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Outrageous Customer Service

February 22, 2007

Customers don't expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong. ~Donald Porter

Every once in a while, I run across outrageous customer service, and I am compelled to write about it as it truly personifies what customer service is really about. One such example involved a failed garage door and a firm that went above and beyond the call of duty.

On Christmas Day, I had to go to the drug store to get some medications - why I had to go out on Christmas Day is a whole other story altogether. I walked out to the garage and, as I normally do, hit the button for the automatic garage door opener. The door raised about 8 inches and then stopped. Being the skilled engineer that I am, I quickly evaluated the situation and formulated a suitable solution: I hit the button again. The door then slid back into the fully closed position. Applying further engineering skills, I hit the button no less than 10 times, which yielded - you guessed it - the same result.

I then remembered that if I pulled the cord at the top of the garage door and released the tension, I could physically open the door. Despite the fact that this had worked in power outages countless times before, the door just would not budge this time. It was so heavy that it would have taken a large crane to lift it.

After I had tried everything I could think of to no avail, my brilliant wife (I just had to say that; she reads this column) came out and immediately noticed that one of the large springs above the door was broken. I then realized that I needed some serious help if I was going to get the medications that I needed.

I called Capital City Garage Door as they had done some repair work for us before. Jim, the owner, called me back shortly and told me how to temporarily repair the door by myself. He then made arrangements for someone to come out the next day and permanently fix the door.

With almost any business, it is truly amazing to get a call back on Christmas Day. Such outrageous customer service does not happen all by itself. The concept must be an integral part of the firm that is reinforced on a continuing basis. This example of outrageous customer service is a clear indication of how committed this firm is to each and every customer.

Truly successful firms always attempt to give outrageous customer service. When it is lacking, customers are lost. One firm that we are working with seems to be losing customers right and left for the simple reason that they have become complacent in dealing with their customers. The concept of outrageous customer service is just not an integral part of their culture. They are so busy in other areas that they have forgotten about customer service.

Now go out and make sure that you are making customer service a high priority and are recognizing the importance of each and every customer.

You can do this.