This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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Harry Joiner repeats an old joke that, unfortunately, contains more than a seed of truth. In the joke, a man chooses to spend eternity in hell rather than heaven because Satan did such a fantastic job of selling the "hell experience." Naturally, the situation ends badly for the guy:
"Immediately, Satan’s sales rep reappears and escorts the guy to
hell, where he’s shackled to a stone wall. ‘Here’s your new home!’ the
man is told. ‘But wait! You can’t do this!" the guy yells. ‘I was here
just yesterday, and everyone was having a wonderful time. What’s going
on?’"Satan’s sales rep says: ‘Yesterday you were a prospect …
"’Today you’re a customer!’"
More often than not, the customer service function is disconnected from the sales and marketing function of winning customers. And I’m not here to beat up on customer service people. Their job isn’t easy. After all, most of the people they talk to are complaining about something, and when you work in that kind of environment day-in and day-out, it’s easy to develop a defensive posture.
However, I am here to beat up on the concept of customer service. It’s an outdated concept that’s rooted in the notion that customer service is about solving customer problems. While it’s true that solving the problem is part of the formula, the larger context to consider is the customer’s experience. I can get my problem solved, yet still have a terrible experience.
As an example, I went to a restaurant with my daughter yesterday. Olive Garden. Normally a pleasant experience. Good food. Relatively low price. Pleasant atmosphere. Service above average (usually). This day, however, not the case. From the get-go, the waitress was surly. Direct. Abrupt even. Bordering on rude.
She brought the initial appetizers, but forgot the bread sticks and grated cheese (problem). After I realized she forgot them, I asked nicely if she could bring them. Really. I was very nice. She brought them and offered some bullshit excuse for why she forgot them. In a surly tone, no less. Did I wait 45 minutes for a table just for this (it was a busy day)? Problem solved. Experience sucked.
Fortunately for Olive Garden, I’ve had enough pleasant experiences with them, and I’m willing to overlook this bad one. It was a very busy day after all. But what about the next time? Every experience your customer has becomes part of the brand (the customer’s gut feeling about you).
Forget customer service. Think experiential marketing.