A lot of companies point fingers when something goes wrong. So it’s impressive when a company asks, “Even though it’s not our fault, what can we do to make this situation better?”
“Believe It or Not, Someone’s Listening” discusses Travelocity’s devotion to the entirety of the customer experience and gives this example:
After discovering a pattern of dropped reservations at certain hotels, Travelocity hired a company in India to call the hotels ahead of customer stays to make sure they were prepared for the guests. The company says this has reduced the incidence of dropped reservations in two years to less than 1 percent from as high as 20 percent.
Increasingly, said Ms. Peluso, “We are taking accountability for things we otherwise wouldn’t take accountability for.”
In the end, the customer doesn’t care whose fault it is. They just want the problem fixed. And if it’s not fixed, the entire chain of companies involved suffers. So it’s neat when a company takes responsibility for something that’s normally considered out of scope.
Some other examples: Amazon replaced a stolen package even though it had been delivered to the right apartment building days earlier and signed for by a neighbor. Amazon knows a disgruntled customer is a disgruntled customer, regardless of where the fault actually lies.
This attitude can extend to manufacturing too. Threadless knew customers were dissatisfied with the existing options for blank tees, so it decided to start manufacturing its own.
One more example: Most tech hardware companies buy off the shelf stuff, which means things look and feel the same. Apple discovers new materials and production processes so they can build things no one else can build.
Of course, you can’t take responsibility for everything. Sometimes you’re better off letting a customer go than promising the world (e.g. a web app writing off IE5 people).
But, when done thoughtfully, redefining the scope of what you’re accountable for is a great way to 1) differentiate yourself from competitors and 2) take ownership of more of the customer experience.
Peter Urban
on 05 Jun 08I absolutely agree, if you are the interface to a customer (i.e. offering and OEM product or service) you are the one that is responsible and needs to make sure that the experience is as close to perfect as possible. Everything else is an open door for competition to step in and for customers to step out.
Keith
on 05 Jun 08I don’t know how many times I’ve tried to explain to that companies from telcos, to custom application development shops, to HVAC repair shops. The bottom line is that when a customer calls they expect services, answers, and solutions not buck passing or excuses.
Kyle Pike
on 05 Jun 08I had a similar experience with Phineas X. Jones and a recent purchase from him. Never received it, but the Post Office swore it was delivered. Phineas not only assisted me via email in tracking it down (which we never did), but was kind enough to send the replacement I ordered via UPS instead. It wasn’t his fault, but he went to great lengths to make sure I was satisfied. Oh, and if you are the one who stole it off my porch, enjoy your “Devils Own Day”.
Cormac
on 05 Jun 08Probably doesn’t need saying but – you need good margins for this kind of thing. Trying my damnedest to please one customer who just couldn’t be pleased is what forced me to give up being a freelance coder. If my other projects were more profitable I’d probably have survived but my margins were just too tight
Grant
on 05 Jun 08I totally agree. And without that, I’d argue you’re just a commodity player – even in companies we don’t think of as commodities (i.e. design or consulting)
MattH
on 05 Jun 08That’s great to hear about Travelocity. Ironically I was just thinking the same thing about a vacation condo I booked.
It was all on-line and I wondered if I need to follow up with a phone call . . . even though I got a confirmation email. I was thinking it would be nice if the vacation rental company called me to say “Just wanted to confirm your reservation …”. That would be annoying for them, but I’d be impressed.
JohnR
on 05 Jun 08Back, when I was a server at a high end restaurant. One of the rules was to take the blame, apologize and offer a solution. This resulted in a happy patron and a shot at a better tip.
