Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Seek and Ye Shall Find…Maybe

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

The Rolling Stones told us you can’t always get what you want. But I beg to differ with Mick and the guys.  Sometimes you CAN—you just have to shop in the right place.

A weekend sale plus a discount coupon should add up to savings and satisfaction, right? I was poised to make the score, pick up that brand new printer-scanner combo and head for the cash register, and victory at the Big Box Store.

Except the shelves, filled with many other printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines, did NOT have one single box with the model I wanted, the one on sale, the one compatible with my new computer. Not ONE,  and not even a form for a rain check.  “When are you getting more of them in?” I asked the salesclerk. “No idea,” he said. “Maybe next week, maybe never. And the price may go up.” At least he was honest.

I asked another clerk to please check in the back, just in case a lone printer was hiding there. She was cheerful, if unable to help. “None,” she said, then glanced around before whispering, “Why don’t you go to to OtherMart? THEY carry it.  And you can use the coupon.” Her voice dropped even lower. “My daughter got the same one there yesterday. Five dollars cheaper than here.”  I felt like the shopper in “Miracle on 34^th Street,” when the Macy’s salesman sends her to Gimbel’s to find the toy she’s seeking. Sending a customer to the competition?

Isn’t that the truest definition of Customer Service? The salesclerk wanted to help a frustrated shopper find what she sought, even if it was in another store.  She served her customer, not the seller—oops, her employer. (And yes, I did get the printer. In the Other Mart. )

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Phoning It In

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

Reach out and touch someone: remember that ad campaign for what was once known universally as The Phone Company? Now if we want to reach out, we IM, we Tweet, we text, we leave a voicemail.  And at times all of those communiqués seem annoying, even intrusive, to the recipient. Is it any wonder we no longer anticipate a phone call with, well, anticipation? And how many times do you get Good News from a phone call anyway? But some savvy companies realize the power of the personal call—not one of those robotic taped ones from a politician or fundraiser. The Phone Call as a service device may be returning.

My car was the subject of a massive recall. Some part could possibly burst into flames, or fall off on a highway. The car maker would of course replace the defective part at no cost. All I had to do was take it to any dealership. Except every dealership I spoke to in a 40 mile radius refused to deal with me because I hadn’t bought the car there.  I wrote a heated email, backed up with an actual snail-mailed letter, to the manufacturer. I stopped short of saying “If my car bursts into flames, you’ll be sorry.”  Expecting a formula email or a postcard, I was stunned to receive two phone calls. One from the vice president of something, apologizing  for how the dealers had treated me. The other from customer service, offering to book an appointment at the most convenient dealership. They did—and after the car was fixed, they called again.  Just reaching out to stay in touch.

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: On the Case

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

When a computer is involved, most of us non-tech types cringe. I’m no different: replacing my long-serving ibook, I braced for the worst, fully expecting to fumble through new programs and finding the shortcuts and pathways to get me back on track. I was pleasantly surprised—okay, speechlessly shocked—when my worst fears were cushioned by understanding, helpful customer service professionals.

They talked me through setting up the laptop, even when I couldn’t figure out which purple cord belonged with which yellow port. With their guidance, the laptop morphed into an autopilot dream. Of course, all was going too smoothly.  That’s why the new modem decided to rebel. State-of-the-art, speedy and sleek, it’s designed to plug into multiple computers and phone lines.  The compact black box blinked on, grew hot to the touch, then quit. “Shouldn’t happen,” said the cheerful rep on the line. “I’m shipping you a replacement overnight.”

Okay, the new modem appeared a day later. And didn’t respond at all.  Another replacement was sent out,  while I wondered if I’d be the modem junkyard for the free world. When Modem #4 balked,  the service rep on the phone gave me her direct line, home and cell phone numbers. “From now on, I’m on this personally, if there is a problem, don’t go through the main number,” she said. “I’ll come out there in person if I have to.”

