customer service killer Archives - Shep Hyken

I had two experiences back to back that were customer service killers and completely surprised me. Sometimes the people you do (or want to do) business with just don’t get it. They don’t have flexibility or they don’t take an extra step for one reason or another. They are lazy. Laziness is a customer service killer! I was in Las Vegas for a speech and decided to eat a quick dinner at the coffee shop. They had an $11.95 “Prime Rib Special.” Low priced, but it looked good. You received a salad, a nice piece of beef and a potato. Trying to be healthy, I asked if they would give me a vegetable instead of a potato. The hostess seating me said it could not be done. That’s the special. A little disappointed, I accepted her answer. The server came over to take my order. I ordered the special and told him to hold the potato. I was surprised when he asked, “Would you like a vegetable or a different side dish?” I told him what the hostess told me and he said, “She doesn’t know. This is only her second day.” Then, just the very next day, I was flying home. I had a connecting flight along the way. It looked like we were going to get in early enough to the connecting city for me to catch an earlier flight. So, I made my way to the counter to ask the agent about the flight. First, I asked if the flight had seats, and it had plenty of seats. Second, I asked if I could stand by for the earlier flight. (By the way, as a frequent flier, there is no charge to stand by on same-day flights.) The gate agent said that I had too tight of a connection. From past experience, that didn’t seem right, but I accepted it. A few minutes later, the gentleman who I had just interacted with left and a new agent came on duty. She was all smiles, so I decided to ask her about flying standby on the earlier flight. She looked at it and, without hesitating, put me on the list.

Customer Service Killers Examples

I asked two different people the same question, literally just minutes apart, and got the exact opposite answers. Here is why I believe I experienced these two customer service killers. In the restaurant example, it was just easier for the hostess to follow her self-imposed rules. The dinner special was a salad, beef and potato. In her mind, right or wrong, there was no changing. Here’s an important point. She didn’t even think to ask someone else, like a server or a manager. Why? She didn’t want to take the extra step. In the airline example, the first guy just didn’t want to take an extra moment to take care of a passenger. I blame it on either laziness or apathy. He had no idea if I was a “rookie” flier or a seasoned professional with millions of miles. He just didn’t want to take the time to check. The woman that replaced him had the exact opposite attitude. And upon landing in the connecting city, I had already cleared the waiting list and my ticket was waiting for me. I told that gate agent the story of the agent I had encountered earlier that day, and she just shook her head and said she was sorry. Most of the time, people are reasonable, they try hard and they want to take care of their customers. It is a shame how one bad incident can potentially spoil an entire experience and create a negative perception of business. All because someone isn’t willing to take an extra moment or step to take care of a customer. You can call it laziness or apathy – or just call customer service killers. Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

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