Steve
on 05 Jun 08Used to work for Expedia Corporate Travel, we figured this out quickly and called for every reservation. A lot of hotels are fulfilled with faxes – as in you book, the system sends a fax to the hotel, someone there checks the fax once a day and enters all the reservations. Faxes get jammed, a couple of pages fall behind the desk, a disgruntled employee just doesn’t enter them, etc.
allan branch
on 05 Jun 08Travelocity can’t be accountable for everything but if they can fix the problem with some legwork, than I would hold them responsible. If you don’t support an older browser, warn the user and ask them to upgrade. You’re not accountable for their old browser but you can warn them with a few lines of code. We just stopped supporting IE6, its like the 300 pound gorilla is off our backs! http://b.lesseverything.com/2008/6/5/no-more-internet-explorer-6-support
Paul Singh
on 05 Jun 08I asked this very question to a customer earlier this week and she was a little surprised but very ecstatic that I’d even asked her this question. In the last 24 hours, she’s blasted emails to all of her personal and professional contacts recommending us.
It never ceases to amaze me how much customers will try to help you if you simply do the right thing.
Peter Cooper
on 05 Jun 08This is meant in a far nicer manner than it appears in dull type on a computer, but.. it’s “whose fault”, not “who’s fault.” Sorry!
Andy Arnold
on 05 Jun 08It’s nice that Travelocity takes the heat when someone else screws up, but I’m not convinced that they will take the heat when they are to blame. Here’s my story http://hamcoder.wordpress.com/2006/09/06/our-experience-with-travelocity/
Tim McQuillin
on 05 Jun 08Thanks for this post. I wrote a similar article a year ago about the mobile industry in Ukraine, where I live. The entire customer experience is what all companies should care about, and if each part of the value chain isn’t pulling it weight with customers, one of them has to take a leadership role in the name of the customer. In the long run, those companies that step up will reap the rewards.
rtb
on 05 Jun 08Does the customer care “whose” fault it is?
Ben Rasmusen
on 05 Jun 08Along these lines I had a great experience with Skitch customer service. After experiencing some trouble with Skitch crashing I tweeted about my frustrations. Within an hour a representative from Skitch emailed me asking if there was anything he could do to help. It was proactive customer service where I didn’t need to contact them, they instead kept their eye out for their product mentions and responded quickly. I posted about this experience in more detail on my blog:
http://benrasmusen.com/2008/04/17/customer-service-done-right-by-skitch/
Cast
on 05 Jun 08I work at Disney and can tell you that we generally have the same attitude. Usually, if there’s a problem, we don’t care why or who.. just that the Guest is happy. We’re taught that if a kid drops an ice-cream, get them a new one before anyone even thinks to ask.. and grab another for the parent as well. This is why Disney is such a success at Guest Relations, it’s your fault that you dropped your food, but we’ll usually still replace it to make sure you have a good time.
VK
on 05 Jun 08I also agree and applaud companies that understand how important basic customer service is. Most customers don’t want the world, they just want whatever they paid for to work like it should.
As an anecdote of a company that is known for poor customer service and is paying for it with lost customers and lost profits, I can share my dealings with Comcast. They never issued a bill for a month. When I called the billing department, the useless person on the other end stupidly claimed it was an website issue and told me to call back and put in a ticket for a website problem. Naturally, I was so pissed off that I had to get into a debate about how wrong she was. When will companies learn to take responsibility and take the burden off of the consumer? If you burden someone who is paying for your product, they won’t be paying for long.
Johnson
on 05 Jun 08@Cormac, “Probably doesn’t need saying but – you need good margins for this kind of thing. “
I disagree. As was pointed out, the boost to your sales will more than make up any lost business from any particular sale. Many low margin businesses have figured this out and have succeeded amazingly. Newegg isn’t a large margin business and from the beginning, they understood the power of customer service. 1-800-Contacts is another business that understands that. As an anecdote, I placed an order with 1-800-Contacts but didn’t receive it in a timely manner. After I informed them that I haven’t received it yet, they shipped out a replacement order with free 2-day shipping and included paid return postage in case my original order ever showed up. (It did, and by the condition of the box, it looks like the shipper lost it for a week or so). I happily shipped back my original order and made sure that friends and family knew my recommendations if they had a similar purchase to make. It was already said above, but in as much as a complaining customer can cost you a lot of business, an unexpectedly pleased customer can also lead to gained business.
