I often joke that chivalry is not dead, rather it is on life support. Lately, good service feels the same way; all too often now, it seems that the shortage of help has become an excuse for poor service. Recently, a
friend of mine shared an article on customer service and it was awesome! It reminded me of how simple creating a positive customer experience out of a negative situation can be. This may be a rant; I hope not, but bear with me.
I was recently at a restaurant that I frequent for lunch, and the service left a lot to be desired. You may argue that the restaurant industry is hurting and that I should be understanding. While I am patient, on this day there were 2 waiters serving the restaurant, and only 3 tables occupied. After ordering, it took 45 minutes for our food to be served. I understand the delay wasn’t our server’s fault, but in those 45 minutes she only checked on us once to fill our water glasses. When our burgers arrived, it was another 10 minutes before the ketchup we asked for was delivered. After finishing our meals, I impatiently waited an additional 15 minutes for our plates to be cleared and the check to be delivered. When I stood up to get someone’s attention, both servers were sitting together at the opposite side of the restaurant chatting away to each other. Ok, so maybe I ranted a little…but it was well deserved!!
The article my friend sent me was about someone who found a Mos Eisley Cantina Lego set, a relatively rare 3,000-piece set that cost over 300 dollars. This person was a Star Wars and Lego fan, so imagine his disappointment when after building 2/3’s of the model he found he was missing a bag of pieces! He contacted Lego’s Corporate Offices about the situation. While he was not expecting an answer, he knew he would be unable to return a half-built model and felt that he had no other recourse. The response back, provided below, was amazing:
“Thanks for getting in touch with us and providing that information! I am so sorry that you are missing bag 14 from your Mos Eisley Cantina! This must be the work of Lord Vader.
Fear not, for I have hired Han to get that bag right out to you.
Have a bricktastic day and may the force be with you.”
How can you not fall in love with customer service like that!? They understood the problem, resolved the issue quickly, and did so with good humor. I am sure the customer was delighted and will probably be a customer for a long time. This is a great example of how good customer service can turn a negative experience into a positive one, while gaining or retaining customer loyalty at no additional cost. If you were that Lego fan, would you share your customer experience with your friends? It’s a safe bet the answer is yes, spreading further goodwill towards the company.
Despite my poor experience at the restaurant, this story gave me hope that customer service may not be entirely dead. ? So maybe my rant above was a revelation!!
How do you react when you receive bad service? How do you handle customer complaints in your business? Let me know, and remember, how you feel during a negative experience with service is how your customers feel. Use that knowledge to flip the experience to a positive one!
“Make every interaction count, even the small ones. They are all relevant.”– Shep Hyken
Have a great weekend.
V-