Do it a step ahead, in exchange for customers’ 100% satisfaction
The Ritz Carlton is a world renowned international luxury hotel chain. Its founder, César Ritz was the king of hotel industry. The reason for him to claim the thrown of the empire was not because his countless chained hotels, but that he implanted the principle and the spirit of ‘customer service’ into the corporate DNA and his staff. “Amazing, ultimate customer experience” is the service quality that Ritz Carlton demands. Such service spirit takes place in every Ritz Carlton hotels all over the world. In the book, “The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company”, there was a true story about a married couple who were celebrating their 5th anniversary in Ritz Carlton. Prior to their arrival, they received phone calls to confirm their accommodation needs while they were still in Kenya. When the hotel knew the woman was pregnant, they placed extra pillows in their room, among which a full body length pillow. During the interview for the book, the woman expressed that for someone who has never been pregnant before, it might be hard to imagine what a comfort a full body length pillow may bring, but for her, she had a sound and relaxing sleep. For the hotel, it was not only 100% customer satisfaction but an utmost compliment! In short, the brand is the promise to the customers and this promise needs to build up from internal consensus. When it’s fully developed, the staff should be able to service the customers perfectly before they even raise the request to be serviced.
Another anecdote we gathered from the internet however, was not a perfect customer service scenario. This story began with a person who wanted to learn English grammar, so he purchased ‘SpeakingPal’ application and paid USD14.99 for 3 months membership fee. He figured it was still cheaper than buying a grammar book and besides it was kind of fun. He paid the amount with Paypal, and after the payment result, a loading dialogue appeared. However, nothing else happened after the loading was finished. He clicked on the content and the payment box popped out again. He tried logged off the application and re-entered but the result remained the same. This person wanted to withdraw the purchase but this application didn’t have any corresponding button to click on. He also thought of asking Paypal to give refund but Paypal cannot cancel transactions that have already been done. If he were to file a formal complaint, the official website says it takes about 30 days of administrative procedure. This frustrated person said, “If I could write English fluently, what’s the point of me buying an English learning application?” He couldn’t resolve the problem on the spot, so he decided to sleep on it. The next day, to his surprise, he received the following email:
“Dear SpeakingPal User,
We have received your license purchase request. Unfortunately, it seems that there was a problem and you were not given the license. We apologize for the problem. We have issued for you a license code for the same plan you have selected plus 10 additional days to compensate for the inconvenience.”
This person shared his experience online with everyone. He expressed that even though he was a bit taken aback but he was also moved by their gesture. In addition to the 10 additional days free of charge usage, the company actually sent an email to apologize before he even drafts a letter of complaint. The brand conveys the message to the consumers that “We care!” and they really do care if the customers could enjoy great services!
Source of picture: http://www.deviantart.com
Think More for the Customers, Do more for the Customers
A successful company does not only want to see the result on financial sheet but the level of customer satisfaction because that really represents and translates the brand. A company should think ahead for customers because when a customer calls to file a complaint, it is the time when the brand begins to take a hit. No one would call the company for no reason so when the customers do call, “instant respondence” is the most basic service attitude the staff should have. In addition, the staff should show empathy to avoid customers from feeling hurt again. ‘Service’ makes a customer respects the company and it is the momentum for a company to continue improving. Many customer service personnel may feel uneasy receiving calls of complaints, especially when the customers start yelling and growling. However, if you position yourself as the representative for the customer and negotiate with the company from the customer’s angle, then the customer is most likely to receive the most satisfactory service. Of course, this would mean the customer service personnel need to play two roles because they also need to stand from the company’s perspective to explain various services and systems. If they could not prove it’s the customer’s fault, then it would be the company’s fault. They should also think ahead, think more for the customers and do more. This is how the company can continue to progress, or otherwise sit and wait to be eliminated.