A handwritten postcard from customer service to a customer.

The Only Reason Customer Service Should Exist

By Published On: January 28th, 2018

Is to change peoples’ feelings. Tony Hsieh, one of Zappos’ founders, set out on a mission to position their company as the provider of the best customer experience. They set about making this a reality by ripping up the standard customer service measures that are often used (number of rings before the phone is answered, speed that the matter is dealt with, or how many calls are fielded per hour) and focused on what mattered most, complete customer satisfaction. In Zappos case, this meant “delivering wow!” to the customer. No matter what it took, Zappos customer service team was empowered to resolve the issue to the complete satisfaction of the customer. How was success measured? Simply by monitoring (not just asking) whether the customer would not just continue to buy from them, but also go on to recommend them to their friends. Behaviour trumps intent every time!

The reality is that very few customers set out with an agenda to rip off the company they are dealing with. When they get in contact with customer service they are looking for confirmation that they have been wronged and are now seeking a way to get back that feeling they expected to have but has been lost.

We can’t go back in time and change what happened, but we do have the opportunity to influence how people feel.

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Written by : Mark Rowland

Mark's been working in and interested in all things marketing since 2010.

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