She didn’t: Modem #5 was the magic number, linking me to the cyberworld with green lights blinking. I was so glad it worked, and my personal service rep still emails me once a month to make sure I’m still happy with the modem; she has offered to send a backup just to keep on hand. “We want this to be a customer success story,” she says.  For me, it’s been one all along.

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: In the Dairy Section

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

Ever find a new product you absolutely love, then suddenly you can’t find it anywhere? Sometimes, you CAN find it again, if the right person hears your plea. It happened to me, a longtime yogurt lover, when a company introduced a crop of new flavors.  A favorite prompted me to think about stockpiling as many as I could get, fearing it would vanish. “Oh it’s a regular flavor, not a seasonal one,” the cashier assured me. “It’s here for good.”

Two days later, no pear yogurt. Where’s the pear? I lamented. In three supermarkets, the same result. A fourth didn’t even carry that brand. “Please, is there anyone I can talk to?” I practically shouted.  A sympathetic customer service person listened as I poured out my yogurt tale. “We just don’t get that brand,” he said. “But we COULD, if there’s enough interest in it.”  I wasn’t sure if I’d need 1000 signatures on a petition—could I round up enough pear-yogurt-loving customers?

I didn’t need to. “Since you made the request,” the regional manager emailed me a month later,”I’m happy to advise you” that two area stores in his chain would begin stocking that brand. When I showed up to fill my cart,  I praised everyone in the dairy department. “You’re the lady with the pear yogurt!” said one. Such fame! And such a grateful me: I’ve got 11 containers of pear yogurt right now, and I’m happy to share.

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Dropped Stitch

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

Don’t you love getting a bargain, a real steal of a deal? You feel so smug at your savings. Of course, some bargains come with a hidden cost: the tiny tear in the designer skirt’s hem, the missing part on the treadmill. Then you’re at the mercy of someone who might sympathize. Sympathy is nice, but results are better.

My bargain was a huge bag of pure alpaca yarn, once sinfully expensive but now el cheapo from a store whose doors were closing. My find would make at least two gorgeous projects that I began knitting immediately. And hit a snag.  Every skein of yarn was labeled 110 yards. But clearly every one was well under that. Something had shorted out in the production chain. I emailed the manufacturer without much hope for help. “That yarn is discontinued,” wrote a helpful lady named Diane. “I’ll see if I can find a few skeins. But we stopped making it last year.” So much for my smart bargain.  I’d have to downsize my knitting plans big time.

Until the package arrived.  Inside were 20 skeins of the discontinued.  Another 20 in two other colors.  And a note from Diane: “We were able to find the last of this yarn from two of our vendors,” she wrote. “We hope the enclosed will earn your loyalty.” There was no invoice, no request for any payment. My dubious bargain was a gold mine for me. And for them: that yarn company is still my favorite.

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Cut!

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

We’ve all had them, the hair stylings that are A Mistake. Too short, too teased, too flat, too blond, too 80s.  Oh please, let it start growing out right now, and in the meantime, I’ll wear a hat, a hood, a paper bag! Every one of the Bad Hair Styles comes down to someone wielding scissors who didn’t listen. Or maybe, who didn’t hear the message behind the bland words “Just a trim.” Meaning, “if you take more I’ll look like a fuzzy microphone!”  No stylist would deliberately inflict such pain (I hope!) Imagine my amazement when I encountered the polar opposite with my latest cut.

I’d decided to try a new salon before I ended up trimming my hair  with pinking shears. Armed with magazine photos of Cameron Diaz—hoping her ‘do  would flatter me as it did her—I was about to beg for Not Too Much Off The Sides when both a stylist and the salon manager sat me down and began asking questions, lots of them. When I looked in the mirror an hour later, I beheld the perfect cut, the start of a Very Good Hair Day.  The manager said she’d realized every customer needed to be heard individually. “Half the job of a stylist is to listen,” she said. “And then you ask detailed questions so you get real answers.”  Forget the pictures of Cameron Diaz’s bangs . Be grateful for those who ASK the right questions before trying to deliver to you as an individual. Especially when they’re brandishing sharp instruments!

