I was having my coffee with some friends a few days ago trying to relax and without any intend from any side the conversation shifted from various topics to customer care and after sales service. The conversation on the topic ended 1 and a half hour later with all three of us exchanging experiences of how businesses have failed to serve as in a good way when something went wrong or in some cases how well they responded having made a mistake.
One of my friends described to us how his car broke down just after the service coverage expired and how bad he felt when they told him that he had to pay 8,500 euros for a new engine! and the car was just 2 years old!
The company clearly did not have a customer friendly approach to deal with such matters and try to ease and please the customer by doing that little extra step to make him feel the the brand is by his side in any kind of way despite the fact that the coverage expired.
The result was that my friend contacted the head offices abroad bringing the matter to their attention and at the same time used social media to make his story and experience known to all of his friends.
After all the buzz about the issue the company contacted my friend to find a better solution and satisfy him. After a meeting with the company manager they cut the price of replacing the engine to half!! And took their share of responsibility in the matter. Clearly the company didn't loose any money by replacing the engine at a lower price but along the way they lost much more!
Lesson 1: don't wait for things to get bad to act. Take care of your customers and try to satisfy them from day 1
Lesson 2: have a clear policy on your customer service and show you care by taking your share of responsibility. Take the extra step...
Lesson 3: don't ignore the power of social media. People share their experiences every day with everyone. Make sure they share the positive ones
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