Guest Blogger: A Commitmemt to Great Customer Service

A commitment to great customer service means more then a short hold time–and its one of the biggest keys to creating a great product experience.

Louise Baker, a guest blogger interested in creating more links to her site approached me about writing a blog post so I asked her to discuss companies that impressed her with their approach to customer service.

Here are her thoughts:

5 companies that are committed to good customer service

5: Southwest Airlines

If you’ve ever ridden a Southwest plane, you’ve probably seen firsthand the kind of exceptional customer service their passengers enjoy. Southwest Airline flight attendants are lively, happy people recruited foremost for attitude and enthusiasm, who will just as soon tell a joke or sing a song as bring you your complimentary peanuts (still free in Southwest – unlike the rest of the industry which has started charging for them). They’re also dedicated to keeping your trip as inexpensive as possible, forgoing the usual fees for carry-on luggage in addition to offering some of the lowest flight prices in the industry.

4: HyperFit USA

Hyperfit USA is a fitness center in Ann Arbor, MI with a dedication to keeping its customers satisfied and well-connected to the service they’re paying for. Upon joining the center, new members can fill out forms detailing their health and fitness goals – forms that can be accessed by any of the experts on staff for a personalized, customized workout regime. The gym also believes in staying connected with its clients, offering email services and automated reminders after extended absences. If a customer doesn’t show up for three weeks, they’ll receive an email alert or a personal call from someone at the center willing to give a pep talk. HyperFit believes in keeping you not only healthy, but happy.

3: SimplySoles

SimplySoles operates on an old-fashioned approach to customer service: personal, genuine customer interaction despite the barrier of the internet. At SimplySoles, you can call their customer service number and reach the founder directly. After your order, you’ll receive a personalized, handwritten thank-you note with your name and order referenced directly. It’s little touches like these that keep customers that keep them coming back to SimplySoles.

2: Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s has an impressive boast: they taste every product before they sell it. With premier quality and a dedication to serving every person who walks through its doors, over 50% of customers report their satisfaction with Trader Joe’s products, price, and customer satisfaction.

1: Zappos.com

Established in 1999, Zappos has made a name for itself in not only quality products and afforable prices, but in outstanding customer service. Their warehouses are open 24/7 and they offer free shipping and returns. Shoes can be ordered any time, day or night, and still make next-day delivery. Zappos official policy encourages customers to call about anything, and their call center takes thousands of calls a day. Zappos is the place to shop if you want the security of knowing there are real people propelling the site, people who care.

Louise Baker writes about online degrees for Zen College Life. She has recently also wrote about the best schools online.

Filed under: Customer Relations,Customer Service,Guest Blogger,HyperFit,Louise Baker,SimplySoles,Southwest,Trader Joe's,Uncategorized,Zappos,Zen College Life

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BMW: The Ultimate Exercise in Customer Disservice

UPDATE: In the end, after I made enough noise, BMW came through and paid for the repair.  I am grateful to them and glad that they did the right thing in the end.  But still a bit of a black mark that it took so much work to get some satisfaction.

One of my key marketing rules is “Know Your Brand.”

BMW has always seemed to get this–they understand that they sell more than a car… they sell an experience and a lifestyle.

Maintaining this experience and keeping customers happy helps BMW continue as one of the most successful luxury car companies with one of the best brands.  They continually win brand awards but they also realize the need to always make a strong effort to please customers.

In 2002 the then CEO, Helmut Panke, summed it up when he said. “What I see as our biggest risk is the possibility of complacency. We need to make sure that nobody leans back. We have to remain hungry and to keep up our desire to outperform others.”

That is why I was so shocked when I tried to get a defect fixed on my wife’s 2004 325i.  BMW has refused to take responsibility or pay for the repairs.

Fixing a defect, in warrantee OR out should be one of the easiest customer satisfaction actions BMW performs.

Here is what happened: Intermittently an indicator comes on showing there is something wrong with the rear lights.  I took the car in to the BMW dealer and mentioned this to my service advisor.  I was really surprised when he guessed at the cause before even getting up from his desk.  Upon checking the car, his hunch was confirmed.

Here is the issue as BMW states in their service bulletin: “Minor corrosion at the 8-pin rear lamp connector creates high resistance causing damage to the connector housing.”  In other words, your rear light can melt!

So what makes this a “defect” and not something that should be the responsibility of the owner?  Well, first, the fix is not just to replace a broken or worn out part.  The fix is to actually modify the original configuration.  From BMW’s Service Information Bulletin (SIB 63 03 06) “Correction: Repair the damaged wire(s) and replace damaged connector housing. Install additional ground wires to both left and right rear lamps.” (emphasis added)

Second, this defect seems very common and BMW is well aware of it as evidenced by the service bulletin, the 100s of postings on BMW forums and the numerous filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration–one of which claims there was a fire involved! (Office of Defects Investigation ID Number : 10263031)

I have asked the service manager at my dealer to look into having BMW pay for these repairs but he said they declined.  I also called customer relations, opened a case but was told that they also would not step up to the plate.

We are a loyal two-BMW household who purchases the highest level maintenance packages and always services our car at the dealer (who we love along with our service advisor) so it’s very surprising to see how little BMW will do keep us (and the other owners with the same problem) happy for a problem that is clearly a defect and not a run of the mill maintenance issue.

Filed under: BMW,Customer Relations,Little things matter a lot,Product Defects,Uncategorized,Understand your brand

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