What is the best experience you have ever had when it comes to customer service?
This can be either in a store,phone, or web. I would just like to compare apples to oranges to grapes. I am really interested in your great experience.
Technically speaking you should have many more good than bad, although the bad always seem to stick out. So please do share!
Good Answers (23)
Daniel R
Chief Comunications Officer, iCluck (Dan@icluck.com)
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My best time at customer service would be last December, i live in buffalo and as we are famous for our weather, i found out first hand the deadliness of our ice storms. I crashed my car and reaper 4k+ in damages. Now mind you this car was brand new, i thought it would have to be scrapped and i'd be out 22K, I took it to a local firestone, and i have never had customer service like that. They sympathized with my injury, the predicament i was in, and even scoured the entire state to find my parts, with two of them going all the way to syracuse and nyc just to get me parts that day! I was not just impressed but i told them, due to the speedy job done to repair my car, and the fact that they would actually GO all that way on their own to get my parts made me a lifetime customer of that shop.
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To be perfectly honest, my best customer service experience was today, when I discovered a mysterious $73 charge for internet usage with AT&T that I have no recollection of using. I called them, explain the situation calmly, and the rep credited the bill, no questions asked. I was quite surprised, but I've always liked AT&T's customer support. This isn't the first time I've had something credited to my bill, either. But today they were very understanding.
James (Jay) D
AVP CIGNA Reinsurance
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The best customer service experience I had was with Canon. Canon had a pretty widely reported problem (I think with some sensor) that causes the camera to fail. Some months after the problem was first reported (and at many months after the warrantee expired) my camera failed for what, based on the how the failure occured, seemed to be caused by that problem.
We emailed Canon about the problem and received a phone call back. They overnighted us a box to return the camera to them (also overnight). Upon receiving the camera from us, they sent us an email confirming receipt and informed us that we would receive a new camera within 1 to 2 weeks (we may have also received a phone call on this but I cannot recall for certain).
3 days after we received that email, we received a new camera. The time between the camera failing and our receipt of a new camera was about a week. We received updates as to status several times, the people we spoke with were very friendly, and the amount of hassel involved on our part was virtually zero.
The lesson for companies - a customer problem is an opportunity to win a customer for life.
In general a good customer service is one where no question is asked and where they just do what you asked for, with a big smile (good example for this in Europe would be Ikea).
A bad customer service is when you hear that you have to pay because you have a problem (common by telecom companies).
Walking into a pub and being greeted with, "Do you want a pint of Wessex sir?", having been served by the same barman once before in a crowded pub in another town.
The opposite is also true. I hate it when I go up to the bar for the third time in the evening and the same barman asks me what I'd like to drink.
Jesse R
Entrepreneur
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (3), Customer Service (1), Air Travel (1), Mentoring (1), Planning (1)
Vanessa,
My best customers experience has been at Cabela's. I have purchased several items there in the past and if there is ever a problem the staff handles it timely and professionally. As consumers I believe that choice of products offered, professional and knowledgeable sales staff with fair pricing is always going to win out the customer service battle.
Jesse Roberts
Day before Christmas. Best Buy store manager told me every unit they sold of a particular MP3/MP4 player had been returned within a month and not to waste my money.
Conversely Best Buy has given me the worst experience when I exchanged my 360 Elite when it died.
Mary C
Exceptional Workplace Performance Improvement Professional
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I actually had a retail clothing store manager send a letter to my home expressing his thanks for the customer comment card I took the time to write about one of his employees. I was really blown away. The customer service I received that day was one aspect of the stores exceptional service. That in itself would cause me to return. A large retailer with managers that take time out of their day to write to their clients and thank them for recognizing their employees is not something I had ever experienced. Not that it should make any difference but this was a man writing on behalf of his female employee. Do you think I will be a loyal customer? Absolutely!
We were in a restaurant in New Orleans. One of the fanciest. We were all in shorts and T-shirts. the waitors et al wore tuxes and gloves. They seated us very politely and pleasantly. The Service was impeccable. best I have ever had and the tip reflected it.
OK, so here's a "grapes and watermelons" comparison.
The best "watermelon" service experience is when someone completely meets my needs in a friendly and personal manner, making me feel like I am the most important thing they have to do at that moment - whether it is a 10 second or 10 hour interaction.
The best "grape" experience is when something has gone wrong ('cause sometimes, things happen) and the person handling it is, above all, friendly and honest about what happened, and MOST important, apologetic. I hate it when a service agent tries to persuade me that my issue isn't "really" an issue.
Marie-Dolores A
Assistant Comptroller at HCDC
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You. :)
I've had good service elsewhere too, but every time I've had a Linked In issue that I didn't know, you have helped beautifully, and I thank you for it.
