reply was "not really" so I put my bags on the bus and went to the terminal ticket counter. 

It got me to thinking about how many times we as BSC's leave our customers without answers. Do we tell them, it's not in the specs or we don't do that?  Do we tell them when we have a new service to offer or do we go out with a great marketing campaign only to leave our existing customers not knowing we have a new service? 

Have we asked our customers if there is a service that we could bundle with the cleaning so they don't have so many checks to write? Even if the invoice amount is the same, we save them soft costs that reduces the number of checks they have to write or the multiple phone numbers they have to keep handy. By the way, you don't have to self perform the additional services, just have people lined up that can.

I should also mention that in the four flights I took with this airline last week, not one was on time, 2 of the flights were cancelled without notifying the passengers and the other two changed gates at least twice. I should mention in fairness that one of the flights was a weather delay that they could not control so they only really had 3 chances to make a positive impression and they didn't do it. The only way I knew the flights were cancelled or that a gate change had occurred was I checked the airport monitor. 

What about you? If you have promised your customer a special service and then have a glitch, do you let them know immediately or do they find out when they come to work the next day? Most customers are very tolerant and understanding if they are kept abreast of what is going on. 

I remember sitting in a client's office a couple of years ago and during our time together he told about 5 phone calls from customers asking him if he could handle something that was out of his normal scope of work. His answer? We can do it or we'll handle it for you. 

After he had answered these calls I asked if he did all these things and he said he did not but his customers knew he knew somebody who did. His philosophy was that he was in the customer satisfaction business and he wanted to satisfy his customers if at all possible. Plus, he said, if I can handle it my competitor doesn't have an open window to come in. 

So we started talking about customer retention and his was nearly 100% and had been for years. Think his philosophy was paying off? You bet it was. 

Back to my airline experience. One thing that was apparent. You can change the name of your company and merge with other companies but if you don't change your employees attitudes and your end service delivery you are still the same old company. 

How about doing a study of your company? How do your treat all of your customers? Are there services you could provide that would solidify your relationship?

Don't forget to sign up to receive our FREE weekly pod casts starting June 1. Go to www.kleancast.com and click on the sign me up icon and you'll get an email each time one is posted. We promise not to call you or harass you with sales material. It's just a pod cast that we hope will help you in your company. Most will be in the 5 minute range so you can watch and get on with your business. 

Starting in September we will be producing daily audio podcasts featuring the speakers at the upcoming BSCAI convention and ISSA trade show in Las Vegas in October. More details to follow as the time gets closer. 

Till next time and have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day holiday.