There was a movie came out back inh the stone ages when I was in high school called "Falling Down." It stared Michael Douglas as a recently laid-off defense contractor who falls off the deep end and cuts a violent vigilante rampage across the city battling gang-bangers, neo-nazis, indifferent shopkeepers, and consumeristic America.
And apparently some minimum-wagers. During his breakdown, he decides to stop by the Whammy Burger for some breakfast, and encounters a slight setback.
You can see the clip below
Anyways, Michael Douglas' character plays off the oft-heard idea that "The Customer is Always Right."
But this brings me to the crux of my post, which is really just a question.
Is good customer service providing the customer what they want, or what is actually best for them?
Take, for example, a situation which happens quite frequently in FedEx Office's across the country.
A customer comes in to the center with a laptop computer, and put it into one of our courtesy boxes to ship FedEx. The box is fairy generic, does not fit the laptop, and there is no additional packaging so the laptop rattles around in the box--but it's free. The customer then wants to ship this package.
This laptop stands a very good chance of being damaged in transit as is, and so I explain to the customer, "I do not recommend shipping this package in this box. I can't guarantee it's integrity through the shipping process. We have a box that's specifically designed for laptop computers. Would you like me to pack it up for you in that box?"
They always ask, "Well, how much is that?"
"$19.99."
They usually say, "Oh, no, that's too much! I'll just ship it like this."
So at this point, I have a couple of options:
And apparently some minimum-wagers. During his breakdown, he decides to stop by the Whammy Burger for some breakfast, and encounters a slight setback.
You can see the clip below
Anyways, Michael Douglas' character plays off the oft-heard idea that "The Customer is Always Right."
But this brings me to the crux of my post, which is really just a question.
Is good customer service providing the customer what they want, or what is actually best for them?
Take, for example, a situation which happens quite frequently in FedEx Office's across the country.
A customer comes in to the center with a laptop computer, and put it into one of our courtesy boxes to ship FedEx. The box is fairy generic, does not fit the laptop, and there is no additional packaging so the laptop rattles around in the box--but it's free. The customer then wants to ship this package.
This laptop stands a very good chance of being damaged in transit as is, and so I explain to the customer, "I do not recommend shipping this package in this box. I can't guarantee it's integrity through the shipping process. We have a box that's specifically designed for laptop computers. Would you like me to pack it up for you in that box?"
They always ask, "Well, how much is that?"
"$19.99."
They usually say, "Oh, no, that's too much! I'll just ship it like this."
So at this point, I have a couple of options:
- I can refuse to accept the package unless the customer repackages it. They'll probably take it to another FedEx center and someone else will probably take it (or they'll take it to UPS or USPS). This does not a happy customer make.
- I can accept the package, and add a comment to the computer which indicates that the customer refused to repackage the parcel after being advised of the risk. If (when!) the package is damaged, the customer would not receive any compensation from FedEx if they file a claim. The customer is likely to be pretty pissed-off.
- I can turn a blind eye and accept the package as-is (no comments added). The customer is happy walking out of the door. If (when!) the package is damaged, the customer will be compensated for the damaged item if they file a claim with FedEx. They may be a little miffed, but they have been fairly compensated.
So, which of these is good customer service, if any?
Is good customer service providing the customer what they want (the customer is always right!) or providing them what is actually best for them?
Talk amongst yourselves...
3 comments:
The goal of good customer service is to turn customers into returning customers in a way that makes money. Perhaps Fedex would do this best by lowering the price for packing something. But as a customer service specialist all you can do is offer the service of packaging and if they refuse to take advantage you did your best.
Being good at customer service does not mean no customer will ever be upset (people are idiots) but it means that they were provided every opportunity to be happy returning guests... but we all know some customers do not want to be happy.
Ooh, that's tricky. If only people were sane and logical! Maybe you could post a sign with percentages of how often a laptop gets damaged with regular packaging so they're not just taking your word for it. Good luck!
FYI this was not inspired by true events. It's a purely hypothetical situation. Although I have been in similar situations, and I know this happens at some FedEx Office somewhere every week.
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