MD
ROCHELLE C
Accounting Consultant and Professional
Best Answers in: Professional Networking (1), Software Development (1)
Hi,
It was thru Verizon when I was comparing by phone bills to another
company.
The customer rep was thoughtful and understood where I was coming
from.
I only waited five minutes for a rep to pick up
the phone.
Rochelle
Chuck H
Information Technology and Services Professional
Best Answers in: Computers and Software (3), Government Services (1), Quality Management and Standards (1)
PetSmart was my positive experience. A year after purchasing a large fish tank with a curved front, I broke the curved cover when cleaning it. I went into the PetSmart to see if they could help me, after speaking to an associate he retrieved the manager. The manager said he had no idea how to get a replacement top. Then without hesitation he walked up to one of the new tanks like I purchased, took out the box that had the lid and said, "Your fish need this more than I do, I'll figure out how to get a replacement." He didn't charge me a cent. He didn't ask to see a receipt. I wrote a very appreciative letter to the corporate headquarters and copied him. They were so happy they included me in their 2004 annual report! I'm on page 6, a link is attached. I'm a customer for life.
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Mark N
Operational Integrator
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One of my best customer service experiences immediately followed one of my worst. Maybe they both seem more extreme because of it.
On a mixed purpose trip to Asia last year, we flew from Florida through San Fransisco (then were to fly on to Tokyo). On the FL-CA legs, American airlines, though we were flying first class, absolutely refused to get us to our destination, let alone on time. Delays lead to redirections, which if left to American Airlines, would have put us in San Fransico two days late and in Toyko FIVE DAYS LATE. A direct quote from an America employee when confronted with this atrocity, "That's not our problem, sir."
By making a lot of noise and buying our way onto other flights, we arrived in San Fransisco 15 minutes before our flight to Tokyo departed. When we walked off our American flight we were greeted by a three-person team of people from All Nippon Airways (our connecting flight). Two people escorted us through a lightning fast customs check, past all security lines, and directly to our seats on the ANA plane- all the while being polite and bowing. The third person apparently went to the belly of the American plane, located our luggage, and took it directly to the ANA plane. he then came up top to notify us that our luggage was on the plane. All this happened in less than 15 minutes, and the ANA flight left the gate ahead of schedule. Within 45 minutes, we were in pajamas and robes, eating a custom cooked dinner. (Yes, on an airplane.)
ANA went so far above and beyond expected customer service that we were overwhelmed. They not only took care of us, but made sure that the plane left on time, taking care of the other passengers. And the whole time, they made it look effortless and matter of fact. They saw it as their duty.
Clarification added 11 months ago:
This was a humbling experience. I will always hold it as the holy grail of customer service. I constantly ask myself how I can replicate it in other environments for my customers.
Don't laugh, but my wife has ordered a number of products from QVC over the phone. Not only do they answer within seconds, they are unfailingly helpful and quick. Generally, we have a confirming message in our email inbox within minutes of placing the order. On top of that, they send messages when the product ships and often it arrives well ahead of the promised delivery date.
On the few occasions we have needed to return something there has never been any question with the cost plus shipping cheerfully refunded.
For consistent, world beating customer service, QVC is hard to beat.
The best customer service I have had that comes to mind quickly is in dealing with Jeff Perry at Pritchards Auto Company in Clear Lake. You usually think about car sales and good customer service is not the first thing that comes to mind. Mr. Perry went way above and beyond his call of duty to assist us in our new car purchase. I think we changed our mind about 3 times in the week that we worked with Mr. Perry. Each time he had no problems with it and wanted to make sure we liked what we were purchasing. I mean how unusual is that. In past experience a car salesmen will try to sell you what they have on the lot even it it is not exactly what you want.
Jeff had our car brought in from another one of his lots 45 miles away and stayed late to show it to us. As you can tell I am very pleased by Jeff's customer service and would recomend him and his car dealership to anyone looking at purchaing a new car.
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Free unexpected physical gift just because they appreciated my business
Ajay M
Senior Manager - Branch Head
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Nokia in the year 2007 had recalled about 46 million units of the 'BL-5C' model of mobile phone batteries manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006 by the Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd., Japan due to some reports and consumer complaints with an issue of over-heating of the battery.
In very rare cases, the battery had even exploded while charging due to the the excess heat.
There were no reports of any casualties or damage to humans or property except the mobile phone (where it exploded) and otherwise the problem and damage was just restricted to the battery.
But, despite of having such an extremely low failure rate, Nokia decided to mount a large scale PR exercise and replace all the eligible customers batteries on a 'free-of-cost' basis...