Joel Haasnoot
on 05 Jun 08I must say, it does make you feel that much better as consumer when something happens and the company responds in a great way. I had an Amazon package that got delivered but in a terrible state, it looked like someone had dropped something really heavy on one side, damaging the book inside. Within 24 hours I had a new package, by express shipping (the original package had the standard shipping) on the way. Another example is the time when I bought a computer in parts: I cut open the box at the top and when I moved the box the bottom fell out: someone hadn’t taped it shut. The harddrive was broken, and after a phonecall I got a new harddrive.
David Greiman
on 05 Jun 08Couldn’t agree more with this article! Many times I’ve had businesses blame their suppliers or other external entities for their problems. My point was that they chose their suppliers so they should be held responsible in part. Many times all I want is for a business to show me that they are working on addressing the problem. An apology, a phone call to let me know what is going on, an email, etc. would all help with customer service instead of pointing fingers elsewhere.
Freddy
on 05 Jun 08Not to be Captain Bringdown, but I could see a legal issue here: your admirable assistance could be a liability. “Why did you offer to help rectify the situation if you weren’t originally at fault?”
Shaze
on 05 Jun 08Listen, I know we all want a job at this place, but stop kissing his ass!
I don’t know why I even both to read the comments, maybe hoping to read someone in disagreement, or offering a contrasting opinion. I read this Blog to remind myself that one day if I’m smart enough, I won’t always be working for a company full of yes-men and neverending management.
If you don’t have anything valuable to add, or are just adding a comment/story in agreement; please do me a favor and move on.
Shaze
on 05 Jun 08Freddy: “Why did you offer to help rectify the situation if you weren’t originally at fault?”
Because the benefits of being right, often outweigh the consequences of being wrong.
Jordan Dobson
on 06 Jun 08I completely agree and I strive for the same type support with our product Glue. Many times the support I provide is hardly related to Glue but, its great because it gives me a chance to add value to Glue outside of the project itself. Sometimes problems are good, especially when they aren’t your problem.
It’s really rewarding the type of feedback or response you get from helping people with problems like these. The Allen Walker Design site has great example of the type of responses you can receive from going just a little bit out of your way to make things go smoothly.
Jordan Robert Dobson
on 06 Jun 08I would also like to thank the whole team at 37signals to really hitting home the idea of great customer service. I’ve taken their advice and suggestions and it’s really paid off and it’s great for word of mouth advertising.
Good customer service is the one thing we can easily do to really help us stand out. How can you deny getting responses like
BOOYAH!
Andreas
on 06 Jun 08I agree. Sometimes the competitive advantage it’s the little things you do that differentiate you from the competition.
Sagewah
on 06 Jun 08Not to mention – dealing with other vendors you have no control over can be a pain in the arse. If something goes wrong for one of my clients, I’d far rather be able to jump in and fix it, as opposed to having to find out who is responsible, then find their contact details, then call them, then arrange for the client to verify I’m acting on their behalf, then submit a request, the explain the request, and on and on, all the while trying to find a workaround until the other vendor gets their act together. And you’re quite right, the client doesn’t care who is actually at fault: I’m the face of that part of their operation, so I’m the guy who cops the flack. Which is fair enough if I mess up (and it happens, I’m not perfect), but it is incredibly painful when it is someone else’s problem and all I can do is wear it.
Been a long week, didn’t mean for that to turn into a rant…
Sometimes, the only way to make sure a job is done right is to do it yourself.
Anthony Kuhn
on 06 Jun 08There is no substitute for good customer service AND if there isn’t any, be sure people will find out in a hurry!
Paul
on 10 Jun 08Yes. “the customer doesn’t care whose fault it is. They just want the problem fixed.” This is the truth in biz, if the problem is not fixed, then the whole issue get escalated. And this is often unnecessary.
I would think that the problem must be fixed, along the way feel free to be innovative, you never know what you are going to get.
Shawn Devlin
on 11 Jun 08This is one of the great arguments against outsourcing out of the country. A large customer service concern here in the U.S.
If you do outsource, you’d best be prepared to stand behind their work as well as your own.
This discussion is closed.