We are quick to spread the word when we've had bad experience at a business. But how often do we tell everyone about a good experience? Well, I had one of those today and let me tell you, this was great customer service! I wanted to tell this personal story for two reasons. One, I want to give a good review to a deserving business. And secondly, I think it best demonstrates how customer service reflects on a brand.
I had brought 2 heirloom, precious paintings I'd just recieved as a gift in to Michael's to get framed. The framing specialist spent a reasonable amount of time with me, making suggestions and layering the mats over the paintings so that I could get a better visual idea of the selections. I say 'reasonable amount of time' because upon reflection, I did not feel rushed, but that I had an adequate amount of time to make a decision.
I finally chose the mats, settled on colours and the frame and she wrote my order up. At this point, I almost had to pick myself up off the ground because even with Michael's 60% off sale, this was more money then I'd ever spent on framing before (and I have framed a decent amount of art as it's one of my favorite things to collect and I paint myself), but these were special--so I was willing to make this investment.
They called me yesterday to let me know my art was ready for pickup--about 3 days sooner then I was originally told. Bonus!
I was so excited to see these pictures framed and finally get to hang them up on the bare spot on the wall reserved and waiting just for them. Today I picked them up, brought them home... and my heart just sank. I don't know what to say other then, it just didn't look right. How could I make such a mistake? My intuition at the time I was selecting mats was to go with basic white. My taste is quite modern and 95% of all of my art has white mats. Thinking back, I kind of did allow the girl at Michael's to sway me toward the bronzy-beige mats because she though it looked best with the paintings and made the blues and coppers really pop. It did that, and it did look nice together---but it looked too traditional---and they were so wrong in my condo.
I immediately called Michael's to explain my predicament. I said I was sick over it. I spent all this money, the paintings were precious to me, and now I don't even want to hang them up.
First, I should explain what happened before I even reveal the outcome of this story.
She listened to me.
She listened to me yammer on without a word, a breath or even a smidge of attitude. I wasn't interrupted once while I got the whole situation off my chest. She didn't let me go on and on and get so worked up I would boil over (I wouldn't do that anyway, and don't let your customers reach the dreaded point of no return either... gently reign them back in where you can have a discussion), but she did let me take 5 minutes off of her life that she would never get back. If she was rolling her eyes at me, I couldn't tell over the phone (and even if she was you can almost always detect it in the voice... so don't roll your eyes at your customers).
She simply replied at just the right moment, "Look, if it doesn't look right, it doesn't look right. You're not happy. Bring them in and we'll replace the top mat for you in the colour you want."
"OK," I said, "How much is this going to cost me?" (knowing full well I had made my own bed, even if I did feel swayed, I should have gone with my gut.)
The final outcome is that it's going to cost me $10 per picture to have the top mats switched to white ones. Peanuts. The money is not really the point of this story, though it does make it even better. The paintings are special to me and I would have swallowed hard and had them re-done for full price if I really had to. I was not about to hang them the way they were and that was a bigger waste of money to me.
The thing that made me feel great? Because let me tell you, I was feeling really stupid... and though I would have been willing I was dreading dropping another chunk of change... The difference was her attitude. She listened when she needed to listen. She was pleasant and wanted to make things right for me. She offered a solution. And isn't that what it is all about? When you expect good customer service it's because.... Because we have a problem! And when we have problems, we want solutions.
If you're a small firm dealing directly with your customers or if you have staff who deal with your customers, make sure you empower them to help your clients find a solution that works for them. And much to the contrary belief, common sense and a good attitude are not inherited. They are instilled. Instill these qualities in your staff--no matter how young and inexperienced, or how old and stubborn they are. Insist on it. Your brand depends on it!
Good job Michael's framing department! You and your staff are obviously in the know about how good customer service is a positive reflection on your brand performance!
A note to customers: If you received good customer service at a business, spread the word. Tell your friends, co-workers and neighbours. If you're a fan of a business site on Facebook and they have a 'reviews' tab, give them a good review. If they are on LinkedIn, endorse them. There are also many "ratings and reviews" sites online, share your good experiences, not just the bad ones.