They even introduced the scheme of customers could check online from the Nokia site whether they were eligible for a battery replacement and then if so, were to fill an online form where the battery was dispatched to the customers' registered addresses with a 'postage prepaid' envelope to send the defective/old battery back the Nokia office address.
This scheme / facility was a hit for Nokia and their customers were more than satisfied with the customer service and in the end instead of being a damage control exercise, it turned out to be a marketing and PR campaign for Nokia with even more word-of-mouth publicity being created.
There were of course a few disgruntled customers who felt left out as they weren't eligible to avail a 'free' replacement of their batteries, but then that would be a few dissatisfied customers no matter what ever scheme or gimmick you tried...
But on the whole, since an overwhelming majority were happy in the end, that is more than enough to declare and state the scheme, operation and exercise as a success.
On 7/14/08 5:26 AM, Ajay Merchant added the following clarification:
Another point I forgot to add was that Nokia managed to prevent a mad scramble at their authorised service centre (ASC) network and causing an overload on their staff, by making this exchange scheme / offer available from the customers home/office itself, so this benefited the customers too from having to take time out specially to visit a Nokia ASC and then end up spend hours in a queue.
So, both Nokia and their customers were very happy...
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I had purchased a down comforter set from the Home Shopping Network and request a Flex Payment option where the payment would be broken up into two easy payments. The Total with tax and shipping I believe was around $114.00 and soon after this purchase I went on vacation. Thinking aI had more money than what was actually in my bank account I over drew my account I checked my history and the shopping network took the whole payment not half so I had bank fees and more charges coming. I called their customer service and they said sorry, etc and they would credit back the difference. Well to my surprised they credit back the entire amount of the order and never charged me another dime. They under promised and over delivered. It was their mistake and they took full responsiblity and gave me my order Free. I was very happy.
Some of the best customer service I consistently receive is at Nordstroms. In their store in downtown San Francisco, I make a habit of seeking out the same saleswoman (I think her name is Michelle) in the men's clothing section. She always politely asks me what I'm looking for, goes away for a few minutes to find something suitable, and always comes back not only with more than I was looking for but more than I'd wanted to spend. She tells me "this will look very nice on you" (the magic value proposition!) and I always walk away with what she's picked out for me. I've been buying from her for about 5 years now, knowing that I'm going to be upsold and anticipating what she'll discover for me.
Today I've changed ISPs, having "fired" my previous ISP for extremely unreliable service. The new one has already exceeded expectations. They have an online order tracker that's kept me in the loop as to the status of my order - when to expect hardware delivery, when to expect my broadband line to be switched on, etc. Today they activated my line, ahead of schedule. They've set an expectation for a high quality of service.
These two examples, I think, are down to company policy and management attitude. And to high quality individuals living up to that policy.
As silly and ridiculous as it may sound, I get the best customer service experience each time I walk into my dry cleaner. They greet me with a "Hello, Ms. Donahue" every time. I don't need to give them a ticket, because the minute they see me, they start pulling my clothes in on the belt. They do this with all their customers - and they had my name memorized by my third visit with them - 10 years ago.
I briefly switched to using the dry cleaning service that offered pick up and delivery to my high-rise in Miami and, even though it was more convenient, I quickly switched back after they treated me like I was a pain in the arse after continual problems with getting my dry cleaning back from them.
Clarification added 11 months ago:
By the way, I agree that Nordstrom has cornered the retail market on exceptional customer service. I get a "thank you" card from them each and every time I make a purchase with them - which is quite a bit.
Brian D. M
Training and Education Executive - 15 years experience
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USAA.. There is nothing like them on earth, period. Sure, you may need to dodge a few bullets or be the next of kin to gain access to this military organization, but my experience with them can't be explained. They have customer service down to a science.
Jerry B
Designer that wrangles the dinosaurs in our lives
Best Answers in: Staffing and Recruiting (1)
Two great experiences stand out:
1) When SONY owned the megaplex cinemas on 68th St in Manhattan, as you came out of the movie, there would be an attendant there with a bowl of candies, wishing you a thank you and good night.
2) The gorillapod is a terrific innovation for taking photographs. Think of a the flexibility of a gumbi doll combined with a tripod. I own two of them, of different sizes, having purchased the first one on the day I heard about it, three or four years ago.
Somehow, that first gorillapod broke. I contacted the company. They sent me a new one, free, no questions, no need for return of the old one. These people are committed to quality.
More Answers (1)
Mohammed Hussain K
Senior - Content & Copy Writer / Client Servcing Manager at K WEBMAKER™
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I think it is through phone.
The newly launched mobile banking of Barclays bank called Hello Money is really amazing, and doing big works on finger tips.
