Having delivered customer service training last week I was delighted to hear,
“We all wondered how you were going to make customer services interesting for a whole day, but all credit to you- you did!”
This made me smile for a couple of reasons, one it is always nice to hear great feedback on a training course but secondly the group had committed to their own personal and professional development by being a great group of delegates- they had shared their experiences in a supportive way and many laughs had been had by all involved. They hadn’t noticed that they were the reason that the training had gone better than they expected! They got out what they put in.
Really this was the underlying message about the customer service, it is not always what the customer gets from you, but how you make them feel. How important are our customers to us? Do we care enough to ask them how they feel?
A delegate shared an experience of service they received in a restaurant recently, there was a party of 8, however they were the only people in the place. The waiters proceeded to turn off the music, turn on the TV and settle down to watch a football match! One even placed his feet on a newly set table. Getting any sort of service was impossible after that. They didn’t mention it to the management or call the next day to inform somebody- one wonders if the waiting staff really thought about the damage that they were doing to the reputation of the business and the experience of the customer???
I added a story of my own. I called my bank (who shall remain nameless!) to ask when the online facilities were going to be fixed after several attempts at logging in. I asked if they could register a complaint on my behalf , to which I was told….. “I’m sorry Mrs Lapish too many people have already complained, so unfortunately I can’t do that for you……” Hmmmmmmm
The bank in question needs communication skills training and customer service training! How many negative messages could they send to me in one go? A classic example of customer services gone mad. Please share your customer service experiences.