I had a customer service encounter today that had so many lessons I hardly know where to begin. Since the service provider ultimately ‘made it right’, I won’t embarrass the company by mentioning their name but will tell you that they deliver something to my house every month.
My bill from this company ranges from about $9.00 to $20.00 each month. Several months ago, I was traveling and paid a $9.00 bill a few days late. Imagine my surprise when the next bill included a $25 late charge, nearly three times the amount of my bill. I wrote a note requesting that this charge be removed and paid the $9. The next month there was a second $25 charge probably because I had not paid the first late fee.
It was now time for this already irate customer to pick up the phone and call. The lady I reached told me that she could remove one fee as a courtesy not two. I explained that they had never called me re my note on the first late fee and that I really had only been late once. “Maaaaaam, I am sorry but I can only remove one fee.” “But I have been your customer for 10 years. I just want to be sure, are you willing to lose my business over $25?” I replied. “Maaaaaaaaam, as I said, I can only remove one late fee.” “Don’t you think you should pass this on to a supervisor?” I asked. A long sigh followed and hold music ensued. At that point a very nice gentleman got on the phone, called me by name and very happily removed my late fee. A customer saved and happy!
So what are the lessons from this close encounter?
1. Empower your front line staff to make it right. Ritz Carlton empowers their staff up to $2000. What is your number? Does your staff know the number?!
2. Especially when a customer is upset, call them by name and reintroduce yourself. You then have two people talking to each other instead of a customer and a business which is more likely to escalate.
3. If you can’t do #1, then certainly train the front line customer service staff to pass such a call to a supervisor!
Realize that most customers won’t be like me and suggest that a supervisor get on the line. They will simply close their account and you will never hear from them again.
A final lesson…. be careful of financial penalties that may put your relationship in jeopardy. If your average bill to a customer is $250 a month it may be an acceptable in the customer’s eyes. If you have an average monthly billing of $9-$10 a month, a $25 late fee is probably excessive from their point of view.
Common sense service …. sometimes a scarce commodity!
