thoughts on customer service

Customer service is one of those issues that you don't think a lot about...maybe when you have great service somewhere and especially when you have bad service...but I've been noticing different calibers of customer service around me and sometimes I just really wonder what makes the difference.

True confession: I take our van to the local dealer for oil changes. I actually have two good reasons: the first is that if there are any issues with the van, recalls, warranty covered problems, they fix it right there and generally they catch it before I have to bring it to their attention; the second is that they have great customer service. I am sure they do charge more than the budget oil change across the street (although my last oil change was $28.95 at the dealer and Andy's was $45 across the street), but the service people are consistently friendly and really take time to talk with me about everything going on with the car. I know I'm not the only one who likes them--as I was pulling out the other day, I saw a Kia being driven into the service bay (it's a Nissan dealer). Would I buy a car from this dealer? Probably not. In fact, after a bad sales experience when we were shopping for the van, I bought our van at a Nissan dealer about an hour up the road, just to deal with friendlier people. Why are the service people fantastic and the sales people... pushy? Never mind, I think I just answered my own question.

When we were out in Pasadena last year, we could pick from two large, more or less run of the mill, grocery stores--Ralph's and Vons. One (Store A) was quite close to our apartment and the other (Store B) required a 5-10 minute drive. I won't tell you which one is which, but after the first visit to each one, I never went back to Store A unless it was an emergency trip. The employees were lackluster, hard to work with, and almost unfriendly. At Store B, if I stopped in an aisle for more than two minutes, an employee would inevitably stop and ask me if they could help me find anything. I had Larry, the friendly meat guy, who always took time to talk meat with me. (I miss Larry!) The cashiers were friendly and engaging, and if I ever needed help finding anything, any employee would cheerfully drop what they were doing and help me look.

It wasn't just me, either. A friend was at store A the day before her son's birthday and wanted to order a cake. She waited for ten minutes at the bakery counter for help and was ignored. She gave up and decided that she would go home and call Store B to order a cake. Well, she forgot. She got up on Saturday morning and panicked, wondering what she would do about a cake. Called the bakery at Store B as soon as they opened and begged for whatever they had for a cake. The employee cheerfully asked her what kind of cake she wanted, how she wanted it decorated, the works--all at the last minute.

I'm reasonably certain that different grocery stores probably pay their employees about the same amount. So I am a little boggled that one store could be so unpleasant, while a near neighbor is fantastic.

It comes up again and again. We just took the kids to Orlando for a mini vacation and although the hotel we stayed at was better than decent, it wasn't exciting enough to guarantee that I would want to come back on its own merits. However, the customer service was shining, and that would make me want to go back. It makes me feel welcome. That's why I kept going back to Store B, and that's why I keep going back to the local dealer. I value the service with a smile more than I value cheap labor.

I don't know, just something I was thinking about lately.