Customer Service: Is It a Service of the Past?

What Does Inconsistent Customer Service Cost a Company in the Age of Social Media?

There was a time when a bad customer-service experience might have been shared with a spouse, a few coworkers, friends, or neighbors.

Today, before a customer even reaches the parking lot, that experience can potentially be shared with hundreds or thousands of people.

A Google review can be posted in minutes. A social-media post can be shared. A video can circulate. A community group can begin discussing an experience. Friends tag friends. Screenshots travel beyond the original audience.

That changes the meaning of customer service.

The person standing across the counter is no longer simply serving one customer. In many ways, that employee is creating a story about the organization.

Day 1 - Part 1 - Sometimes It Isn't the Mistake

Recently, I experienced a customer-service interaction that reminded me how something very small can become something much larger.

I purchased a cinnamon roll and a large drink and asked for the cinnamon roll to be warmed.

The transaction itself should have been unremarkable.

One employee began assisting me. Another employee approached me and asked what I wanted in a manner I perceived as sharp and dismissive. I explained that I had already been asked about my order and was being assisted.

When I received the cinnamon roll, it had been placed directly into a bag. Based on my previous experiences purchasing this type of item, I expected it to be placed in a box so that the icing would remain on the pastry rather than transfer to the inside of the bag.

Mistakes happen. That wasn't really the problem.

The problem was what happened when I asked about it.

Rather than simply helping correct the issue, the employee told me that I could go to the front and have someone put it into a box.

Think about that for a moment.

The difference between a positive and negative customer experience was essentially a box—and the willingness to help.

Leaders ask Yourself and provide your Thoughts as it pertains to your organization.

1. When an employee makes a mistake, does your customer remember the mistake—or how your employee responded when it was brought to their attention?

2. Does your workplace culture empower employees to simply correct a problem, or does it allow a small mistake to become an unnecessarily negative customer experience?