I debated on whether to write about this or not, because it is not really what I am about. This forum is not about complaining or blasting. For that reason, I will not reveal the vendor, I am simply looking to inspire you the reader to take pride in ownership of what you do.
Yesterday, I was installing bathroom hardware and finishing the inside of the apartment. A vendor arrived to do installation, so I was working around him as to stay out of the way. I answered a few basic questions so that he could mount his hardware properly and safely. In about an hour, he was done. The last statement (to the tenant) was, ‘you need to notify the homeowner that the wire I installed is against a tree branch and that will eventually pull down the wire if the branch is not removed’.
Now, one would think that it is in the best interest of the installer and the vendor to cut the branch while you were up there installing the wire if there was a significant risk of damage. I suppose that I can see both sides of the argument, maybe this tree was a prize specimen and cutting it improperly would damage it irreparably. It is probably policy not to do such things. However, I was right there, we talked; we could have worked together if it was a problem.
But even more so in the face of decency was the mess that was left. A haphazard hole that was drilled through the wall and all the mess that went with it.
When I think of customer service, I think of proactively anticipating the wants and needs of the customer. I guess that I don’t believe anyone wants to immediately clean up after someone leaves the job site. The tree I can see as a potential gray area, but not the mess.
The problem is customer service is often the spear tip of every business transaction and interaction. Because they are typically entry level or low paying jobs, occupants are often not experienced or qualified to anticipate the needs, think food service. Additionally as sad, managers are usually equally not capable of training, observing and correcting behavior.
In my former line of work, a reasonable customer complaint would drive an assessment of policy and procedure to take corrective action. That might result in change of process or retraining. Typically, that would occur with the employee in private and re-enforced with the group in a general scenario. Too many of those type of re-occurring events attributed to a single individual might eventually lead to termination of employment.
It is unfortunate that this is the kind of result I expect with free installation. I remember one free car stereo installation that shorted out wiring in the dash and eventually led to the car burning down. Another free car stereo installation, I lost my lights for the heating system and broke my cup holder. Maybe a better way would be to pay a $10 retainer that goes to the installer once the job is completed satisfactorily rather than free?
Using the scenario to inspire people to be better, even without a complaint, take a critical look at what you routinely do assess whether it can be done better, faster or cleaner. Use empathy and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If you don’t want to clean up the mess, do you think that they do?
In my experience, there are very few un-avoidable customer service mishaps. I am certainly not perfect, but I have no sympathy or time for excuses or stonewalling. Even the most difficult customers (and wrong) can bring some value to the process and make you better. So the best we can do is continuously self assess and take feedback and correct the service problems.
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