I am a big fan of superior customer service. I’ve written about it frequently (both the good and the bad). In fact I usually: 1) tend to over-tip when I get great service; and 2) have made “superior customer service” the mantra of our real estate brokerage.
Last week I flew US Airways from Phoenix to San Francisco. The flight was a disaster, from delays to partial boarding to de-boarding and finally to the cancellation of the flight.
Now flight cancellations are no ones idea of fun. Everyone wants to get where they are going, and some of course have connecting flights. It was how the gate agents handled the re-booking of flights that made for a demonstration in how not to make your customers happy.
I love to watch how both employees and customers react in these types of situations. In their defense, the airline is in almost a no-win situation. Ultimately, they aren’t going to please anyone. But there are ways they could have minimized the damage.
Here are a few things I heard:
When asked if the airline was going to compensate travelers for extra ground transportation, a gate attendant responded, “Nope, it’s not our fault. You’re on your own.”
That comes across rude and crass. Why not try, “I’m sorry sir, this is beyond our control and we won’t be providing any compensation. I understand this is frustrating, and I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
Same bottom line, and while they won’t like it, most will accept it and be more understanding.
Want to take the next step? Add this to the above — “We’ve got some information here about the trains and rapid transit systems in the Bay area that can minimize the impact of this change for you”.
One passenger pointed out that they had used their frequent flyer miles to upgrade to first class. He was none-to-pleased when he found out he’d now be in a middle seat in coach.
He asked the attendant how he could get the miles he used credited to his account. The response? “I don’t know. You can try calling.”
A more appropriate, customer-centric response would be, “I’m not sure, but I’ll find out” — and pick up the phone and find out. The guy should have walked away from the counter not only with his credited miles, but additional miles for his trouble.
How does this relate to real estate?
There are many things in a real estate transaction that are out of the direct control of the agent. It’s easy to say, “It’s not my fault” and “there’s nothing I can do”.
There is always something you can do. Even if it is just educating and informing the client about what is happening. Remember that most people only buy and sell a few houses in their lifetime. Not knowing, or not understanding, what is going on is extremely stressful to people. Reduce that stress, help the client understand.
You may also be surprised just how much you really can do. Appraisal comes in low? Don’t just accept that and say, “It’s the appraisers fault, nothing I can do.” Pick up the phone and call the appraiser. Get an idea where they are coming from. Ask them if you can provide additional comps, or convince them the trashed out REO they are using isn’t appropriate.
As an agent, you basically have to assume every transaction will fall apart and put plans and processes in place to prevent that before it happens. Yes, no matter what you do, some deals will go south. Adopt a proactive customer service approach however, and you may find you can pull many things together, or minimize the negative consequences and keep your clients in their happy place.
Photo Credit: jm3
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Great piece! Simple customer service goes along way in this business and it is what keeps our clients coming back years later!
It applies to real estate in another way…when a buyer asks you for more information and clicks on a button for a showing request, you respond as quickly as possible. Most consumers want a response in less than 30 minutes. I read one study that says that 45% of all online real estate are never responded too. If you are generating buyers and sellers online as future clients, take the time to roll out the red carpet for them.
“Nope, it’s not our fault. You’re on your own.” Jay – that is th ekind of person who put the cus in customer service!
I’m simmering on a post about our personal airline (tsa) experience flying home from Connect as well…I’m taking your advice from the conference and waiting until I cool off…so far it’s been just over 24 hours of cooling down.
Your advice is solid. It’s too easy to say “nmf” and it’s all in how you convey any message that will make a huge difference when working with fellow human beings.
Hi Jay -
There was a time where the customer was always right…
I used to work in the hotel industry and my general manager would always get incensed about hearing customer complaints that mushroomed into a huge cloud of comped meals, rooms, vacations that could have been solved earlier with basic customer service.
I over tip when services are above the norm and don’t tip at all when I’ve been slighted. Airlines should recognize (as well as any business) that in a downturn of economy, there is a fight for any business, no matter how small. Excellent customer service will return with higher revenues in spite of recessionary trends.
Unfortunately there are real estate agents that have yet to recognize this aspect as well and think we are still in 2005…
Let me write from the other side. While empathy goes a long way and choice of words help, you can not compare a real estate transaction to irregular operations at an airport. In real estate you are one on one with maybe one or two people. Irregular operations at an airport (as some of you know I work part time for Continental Airlines.) is a nightmare for employees and passengers alike. I work in baggage service and if your bag is not there you come and see me. Normally I just have one or two upset people in front of me and I can handle all their questions and most of the time having them laughing when they leave the office.
During irregular operations it is a different story. People are already angry rather it be the airlines fault or not (ie weather). On Monday we had irregular operations and some of the passengers opted to stay. Keep in mind the bags are already loaded on the airplane and its 106 degrees probably even higher out on the tarmac. The people wanted their bags pulled. They came down to baggage to wait and the ramp had to find those bags in the belly of the airplane. Well as time went on and the bags trickled over the people were getting more and more angry. My team mate and I did all we could calling the ramp, calling operations, calling supervisors. We had no more answers for them. We never lost our tempers and we tried as hard as we could. Well one passenger lost his cool totally and started banging on the counters. We tried to calm him but we still had other planes coming inbound that we had to take care of. We kept talking to him but doing our jobs to the best of our ability. All of a sudden he came around the counter picked up my keyboard and hit me in the arm with it. He would not go back out and kept saying we were shut down until his bag came up. My team mate had to go out to the claim to get the bags of an in bound off so they didn’t get stolen. When she left he backed me into the corner shoving at this point I radioed that I needed the police called. My partner came back in ( I had moved to the other side of the counter) Donna came in and answered the phone, he grabbed her by the arm and hit her in the mouth with the phone. The police came and took him away. Donna and I both have bruises but I guess it could have been worse. While I understand peoples frustrations most airline employee’s work very hard. I am sorry if you have had a rude one
Chris – I hope you and/or the airline press charges against that guy! How awful. Thanks for providing your “insider” insight.