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Author, Author

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

I have an author friend who is the walking, talking, laughing embodiment of the word “gratitude.” She’s so aware of and humbled by her success, she’s made it her business to demonstrate constant thanks to her readers.  Her books are cleverly plotted and fun to read. Her loyal readership regularly puts her on best-seller lists. She’s become, as they say in publishing, a “brand name.”  And brand name authors can coast, with boatloads of books selling effortlessly. I know of one brand name author who rarely does public appearances, travels with two bodyguards and signs books with only her name, never a personal “To Kathy” or “Happy Birthday Peggy.” And her readers accept this, because after all, she’s a Brand Name Author, and they are mere readers, plunking down plastic or cash for $25 hardcovers every year.

By contrast, my author friend turns her many book signings into standup comedy, Q&A snack sessions. She’ll toss packs of Tastykakes (an East Coast snack favorite) into the crowd, crack jokes about herself and family, and hug everyone within arm’s length. She’s posed for thousands of pictures with eager readers; she’s in more family albums than most in-laws. Why does she give so much? “Because a book isn’t a book till it’s read,” she says. “I can write the best book. But if no one reads it, that doesn’t matter. So I am very, very grateful to the people who read my books, buy my books.  Without them, I don’t have a job.” Does she really need the eternal act of gratefulness? Probably not.  All those readers would still find her work. But she believes gratitude, like a good book, needs to be shared.

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: It’s a Wrap!

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

Ever fill out one of those “how are we serving you” cards in a store or restaurant? Do you wonder if anyone’s paying attention? Actually, someone is, and I found the proof. I’d sent in dozens of them for one local eatery. I wanted them to know how they were serving me! But they were too busy making sandwiches, including one of my favorites,  with  spicy basil, fresh tomatoes, a little mozzarella and some secret sauce. It was even healthy, or so the menu claimed. “Can you wrap that in aluminum foil?” I always asked the preparer, who’d sigh before replacing the flimsy clear plastic with sturdier silver wrapping.

“Why do you do that?” my colleague Mary asked. I said the secret sauce soaked the flatbread and plastic, making a soggy mess before I could take a bite. “If they’d just read my many suggestion cards, they’d know.”  The cashier heard me and said, “You want a manager?” Sure, I said, hoping to get my common-sense suggestion heard at last. The harried manager held up a hand. “I’m listening, but change has to come from corporate,” he said. “I’ll send in your idea.”  I nobly refrained from saying, “Fat Chance.”  Next time I showed up to order my sandwich, the manager saw me, spoke to a server—and before I could speak, the aluminum foil was rattled out and ready. Even if they didn’t adopt my idea for everyone, isn’t it nice to be treated special because they listened?

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Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Above and Beyond

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

This time of year, it’s commonplace to Be Grateful, to Give Thanks.  We’re thankful for family and friends, for life’s little gifts and conveniences. But sometimes, when it comes to services, it really is the bigger stuff that counts, whether the cost is time, money, or both.

For me,  one example stands out.  My elderly cat was spending a lot of time at the vet for a variety of ills. I’d drop him off before work for an entire day of procedures.  My guilt factor was much higher than his discomfort level.  I’d leave work early, racing for the train, then driving like a NASCAR champ from the commuter lot to my vet’s before their 7 p.m. closing. My long commute made the timing dicey. I always let the staff know I was in transit. “PLEASE don’t close before I get there,” I’d beg. But they understood and even if Piper was the last one waiting, the lights were still on for me.

Then the vet’s office changed to “summer hours,” with a 5:30 closing time.  I knew traffic and distance made getting there hopeless.  When I brought Piper in one Wednesday morning, I said sadly, “I’ll have to leave him till tomorrow.”

“No way,” said Sandy  the head technician. “You know we can’t close till you get here.  No matter what time, someone will be stay.” And they did, that night and several others.  Much more than “customer service,” they added true compassion. Sometimes it really IS the big things, filling us with gratitude we can scarcely express.

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