customer service experiences

Gemma Middleton discusses how purchasing is a lot more than just buying a product!

As Christmas is less than a month away every single one of us will be buying presents for our family and friends and so will come into contact with varying levels of customer service.

Often at this time of year customer service is not as good as it should be due to the sheer volume of shoppers, however as we are getting more demanding as consumers are we willing to accept poor service standards?

When customer service is discussed, either in the media or with friends and colleagues, it is mainly negative stories that are passed around, as these tend to be the ones that stay with us. It is very unusual to have an experience that actually makes you sit back and go ‘wow’. However, our Managing Director, Kasmin Cooney, had a wow experience recently in the Apple store in Birmingham.

After purchasing an iPod product a receipt was due to arrive and after it failed to do so Kasmin got in touch; instead of having the normal run-around that was anticipated, she was greeted with customer service representatives that used their initiative and truly cared about the service they were offering. When it became apparent that the situation needed to be escalated to a manager, Kasmin was put straight through without even requesting to do so.

Kasmin said “Dealing with Apple was a very pleasant experience due to the fantastic service that they gave me. Their employees remained calm and were reassuringly positive – a 'no' or 'but' was not mentioned once. I was a little uncomfortable with the options available to me and when I mentioned this I was immediately told, "Apple don't like you to feel uncomfortable" and was put straight through to a manager who was there instantly. Once everything was sorted, I left feeling completely satisfied and impressed with how they dealt with everything. Apple have got the right outlook – out-there products and out-there customer service.”

I am sure that this is the complete opposite to many experiences that you have all had, but it does make you stop and think. Problems and slip-ups are a common occurrence in any industry and the main factor that leaves consumers disgruntled is the way the problem is dealt with, not the fact that the problem occurred in the first place. It is that which leaves the lasting impression.

It shows that if staff are invested in and taught the importance of customer service, an initial negative experience can turn into a very positive talking point for a customer, which, as a MasterCard advert would say, is priceless in terms of marketing.