A note to business owners: First, make sure you're building brand value through good customer service. Enlist and empower your employess who touch customers at any point of contact through the customer service experience which extends far beyond the point of purchase (and before!). Ask your customers for a testimonial or a review and ask their permission to publish them on your blogs, your social marketing sites and your web-site.
I had brought 2 heirloom, precious paintings I'd just recieved as a gift in to Michael's to get framed. The framing specialist spent a reasonable amount of time with me, making suggestions and layering the mats over the paintings so that I could get a better visual idea of the selections. I say 'reasonable amount of time' because upon reflection, I did not feel rushed, but that I had an adequate amount of time to make a decision.
I finally chose the mats, settled on colours and the frame and she wrote my order up. At this point, I almost had to pick myself up off the ground because even with Michael's 60% off sale, this was more money then I'd ever spent on framing before (and I have framed a decent amount of art as it's one of my favorite things to collect and I paint myself), but these were special--so I was willing to make this investment.
They called me yesterday to let me know my art was ready for pickup--about 3 days sooner then I was originally told. Bonus!
I was so excited to see these pictures framed and finally get to hang them up on the bare spot on the wall reserved and waiting just for them. Today I picked them up, brought them home... and my heart just sank. I don't know what to say other then, it just didn't look right. How could I make such a mistake? My intuition at the time I was selecting mats was to go with basic white. My taste is quite modern and 95% of all of my art has white mats. Thinking back, I kind of did allow the girl at Michael's to sway me toward the bronzy-beige mats because she though it looked best with the paintings and made the blues and coppers really pop. It did that, and it did look nice together---but it looked too traditional---and they were so wrong in my condo.
I immediately called Michael's to explain my predicament. I said I was sick over it. I spent all this money, the paintings were precious to me, and now I don't even want to hang them up.
First, I should explain what happened before I even reveal the outcome of this story.
She listened to me.
She listened to me yammer on without a word, a breath or even a smidge of attitude. I wasn't interrupted once while I got the whole situation off my chest. She didn't let me go on and on and get so worked up I would boil over (I wouldn't do that anyway, and don't let your customers reach the dreaded point of no return either... gently reign them back in where you can have a discussion), but she did let me take 5 minutes off of her life that she would never get back. If she was rolling her eyes at me, I couldn't tell over the phone (and even if she was you can almost always detect it in the voice... so don't roll your eyes at your customers).
She simply replied at just the right moment, "Look, if it doesn't look right, it doesn't look right. You're not happy. Bring them in and we'll replace the top mat for you in the colour you want."
"OK," I said, "How much is this going to cost me?" (knowing full well I had made my own bed, even if I did feel swayed, I should have gone with my gut.)
The final outcome is that it's going to cost me $10 per picture to have the top mats switched to white ones. Peanuts. The money is not really the point of this story, though it does make it even better. The paintings are special to me and I would have swallowed hard and had them re-done for full price if I really had to. I was not about to hang them the way they were and that was a bigger waste of money to me.
The thing that made me feel great? Because let me tell you, I was feeling really stupid... and though I would have been willing I was dreading dropping another chunk of change... The difference was her attitude. She listened when she needed to listen. She was pleasant and wanted to make things right for me. She offered a solution. And isn't that what it is all about? When you expect good customer service it's because.... Because we have a problem! And when we have problems, we want solutions.
If you're a small firm dealing directly with your customers or if you have staff who deal with your customers, make sure you empower them to help your clients find a solution that works for them. And much to the contrary belief, common sense and a good attitude are not inherited. They are instilled. Instill these qualities in your staff--no matter how young and inexperienced, or how old and stubborn they are. Insist on it. Your brand depends on it!
Good job Michael's framing department! You and your staff are obviously in the know about how good customer service is a positive reflection on your brand performance!
A note to customers: If you received good customer service at a business, spread the word. Tell your friends, co-workers and neighbours. If you're a fan of a business site on Facebook and they have a 'reviews' tab, give them a good review. If they are on LinkedIn, endorse them. There are also many "ratings and reviews" sites online, share your good experiences, not just the bad ones.
A note to business owners: First, make sure you're building brand value through good customer service. Enlist and empower your employess who touch customers at any point of contact through the customer service experience which extends far beyond the point of purchase (and before!). Ask your customers for a testimonial or a review and ask their permission to publish them on your blogs, your social marketing sites and your web-site.
