My video duplication company has been a reliable and responsive supplier demonstrating customer service excellence through the years.
They should be – I have spent more than $62,000 with them in the past few years. I received a complaint from a customer about one of my video programs that “skipped” during playback. I thought it was an oddity and immediately replaced the disc. But the next month another complaint arrived about the same situation.
I contacted the duplication company right away. They explained this problem may have affected a small number of discs from their supply of blank stock. They apologized profusely and promised immediate replacement as a sign of their commitment to customer service excellence. I removed all remaining inventory from my office and warehouse and sent the discs back – a few hundred pieces from the most recent duplication.
Then I got a message from the company offering to replace only “verified bad discs,” and not all the discs I had returned. This was not the customer service excellence I had grown accustomed to.
What am I supposed to do, watch every disc and look out for those that “skip?” Or wait for my customers to notice the problem and complain, and then exchange those discs one at a time? Of course not.
The better course of action is to simply – and quickly – replace them all. I told them so in a follow-up message.
To their credit, the duplication company responded to my second message in an entirely appropriate manner. They have agreed to replace all the discs promptly and at no charge.
They also promised to put extraordinary care into my future duplications to ensure the highest quality standards and customer service excellence in the process.
That’s a smart business move. It guarantees another $62,000.
Key Learning Point For Customer Service Excellence
When the service you provide jeopardizes your customer’s relationship with their customers, you need to respond with twice the speed and twice the recovery effort. After all, now your upset customer has upset customers! Keep customer service excellence in mind and do the right thing.
Of course there will be costs and consequences and perhaps some aggravation, but leap to it right away. Be the supplier who takes immediate action to set the wrong things right.
Action Steps For Customer Service Excellence
Who are your customers’ customers? How do your actions as a supplier impact your customers’ customers’ satisfaction? If things go wrong, how will your response and recovery affect theirs?
Meet with your customers to discuss this on a regular basis. Develop a clear understanding and positive action plans. Make sure your customers, and your customers’ customers, are well served and you will be known for customer service excellence.
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Copyright, Ron Kaufman. Used with permission. Ron Kaufman is the world’s leading educator and motivator for upgrading customer service and uplifting service culture. He is author of the bestselling “Uplifting Service” book and founder of Uplifting Service. To enjoy more customer service training and service culture articles, visit www.RonKaufman.com.
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