Recently I heard an amazing story about a customer service call that lasted almost ten hours. It has to be true. It was all over the Internet! Seriously, major publications reported that Zappos.com had a customer that called in for a pair of shoes and ended up talking to the customer service rep for almost ten hours.
Before we go any further, if you have been reading my articles you know that Zappos.com is one of my all-time favorite companies. They are a customer service role model. That said, this article isn’t as much about them, as the lesson that we can learn from the ten-hour customer support call.
It started out to be a typical customer support call. The customer wanted to order a pair of shoes and in the process of rapport building, the call center representative found out that the customer was moving to Las Vegas. The conversation turned into much more than a
sales call and more into a call about helping the customer learn more about living in Las Vegas. They talked about the job market, best neighborhoods to live in and other important information the customer would need to know about moving to Las Vegas. That’s the basic story.
Some customer service support centers might not appreciate their employee spending that much time on the phone. But at Zappos.com, the number one core value is to “WOW the customer through service.” I believe they accomplished that and more.
This isn’t just a Zappos.com story. There is a great lesson here. Sure, the story garnered a lot of positive press, but there is still more. Zappos.com created a customer service legend.
Businesses must capitalize on stories like this and create their own legends, inside and, if they are lucky, outside of their business.
The Nordstrom story about giving a refund on a set of tires is an example of a legendary customer service story. The Zappos.com “Ten Hour” customer support call ranks right up there.
I have a client that makes videos of their employees sharing their best stories about how they delivered amazing customer service. Any one of these could end up being the company’s legendary service example. Internally, these stories can be what motivates and inspires employees to do their very best. Externally, these stories can have the same impact, motivating and inspiring customers to want to do business with you.
Let’s close with a few questions: What’s your best customer service story? Is it legendary? Do your employees know it? Do your customers know it?
