DMSRetail

Over and Over and Again and Again!
How? Good, Old Fashioned Commitment to Customer Service.

During the busy season, with so many people buying many more items from you than they normally would, it might be understandable that a few things fall through the cracks.

Maybe a customer – here and there – weren’t properly looked after and maybe things weren’t as perfect as they are meant to be.

Certainly, we don’t want those things to happen but they’re a little more palatable when volume is quadrupled and things get a little crazy.

It’s human nature to have a little more understanding for relatively minor things that go wrong at times like that.

However, the story I’m going to tell you proves that even under the most strained circumstances, Amazon wowed this customer, for sure.

Here’s the story…

Early in December, I placed an order for three items that I planned to give to people as Christmas gifts on December 25th.

As time passed, I tracked it a couple of times with the link Amazon had provided to me.

The package seemed to be following the usual path.

Eventually, though, the tracking message said ‘delivered’. The only problem was, it had not arrived.

I called the carrier and they said the package had been delivered to my front door. Hmmm…

After checking with my family members and my neighbors on each side, I determined it was probably stolen.

It wasn’t Amazon’s fault, nor mine.

Either way, it wasn’t good news because, by this time, it was late on Thursday, December 20th.

I opened a chat conversation with a very efficient and, clearly, effective Amazon Customer Service Rep.

Within a few moments, after the usual inquiries regarding order number and address verification, she asked if I would like a refund or a replacement.

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I asked her if she thought it possible that I might receive a replacement before Tuesday, December 25th.

She advised me that, while it could not be guaranteed at that late date, she would make sure the package was shipped the fastest way possible, at no expense to me.

I should add that my original order had been free of shipping charges as I chose the slower method…owing to the fact that I had plenty of time.

Anyway…

I thanked her very much and crossed my fingers.

Even though she had no proof, whatsoever, that I had not received the package, she was sending another order out right away.

She wasn’t condescending. She didn’t make me feel like I was a problem.

She did not charge me for the faster shipping method.

She did not make me wait while she checked with someone to see what could be done.

This very competent person did what she had been trained to do.

So, what happened…

In the wee early hours of Friday, December 21st I got an email saying my package had been shipped and the expected delivery date was Monday, December 24th.

I was cautiously optimistic and hopeful.

On Saturday, December 22nd the package arrived on my doorstep.

Classic…under promised and over delivered.

Providing great service when you’re making a sale is easy.

Providing incredible service when the customer has a problem, a tight deadline and all kinds of anxiety over the situation…amazing.

So, what’s the take away from this?

If a retail juggernaut like Amazon is nimble enough to jump through hoops to look after a customer…just one in a bazillion, to correct something that had gone wrong through no fault of theirs, there is clearly a thread running through the organization that keeps everyone on the same page.

A very strong thread, I would say.

This quality of service simply does not happen unless the entire company is on board.

How do you keep everyone on board and on the same page?

Well, top-notch management who communicate well, and often, and who define and live the culture are the starting point.

After that, training is paramount.

Everyone in the organization must be exposed to the commitment culture.

Everyone in the organization has to not only hear but understand what the expectations are and they must believe that their contribution to the whole is extremely important…that without their participation and contribution, the organization cannot do it’s best to Wow!.

Studies show that the majority of employees cannot articulate their company’s goals – either because they do not know them or because they are not clear and have never been reinforced.

They also do not know or do not understand, how their position – and their performance in that position – affects the organization as a whole, and whether they have any impact on the achievement of the company’s goals.

You will always have some great service stories; some outstanding individuals, if you’re fortunate.

But you need consistency of understanding, approach to business and execution of whatever it takes to reach objectives by all employees in the company if you are to reach and maintain any standing in the world of retail, regardless of the grandness of your goals.

Do you have some amazing stories…good or bad?

We’d love to hear about them. Send an email to johillatdmsretail.com.