Customer Service
I love good customer service.
I love to receive good customer service.
And I love to provide great customer service. In fact, my top three priorities are:
1. Run a great network.
2. Give great customer service.
3. Innovate.
Say what you will about the CQI process. Heaven knows I'm not a huge fan. But the one thing I did take away from the whole TQM/CQI thing is this statement:
Delight the Customer
"Delight" does sound a bit goofy. But I believe it applies.
What does it mean to "delight the customer?"
Last week I decided to get a 5.1 speaker system for my basement family room. Searching the web I became interested in the Polk Audio AMR 130 speakers. Another search put me onto Vanns.com. They advertised the AMR 130s for, what seemed to me, an unreal price. So I decided to take a chance and ordered these speakers.
Within minutes I received an e-mail message confirming my order. Over the next 24 hours Vanns.com sent 5 message. Each message contained language like, "thanks for choosing Vanns.com" and "we are so pleased that you chose Vanns.com" and "we are thrilled that you chose Vanns.com" and "please contact us with any questions about your order."
The progression of the messages was along the lines of:
This is your confirmation that we have received your order.
Your order has been approved, here's what you can expect next:
We believe in customer service. Please call us anytime.
Your Vanns.com order has been approved for shipping and sent to the shipping department. We will take great care in getting your order to you.
Our shipping partners will automatically notify you via email with shipment tracking information. These automated systems occasionally fail. In the event you do not receive order tracking information in the next 48-72 hours, please call our customer service department.
That last message peaked my interest. After about 24 hours I decided to call. I'm a bit impatient. Mostly I was just curious to talk to someone from Vanns.com. A young man with a pleasant attitude answered my call. He asked for my name. I gave it. I offered to give him my Vanns.com confirmation number. It was in all of the e-mail messages.
No need, he had already identified my order. He gave me the UPS tracking number. I thanked him and was about to hang up. He stopped me, stating that he was on the UPS web site with my tracking information. My order was scheduled for delivery today. I thanked him for his help. It was a pleasant experience.
When I arrived home my AMR 130s were waiting for me in my entryway. I am a very satisfied Vanns.com customer. Yes, I was delighted. What is amazing is that Vanns.com couldn't possibly have made any money from my transaction. I didn't matter.
I want UEN to give this type of customer service. That would be soooooo cool.
9:42:22 PM 
|
