I just got back from the UPS Store where I was attempting to mail back an Amazon package, only to find out that apparently the product I was returning was purchased from someone out of the country. I couldn’t exactly just ship it back.
Apparently I need wait several days and there would be a label sent to my email.
Rose, the owner, gave me the scoop on what would most likely happen, and suggested a few workarounds to the runaround I was going to mostly likely get.
Whew! I thought this was supposed to be easy.
Lately I’ve been experiencing a LOT of frustration trying to get through to billing department of the place that took an MRI of my shoulder, the company that handles the supplies for the sleep apnea machine I don’t use, and even the doctor’s office who tells me I’m number 3 on line and promises that if I don’t want to wait on hold (I don’t) they will call me back when my number comes up, and then doesn’t!
It’s happening SO much now, SO often that my frustration caused me to say aloud in front of the customers in the store, “I can’t stand it anymore! Companies are adding to the stress in my life! I want to do a documentary called “Out of Service!” I want to highlight the amount of frustration companies are causing us by making it so HARD to get service! What’s wrong with these companies?”
You would have thought I was giving away free lotto tickets!
Every person in the store spoke up – five women all started talking about the level of frustration they experience now – on a daily basis – just trying to get life done! Everybody had a story!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an extra 15 – 25 minutes to stay on hold waiting for a customer service agent. Sure, I can put the phone on speaker – while at the same time trying to get meaningful work done – while listening to a message about how valuable my business is to them.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Every survey I read about the health and well-being of people these days tells me how stressed people are.
Is YOUR company adding to the stress in people’s lives? If so, how much?
Has someone at the executive level actually tried to reach customer service on the phone or online to evaluate the level of customer service actually being delivered to customers? Not once but regularly?
When I teach companies how to create “Exquisite Customer CARE” I explain that at every moment of truth – when the customer has the opportunity to make a judgement about the quality of the service you are delivering – you can offer up a moment of mediocrity, a moment of misery or a moment of magic.
Which are you serving up?
Go ahead – pretend to be a customer with a problem and try to get some help – if YOU get frustrated – just imagine how your customers feel.
Don’t be like everyone else. Stand out because your customers can feel how much you CARE!
Pay attention to what matters,
JoAnna
