Why Do Some Places Have Great Customer Service and Others are Awful?
How important is good customer service to your shopping experience?
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. If I receive excellent customer service, I’m very likely to share that news with anyone who wants to listen. On the other hand, if I receive horrible customer service, you can bet I’m going to share my story with everyone I see. I tell two friends, you tell two friends, and so on, and so on.
In today’s economy, store owners know how important it is to make customers happy. We live in an area inundated with choices when it comes to buying our goods and services. Personally, I would rather spend my money at an establishment that makes me feel like they value my business, rather than a place that doesn’t.
So we open the door to comments. Tell us your best and worst customer service experiences. I truly feel that establishments that go the extra mile to make customers happy should be recognized; conversely, if storeowners are rude and disrespectful they should be noted as well.
I’ll start off.
No matter what kind of day I’m having, I’m always happier after leaving Chik Fil-A at Waugh Chapel. The employees are always nice and happy to see us, and in a good mood. Even when slammed with a lunch crowd, they are always at the top of the customer service ladder and they always tell me it was their pleasure to serve me. The line always moves quickly and I get the impression that they are a well- organized establishment.
Now it’s your turn. If you feel a business is worth noting for their exemplary service, leave a comment. If you feel a business could use some improving, let me know. People are more likely to complain when they are displeased, but I think it’s important to recognize those businesses that go the extra mile to make the customer happy.
What's been your best, or worst, customer service experience?
Tell us in the comments.
Ryan Stavely
8:46 am on Monday, January 31, 2011
I've got one for each side of the coin. On the good side, the Enterprise car rental folks on RT 3 just south of 424. A few years ago, I was involved in an accident that put my truck in the shop for a repairs that were expected to last 2 weeks. My insurance company (USAA) said I could go over to Enterprise to get a car while the repairs happened. The repair process went south, and weeks turned into months. I talked to the fine folks at Enterprise about once a week, and the conversation usually went something like this:
Them: Do you have any idea when you are going to be able to return our car?
Me: They're telling me a week, but they've been telling me that for the last 2 months, so I'm not holding out much hope that it'll be anytime soon.
Them: OK, no problem, just keep us informed!
It's also worth noting that USAA had picked up the tab for the first 30 days of the rental and True2Form had told me that they were picking up the tab for the balance of the time, so in addition to holding on their rental car in a somewhat indefinite fashion, they also weren't getting paid, trusting that once things wrapped up, everything would be good to go (and it did, from their perspective).
Ryan Stavely
8:52 am on Monday, January 31, 2011
As you may have guessed, True2Form is on the bad side of the coin. What started as a "2 week" job turned into about a month at their Crofton location, then they decided that they didn't have the right equipment there and received my permission to tow my damaged and disassembled truck to their Gaithersburg location, where the repairs would take (you guessed it!) 2 weeks! A month later, and after filing a complaint with the BBB and complaining up the food chain to the point where I was talking to their CEO (a really nice guy that finally made things almost right) on an almost daily basis, I got my truck back. For the weekend. Within an hour of getting the truck home, I had a list of 20 or so deficiencies, including the fact that the passenger door not closing properly, many bolts left untightened, etc, etc... Really, really shoddy work. The truck went back to True2Form for another week worth of rework. This time it took a month before rust started to form where the door hinges attached to the side of the truck. I called the insurance company who came out and agreed that the repairs didn't meet their quality standards. So the truck went BACK to the shop for a 5 week repair job, in their Lauren shop where they cut out everything that was worked on before and finally got things (mostly) right. Still, I'll never go back - and encourage everyone that I can to avoid them completely. (More details and pictures: http://stavely.org/ryan/?cat=6)
Karts Huseonica
3:04 pm on Saturday, February 5, 2011
Being someone who prefers electronic communication, what bugs me most is businesses who do not reply to eMails, especially those with info@ eMail addresses. I'd rather be told a simple "No" to a question or "Bug off," but don't ignore me.
In fact, I've encountered local businesses that don't even know they had an eMail address posted to their Web page! Talk about lost business! Regards, Art Huseonica
C. Sullivan-Smith
2:20 am on Sunday, April 29, 2012
The staff at the Crofton Post Office are the friendliest bunch ever. Always smiling, always pleasant. Those guys have great customer service skills, every day, all day. Kudos to the senior management staff for training a great bunch of professional employees.