How Does Your Customer Service Stack Up?

Do you offer ultimate customer service when it is really needed? I just returned from an annual planning session with a client. I had a great two days, and we developed a fantastic plan to grow the company over the next three years. I was feeling very strong at the end of the two days, woke up very early and drove a hundred miles to the airport. The journey went like clockwork, or at least I thought, until I went through security. When I went to take my phone out of my pocket, it was gone!

Now, I have never left my phone anywhere that I can remember in the past fifteen years. I was horrified as my seat was not yet assigned, and I was thirty minutes from the rental car center with my flight boarding in less than an hour. After a moment of panic, I grabbed my bags and sprinted toward the tram to head back to the rental center to see if they had retrieved my phone from the car. When I arrived panting, I immediately spotted a gentleman in a suit with an earpiece that appeared to work for the car rental service. I explained my situation and asked if he could please help me in an expeditious manner. Without hesitation, he immediately called the rental car area to see if my phone had been found. They told him they had just put one in the lockbox fifteen minutes prior and that it may be mine. The gentleman walked me to the area along with another associate telling me that they would get me to my gate after I retrieve the phone rather than taking the tram and not to worry.

We walked over to the lockbox, opened it, and low and behold, he handed me my iPhone 6. I began to relax, but I still needed to get to my gate and get a seat assignment on an overbooked flight. He promptly asked another young lady to stop what she was doing and drive me to my gate to save time. She did so, and I got to the gate in time to get my seat assignment and make my plane.

I was so impressed with the customer service I received and felt they had taken excellent care of me. The car rental company was Enterprise. I assured the gentleman that helped me that I would rent with them again. I do not use rental car services often; therefore, I've never been loyal to a specific brand in the past. This engagement changed that. Go Enterprise!

So, have you had a customer in need lately, and what has your company done to go out of their way to accommodate that customer?

Here are seven tips to offer stellar customer service in a time of need:

1. Be accessible when your customer needs you.
2. Respond in a timely manner with solutions that solve the issue at hand.
3. Listen intently like your customer is the only one in the room to ensure you understand his or her needs.
4. Do not argue with your customers even if they are upset about the situation.
5. Admit when you make a mistake and make it right.
6. Follow up afterwards to ensure all has been taken care of and your customer is satisfied and happy.
7. Go the second mile whenever possible and use the opportunity to “Wow” your customer - you just might make a fan out of them!

Do any of these tips look familiar? If not, give them a try the next time the opportunity arises, and let me know if you have any tips or great stories of your own to share. 

Good luck, and love your customers! If you do not, someone else will. Alan

Photo Credit: Flickr User Atomic Taco, CC License