Customer Service: The Sure Path to Making or Breaking You

Good customer service is the single most foundational key to a successful business. You don’t have to look far to see how treating customers has immediate consequence. Several days ago, an incident took to social media like wildfire: a passenger being dragged from his seat on United Airlines to make way for employees who needed a seat to get to their job. (1) Since the video was first posted through social media, one article reported that United Airlines had lost $800 million dollars and shares had dropped a drastic 3.8% within a 48 hour period. (2)

        When properly executed, social media is a powerful revenue source and marketing tool. It can also be a weapon used to slay companies. No longer are customer service experiences limited to a small audience of onlookers. Now the world can know about bad customer service is in a matter of seconds. The damage done to companies by poor customer service experiences can be irreparable. Bad customer service leads to broken businesses and irreparable losses of revenue, even for larger companies like United Airlines.

        On the other hand, excellent customer service is the redeeming feature for every business. Unfortunately, due to its commonality, we have all had bad customer service experiences. However, when was the last time you experienced fantastic customer service? What was your response to it? Did you want more of their service? Did you recommend the company to a friend? The lesson here is: excellent customer service can catch fire just as quickly as an inferior experience.

        Just two weeks ago, I went into surgery and was surprised to see a thank you note in my mailbox yesterday. My first thought was that it was a kind but generic note that the doctors sent out on a weekly basis to recent patients. Then I opened it and found personal signed notes in pen from the caregivers who had assisted me in the hospital. As I set the thank you card on my desk I couldn’t help but say aloud to myself: “That is classy service!”

        Good customer service doesn’t just happen. It requires knowing how to give it and then making the necessary effort. It requires development of a skill set . It doesn’t come just from well crated call scripts or scheduled emails. It comes from harnessing the power of human psychology that put the odds of success in your favor. The power of Griffin Hill that employs human psychology can change and save lives. It changes average customer service experiences into extraordinary, revenue producing, and brag worthy moments.  Now is the time to boost your customer service to incredible new heights.

Sources:

(1)   https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2017/04/11/united-airlines-just-lost-800-million-in-value/22035499/

(2) http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-united-drags-passenger-0411-biz-20170410-story.html