Some thoughts on customer service

Who among us has received great customer service recently? Or not? It seems the more “connected” society becomes, the less personal we treat our interactions. I recently arrived at a restaurant that had been overwhelmed before the big game to the point they had to close the kitchen and turn away business. The servers looked exhausted, the tables were now empty and unclean, and the staff was in full recovery mode. But they invited me in, put a napkin on my table, and brought me something to drink. Unaware of what had happened, I asked for a quick appetizer before heading to the game myself. My server explained the kitchen was closed, and why, but would be back to check on my drink shortly. Upon her return, she brought a plate of nachos and said “compliments of the house”. I was stunned by the wonderful surprise and terrific customer service received under adverse circumstances. As a satisfied customer, I tipped very generously, found the manager to brag on the server, and told everyone I knew of the experience.

Compare that to false promises of gift cards to sign up for service, unpaid rebates for purchasing products, and mangled big bank escrow payouts for property taxes paired with customer service call lines, multiple incorrect call forwards to the “right” department, and lack of follow through from corporations who spend millions to get you in the door only to disappoint with poor products and worse service. Throw in indifferent sales associates and I wonder why we do business with these corporations at all. It must be cheaper to attract new customers with these marketing schemes than to provide quality service to those who have already come in the front door.

All of this reminds me of an old saying- “A Stitch in time saves nine”. A pragmatic statement that dictates by acting early and diligently we can save time, money, and effort in the long run. It seems to me that this old-time proverb still holds true in our modern high-tech, superficial relationship times. If we can satisfy customers already in the door, simply by honoring our word and standing behind our product/service, we can grow our businesses by adding additional customers rather than replacing the ones who have already chosen to patronize our business.

Sometimes the wisest words really do come from our past. As recruiters, we can ensure quality service to our clients by following through, being proactive in communication, and delivering candidates with strong soft skills (in addition to the required hard skills) in the time frame we promised, with a smile, and a timely communication. Even when we are overwhelmed, we can still put that napkin on the table and serve more than expected.