Today is officially Memorial Day and I can’t think of a more fitting way to remember our veterans than that of thanking them for leading the way in true customer service. We often think of their service to their country, but what does that really mean? What is ‘their country’? It is the people of their country – their families and friends and those they didn’t know that lived at the time they served and it is all of those peoples’ descendants. In a sense we are the customers they served! Now that is the ultimate in customer service! We salute you, veterans!
This makes me think that they really understood customer service and customer relationships. Going back to World War II, we know that many of those who served left family businesses or community businesses. Those businesses often served people who lived within a few miles – people who personally knew everyone who worked for that business. They saw each other at the grocery store, the hardware store, and the gas station as well as at church and the restaurant. If someone was dissatisfied with service at one business or another, the whole community knew about it. Talk about satisfied customers!
Perhaps that’s why the saying ‘the customer is always right’ became a mantra in the world of small business. It was the only way to satisfy the customer, retain loyal customers, and advance your business.
Our ancestors would be appalled to think that we now have ‘call centers’ for customer service. And they certainly would not understand the standard recording: “Thank you for calling. We’re sorry, but all lines are currently busy. Your call is important to us. Please hold, and our next available representative will be with you shortly.” To them, someone would personally answer each and every call (which were few and far between) and assist the caller right then.
What if those same ancestors had not answered the call to defend our country and our freedoms immediately – leaving homes and families to serve overseas as long as it took to get the job done? What if they had said, “I’m sorry but I’m busy putting together my life plan/going to college/marrying my sweetheart/helping my dad in his business, but I’ll see what I can do to help out as soon as I’m not so busy.” I hate to think where we would be or how different our lives would be.
Their customer service was immediate and effective. They clearly understood the problem and they acted to effectively solve it as quickly as possible. That is the essence of customer service.
They knew the expectations of their customers and they proved reliable in meeting those expectations. Fixing the problems in the US – or living their lives right now – simply weren’t as important as fixing the problems threatening the US – and their futures. I wonder if seeing customer service in this way would help us focus our corporate attention better. I know it would make our companies customer-centric.
If we thought that having any business next week depended on how we solve our customer’s problems today, would we be more attentive? What would we say differently? How much harder would we try to do the right thing right now?
Did our parents and grandparents see the cost of equipping and sending the soldiers to fight for our freedoms as a cost too great to bear? No, they saw it as a necessary investment. Which says something about how we should see the technology investments we make to support our customer service call centers. If we do not give our agents and managers the right equipment to handle the call volume and find answers quickly, they have a right to be dissatisfied. The right technology improves both efficiency and effectiveness.
The examples our parents and grandparents set for us really deserve our spending the day contemplating. And, yes, they should make us also contemplate how we can re-form our customer service to truly serve our customers which will in turn make our companies stronger for a longer period of time.
