My husband is a business author who spends much of his time creating content for articles, workshops and keynotes. From time to time he likes to get out of the office to write in different environments to keep his creativity fresh. A week ago he chose a local hotel lobby for inspiration. In the midst of sipping his drink ordered from the hotel lounge and reviewing material on his computer, the manager interrupted him and told him he could not use the facility “like a coffee shop” because it was reserved only for guests.
Carmine politely took his business elsewhere, but I don’t think the manager realized that while minding her hotel’s policy, she lost a customer who had contributed more to her bottom line than buying a coke. He’s a local businessman who has referred clients to the hotel and paid for their elegant conference room to host workshops. Unfortunately, like many managers and employees, the hotel manager couldn’t see the forest from the trees.
Beware of pinheads in customer service roles. Here’s another example of a pinhead serving customers. My brother-in-law owns two properties in Incline Village, Nevada (Lake Tahoe). Often when visiting his properties, he plays golf with his family and friends at an exclusive championship course nearby. Recently, during a time of year when Tahoe is usually beautiful and warm, he, his son and two other important acquaintances got rained out at only the third hole. He walked back to the pro shop, cold and drenched, and politely asked a rep for a rain check for later in the week. Not only was he told that “It’s our policy to not refund after a round has begun,” but the rep told my brother-in-law in a smart-ass tone, “It’s not that cold.” Never again will my brother-in-law play or recommend this course. There are plenty of other great golf courses in the Tahoe/Reno area. A golf course lost business it can’t afford to lose in this economy all because of one encounter with one pinhead.
The one policy that matters. The issue boils down to a judgment call. To follow or not to follow your company’s “policy” should be individually assessed for each customer. Better yet, serving your customer should be the only policy. How so? For inspiration let’s turn to another resort community-Las Vegas. Zappos.com, the shoe and clothing retailer, is so successful at cultivating happy customers, that Amazon recently bought it for $800 million. The CEO, Tony Hsieh, has one very important policy for his employees: keep customers happy, and if that means a rule or two in the system has to be bent or revised to keep the customer smiling and coming back, then so be it. For example, Zappos call center reps have no script because Hsieh gives them the flexibility to do what they think is in the best interest of the customer. In one case, a rep spent four hours on the phone with a customer. When Hsieh heard about the long-winded call he did not ask the employee why she had spent so much time on the phone. He only wanted to know if the customer was satisfied with the service.
It’s that simple, but all too often, retailers, companies and merchants don’t make it simple. They choose to be pinheads instead. Offer an exception when it might make the difference in your customer’s experience. Customers are people, not robots. We will respond better to service reps when we’re not treated mechanically.
Please send me a customer service story you would like to share. If I use it for this column, we will send you a free copy of Fire Them Up, Carmine Gallo’s latest book featuring several inspiring executives, professionals and other leaders who speak the language of motivation.