Customer Service is a two-way street

Tom Peters posts on a lesson he learned from former Texas Governor Ann Richards and applied in a particularly stressful situation regarding lost luggage.  He quotes Richards,

"Here's what she said (among many other things): "When you are facing a horrid service situation, which has you fit to kill, take a deep breath and remember, as, say, you approach an employee from the offending company, 'This woman [man] is the only person on earth who, at this moment, can help me—or not.'"

I have been aware for a long time that customer service is a relationship, not a business transaction.  And that the customer has as much an obligation to establish as mutually beneficial a relationship as the sales person does.

Technorati Tags: Tom Peters, customer service, communication, travel

What I want is excellent service. What does the sales person want? To make the sale or complete the service in a manner that doesn't cause them a headache. 

I've seen too many customer service interactions where the customer creates an environment where the salesperson cannot possibly please him.  In this sense, the customer is not always right, and what the customer wants is not always fair.

I had a conversation recently about whether customers should be treated equally without regard to how well or poorly the salesperson is treated. 

Is treating the sales/service person with dignity and respect merely a tactic for getting better service, or is there more to it? 

From my experience, what the customer is attempting to do in fostering a mutually beneficial, collaborative relationship with the sales/service person is to create a predictable environment for future business interactions.  It is more than a selfish, manipulative tactic.  It is a strategy for creating a service environment that is excellent and sustainable.  And the customer service relationship is integral to this.

Now, this certainly holds true for B2B vendor relationships.  But does this hold true for more basic commercial interactions, like the simple interaction of buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks?  It think the responsibility that both sides of a transaction is consistent throughout the business spectrum.  If I choose not to treat a service person well, then, from my perspective, I am accepting responsibility for a less that satisfactory outcome.   

If we look at the customer service relationship as a real relationship, then we'll understand better how to manage those crisis situations like what Tom Peters descibes.

Comments

[dave]

You nailed this one. I have learned this the easy way, I watch my wife handle these situations as compared to my stumbling, bumbling and attempted bulling. Her success rate is a bit (95%) higher than mine.