PR 101

Customer service is something I know a bit about. I have worked in retail twice in my life – once in high school when I worked for a small grocery store and once as an adult when I was a professional bicycle mechanic. I also spend a lot of time in my local Apple store, playing with the toys. And let’s not forget my local Ace Hardware store – another place where I go as often as possible.

When I worked in retail, I learned the right level of customer service. The rule I was taught was to offer help once and then go away. If they want help, they will ask. Don’t annoy the customer. An annoyed customer is much less likely to buy something. They are also going to tell their friends about the obnoxious help. That keeps customers away.

I have three examples of bad customer service I want to rant about. I am going to go more in-depth Monday blog on this in a few weeks. But, I have blow off some steam.

First, why do people still persist in being obnoxious when they try to sell something? I am not going to name any names here, but I have two different companies try to sell me services lately. Both are services I would consider using if business was better. But, it’s not. I have told representatives from both companies I am just not sure right now – yet they keep calling me.

I finally got rid of one, but the other keeps calling and emailing me. That kind of obnoxious persistence guarantees I won’t buy anything from them.

Second, along those same lines, I have a business credit card. I have had it for almost two years. I like the service I receive from the company. They have been very good a couple of times when there were questionable charges. The statements are clear and easy to read.

I know they know who I am because I keep getting bills from them, which is fine. However, I also get constant solicitations from them asking my company to use their business card. They really ought to merge their marketing and customer lists. It is not that hard to do – I have done it myself for clients.

Third, I have a new printer. It is giving me fits. It keeps telling my laptop it is out of ink when I know it is not. I spent a long time on the phone with so-called technical support. The best the person could come up with was to send me two new ink cartridges. He had no clue what was going on.

Now, the company’s technical support was very good when I had an earlier printer problem. The person I talked to then correctly diagnosed when my laptop refused to admit the printer existed. This person was patient and walked me through what I had to do to correct the problem. The entire process took maybe 20 minutes.

Given the two examples though, which experience do you think the average customer is going to remember? It is human nature to remember the bad and forget the good. There is no wiggle room in customer service.

That’s why I love the Apple store and my local Ace Hardware store. In both cases, the employees are expert in what they do, promptly provide help when you ask for it, but do not hover. Give me that kind of experience any day. I will keep coming back for more.