Be There When You Said You Would

So today the plumber was suppose to come by to look at the toilet in our En Suite bathroom.  It works but not well and sometimes you have to flush twice.  He never showed up, never called.  We don’t have his number to call him, as it was arranged through our Landlord.  Who will be getting a call on Monday.  Yet another example of crappy customer service.

I realized I was lecturing on proper customer service, but never proved I knew anything about it.  I do.  My early career, just after University, was in CS.  I worked for Telecom USA Published, who was acquired by McLoed in 1996.  I left there when I moved to California.  They published telephone books and I worked at their customer service desk.   Then, when I moved to California, my first permanent job out there was with Proxim as the tech support Admin and first line tech support.  I worked there for a couple of years before moving on.  So I do know what customer service is and the difference between bad and good customer service. I’m not just talking out my ass!

I still, in some ways, work in customer service.  Our tenants are our customers at NISP and my SMT are my direct customers.  And I give good service.  I may bitch, to my co-workers, even to my bosses, but I always do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.  And that’s the true hallmark of good customer service.  It doesn’t have to mean bending over for the customer or giving in to unreasonable demands, but it does have to mean doing what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it.

Whether that is showing up on time to fix the toilet.  Or getting the papers done for a meeting.

And if you can’t do it, then call, send an email, hell put up smoke signals.  Don’t just leave your customer hanging.

I do not believe the customer is always right, because they aren’t always right.  But they always deserve an explanation of why things didn’t go as planned.  And really, its not too much to ask.

Posted in Belfast, Customer Service, daily.

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