Today I want to share something different with you. It’s a video that I came across about customer service in Japan that I found on Gadling that was originally posted on LiveLeak earlier this year. The video is only 51 secs long but is definitely worth a watch.
Did you watch the video? Surprised? Funny?
In a country that uses a lot of technology, I think it is fascinating and insightful to see a very personal approach to solving a customer’s problem.
Is it a spoof? I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.
I’d like to think it is real and genuine. However, whether it is or not is irrelevant because I think it illustrates a real lesson for businesses that are trying to deliver better service to their customers.
That lesson, for me, is this: faced with a problem with how to achieve something or use technology to find something out some customers don’t want to have to use, or figure out how to use, another piece of technology to solve their problem. Sometimes, they just want someone to help them directly.
I know that this may not be the most cost-effective and efficient solution and we all can’t hide in consoles ready to jump out and help. But, we can think about the problems that our customers have and how we help them solve their problems. in doing that, we should consider how we can make it quick and easy for someone to get hold of us when they need to whether that is in person, on the phone, via email or via social media.
Technology can be great but it can also be a barrier. It’s useful to remember that often the best way to surprise and delight and serve our customers better is to just be easy to contact and ready to help.
Photo Credit: otherthings via Compfight cc
