By Jill Kurtz
Online Career Tips Editor
The holidays are also the season of customer service. With an increase in order volumes and stress, the demand for help is sure to be at a peak. As your company develops policies for providing customer service, it’s important to keep in mind that interactions need to be authentic and helpful.
Recently, I was at my favorite grocery store and was not able to find any variety of Tide HE. This has been an on-again, off-again frustrating problem, so I went to the website and used the contact form to send this message:
I shop at the store on Burke Centre Pkwy. Does the store not carry Tide HE any longer? I have always had a problem reliably purchasing Tide HE at this store, and this weekend I was only able to find one small bottle. I wonder if whoever stocks this area is not aware of HE versus regular? I know the labeling is not very obvious. But, people like me with HE washing machines cannot use the regular detergent.
A few days later, I got this uber-friendly but basically irrelevant response, pasted here exactly as received:
Thank you for writing to us regarding a request for your local Safeway store to carry ‘Tide HE’.
Upon receiving your inquiry, we have researched the item, and found our research indicates that though ‘Tide liquid he 2x w/ tod April fresh 72-loads – size: 138FZ’ may not be currently stocked at your store, it is designated as a valid item for stocking. Please speak with a manager about ordering this product back into your store along with the UPC and order number: UPC: 0-37000-87474 – Order #: 36 01753. We will also forward your request to our buyers of Tide products for your store so they know this item has been requested. We apologize if this in any way inconveniences you. We realize how important one-stop shopping is to our customers. Thank you for taking the time to submit your product request. We do track these requests and they are reviewed often to help us determine which items to stock.
First, I wasn’t asking about “Tide liquid he 2x w/ tod April fresh 72-loads – size: 138FZ,” and, second, is it really my responsibility to ask the manager to place an order? I appreciate the raise in my standing from customer to buyer, but that’s not what I was looking for here.
This case illustrates that good customer service goes beyond being responsive. This response doesn’t address my question so it is only slightly more helpful than no response at all. At least I know they got my message.
In another example, I realized that I had failed to change my address when placing an online order. I didn’t catch my mistake until after the package was delivered to my old address.
After several unsuccessful attempts to reach customer service by phone, I was able to connect after a 30-minute wait for an online chat. The agent basically said there was nothing he could do. First, really? Am I the only person to have done this?
And second, he ended the call with a common and always irritating question, “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” To me, that question assumes you have helped me. It’s not always the right way to end a service session. Agents need to adjust their script to match the circumstances of the call.
Be sure not to get lost in the process of customer service. Responding is not enough. Irrelevant communication isn’t helpful; it is just noise. You need to provide service!
Keep the focus on meaningful customer service. Customers will wait a little longer and have more patience if they know you will actually try to help them.
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