I was engaged to help a team increase their customer responsiveness when I heard this tale which happened soon after I took the assignment. The manager of the customer first contact area decided to close that area for 2 hours to have a 1-hour meeting with staff to discuss ways to improve service. During one meeting another staffer knocked at the conference room door. “Hey, there are a lot of customers waiting for service. Can a few of you come out and help?”
customer service
Unexpected gift delights new customer
There was no signage touting “Free side order for new customers.” Nothing to suggest I’d get a gift.
Are your customers waiting needlessly?
I had to sign some documents at a bank as Board Secretary of Together We Can Change the World. I called the bank officer and arranged to come in the next day. I called her on the appointed day to tell her I’d be there in 20 minutes. When I arrived, I had to wait … Read more
If you have the capability to delight your customers, why wouldn’t you?
Weeks before we arrived, I’d been communicating with the 5-star hotel’s liaison to ensure my group of 10 could get checked in as quickly as possible as we had to leave within 45 minutes of our arrival at the hotel. The last time we stayed there, we loved the accommodations, but check in seemed inordinately slow. We asked that it be expedited, offering to send scans of our passports if that would speed things up. She assured me that we’d all be checked in within 10 minutes of arrival.
When we arrived at the hotel, the process was as snail-like as it had been the previous time. Forty-five minutes later, the last person got her room key. There was no explanation as to why it took so long.
Surprise your customers with a wow experience
Arriving at the Singapore Airport, I saw a man with “Grand Hyatt” on his clipboard. I approached him, asking if they provided a shuttle. He said no, but he could arrange a town car. After confirming the price would be double that of a cab, I told him I’d just grab a taxi. He escorted me to the taxi queue and helped the driver put my luggage into the trunk.
Sewing up customer loyalty
Sometimes an organization empowers their people to go way above and beyond for their customers. We hear about these examples but rarely experience them ourselves.
I’m happy to report I was the recipient of such largess.
Why would you deny your customers comfort?
I was in the second leg of a trip from San Francisco to Singapore via Japan Airlines. Normally, I have no beef with JAL as I find their crews generally friendly and helpful.
After the first leg — an 11-hour flight where an equipment change landed me in a middle seat of three instead of the exit aisle I’d reserved, I was looking forward to my aisle seat on the second flight. It was still not comfortable for the 7-hour flight, but luckily I was in the back where the plane was more sparsely populated.
Good service example from a Bangkok cabbie
Mr. Gui, whose name I learned when he introduced himself upon my entering his taxi, was an unusual cab driver. I have ridden in many cabs around the world and I can say that he was among the top 5 I’ve ever encountered.
Shangri-La Bangkok has thought through the customer experience
You expect 5-star hotels to provide more than basic amenities to their guests. But it is a joy to see how much a hotel’s designers think about the details of customer experience.
Rotary of Bangkok fund-raising seminar
It was thrilling to speak at a special evening fund-raising program at the Bangkok Rotary. Four of our Together We Can Change the World presenters put together 15-minute presentations on our thoughts on becoming leaders in a global workplace. The 150 attendees were generous with their attention and praise. After a networking reception, two of … Read more