We can’t do that”.
The above is among my least favorite phrases, right along with, “That’s not our policy,” and “License and registration, please,”
Yet I’m equally not in favor, oddly enough, that the customer is always right. Nor do I recommend adopting the ever-popularized ‘Nordstrom way’ of accommodating every unreasonable request with a shame-faced promise to lose money and do pushups until you’re satisfied.
No, sometimes the customer is plain wrong. That’s because they’re unrealistic, self-centered parrots with a highly-developed sense of entitlement. Perhaps they’re entitled to your competition’s phone number, and possibly a chauffeured ride to the same.
Yet, there are cases of “Can’t do that,” also translated as “Won’t do that” or “Can’t remember if we do that or not, so ‘no’ is easier than finding out.”
Customer Service Horror
Yes, I should be flogged: I’m having an old, needy, deserving car restored. Though I told myself a few years ago I’d never do this again, circumstances have forced this upon me. My wife – who has quoted me on the ‘never’ part – refuses to believe my claims that Google, Obamacare and the Kardashians are somehow involved. I’m having my people look into this.
During a car restoration, a person must buy a quantity of parts that exceed the actual number that it took to build the car in the first place. While expressing my dismay, the parts man says, “It is what it is.”(I noticed this phrase became meaningless when I used it to explain my credit card limit. “It was what it was,” I attempt to tell the dial tone.)
Anyway, we’ve been “under restoration” for 2 years this month. Chuck, my restorer person (unbelievably talented man at ColorWorks in Los Lunas, NM) has been fantastic and – unusual for this trade – very organized. He would order a bunch of parts prior to needing them for his next phase of work. When he reached that phase, he wasn’t waiting around. Very smart.
Well, until we hit this snag.
Once the engine went in, it seemed like a good idea to try and start it, so on went the new out-of-the-box starter. No starting. Some whirring noises then ‘click’, then nothing. It was dead. “I’ll just box it up and return it for another,” Chuck said to our long-time, nearly exclusive parts supplier.
“Well, it’s been over 90 days.” Chuck’s problem-sensing antenna went up.
“What? I can’t return this?” asked Chuck.
“No. We can’t do that. It’s been over 90 days. Nothing can be returned after that,” said the former parts supplier.
When Chuck told me this, I said, “I know something else that will never return: you and me.”
We’ve ordered just over $24,000 of parts from this supplier. And here, with several months of work undone, a $190 defective part is going to become a paperweight, under which the well-worn catalog of this vendor will no longer sit.
Think about this in your business. What $10 roadblocks do your policies put in front of $100 opportunities? Ask that very question at your next staff meeting. Then have ‘em listen to this victory and get inspired…
Customer Service Miracle
Banks are not often known for having great customer service policies. (Though I do secretly miss getting a free toaster with a new account.) SOME banks could even be considered soul-depleting vampires that would put your funeral expenses on revolving credit if they could.
Yet, there are those who have grasped – unlike my parts supplier – that there are occasions where human understanding trumps policy.
Since my kids fled the house, we decided to get a new-to-us-but-quite-used boat. It would be a smaller, more manageable craft that wouldn’t be required to pull up to 18 screaming teenagers tubing. We just needed a cruiser.
I found a good one on eBay, and the owner was kind enough to deliver it. He wasn’t, however, so kind that he didn’t want to get paid, so the bank agreed to have his cashier’s check ready for me to pick up before his nighttime delivery. They did exactly as requested.
Well, it has been rumored that I am forgetful. Wait, what was my point? Oh yeah.
At 6 minutes after 5pm, with the owner en route, I remembered I had no check to give him. In a mild panic, I called my banker who was about to leave. “The teller’s desks are automatically locked at 5. The vault is locked. I can’t create a Cashier’s Check without the floor manager’s signature… who is not here. Give me 10 minutes, I’ll call you back.”
In 5 minutes, he calls. “Come on down here. I think we’ve got this figured out.” I apologized profusely, kicking my own wallet region in the process. “No need to apologize for being human; service is what we do.” (No really, it’s in their name even though they misspelled it: ServisFirst.com)
Sure enough, Richard Bradford (one of the funnier humans alive) and the ever-capable James Hawk smiled as they said, “We’re going to open you a new checking account. I’m going to deposit the unused Cashier’s Check in it. You can use these checks to give the boat owner, as long as he’s willing to accept it.” A quick call to the understanding owner, and all was ok.
It was now 5:45pm, on a Friday, and I’m looking at two guys with drooping ties and smiling faces who just corrected a mistake of my making. It was a rare but understood exception to tell the policy to shut up. After a big round of thanks I asked, “Do I still get the free toaster?”
“That offer ended last night,” Richard laughed.
To say they’ve re-earned my business, thanks, referrals and trust is an understatement.
Tell your policy-makers you’d like to revisit the policy on treating people graciously. It’s a choice really; you can honor the policy, or honor the customer.
Can you name a time of really great or really lousy customer service? What happened? What would you do differently or better as a result?
Adams Hudson
