Service

by Mike Coleman

July 5, 2011 - Issue #88

Is customer service that hard?

I stopped by McDonald's recently to get a cup of coffee. I told the person at the register what I wanted. He took my money and then took orders from the next three people.

Then he proceeded to help fill their orders. After their orders were filled, I asked if I could get my cup of coffee.

He seemed frustrated that I asked him to do such a difficult task and poured me a half cup of coffee. One half of a cup of coffee!!! He then went to the next customer to take their order.

So I stood in line to see if he could continue to fill my cup. When I got to the front of the line, he poured more coffee in the cup. Now it was close to 3/4 full.

He put it in front of me with no apology and without saying a word. He didn't ask if I needed anything else. Nothing. He then proceeded to get the next customer's order.

They weren't very busy. He actually had time to talk to someone who knew his parents. But he could not fill one cup of coffee for me.

How can this be so hard? This is just one example of bad customer service with no apologies.

I understand the pay at McDonald's is not that great and the work is not easy sometimes. But if you don't want to do it. Get another job or do something else.

Also had a problem with my air-conditioner. The air-conditioning repair person told me they would be at my home between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM on Friday. They arrived at 7:30 PM.

This type of customer experience happens all the time. Why has this become acceptable behavior in our society?

What is the customer experience for people who purchase your product or service? Are you doing everything you can to make sure everybody gets what they need?

We all fall short sometimes. If you deal with enough clients, you will eventually have issues because the reality is, you can't please everyone.

But the important thing is how you handle these issues. Are you keeping the communication open so you take care of any issues your clients may have as quickly as possible in a professional way? Do you have empathy for their situation?

Every customer is not going to be satisfied, but even a dissatisfied customer can become a loyal customer if you keep the communication lines open and handle any issues with empathy and professionalism.

Doing this will differentiate you from almost everyone else out there and keep your customers loyal to you, your product, and your service.

To Your Success,

Mike Coleman
P. O. Box 291642
Nashville, TN 37229
615-308-8078
www.mikecoleman.net