Marriott used to empower their front line staff to solve Guest issues regardless of cost. When I was at Disney I tried this out at the cruise line business unit I managed. We discussed with the team what would be needed and I gave them ownership of giving gifts, discounts and even refunds as long as they felt it was appropriate. Guest ratings and revenue both went up as team members sold more and refunded less. Everybody felt more confident because they also knew that they would be able to solve 99% of challenges without having to call a manager - and this is the most overlooked part. As much as it costs to deal with each unhappy Customer, it costs even more to deal with frustrated team members and a whole load more to hire and onboard new staff. The lesson: give your team the power to make your customers happy!
I rarely participate in the 'rate our service and give us 5 stars' game. I believe it is a broken system. But when I give feedback I try to call the company's attention to the disservice their policies do to their employees who get yelled at every day simply because of self-defeating procedures.
Brilliant take, I can attest to having been a completely satisfied DVD customer and remain a loyal streaming one, customer service is everything. I too had a shipping issue with a dog related item, which caused a rift with a well known retailer, it was not resolved and I've never shopped there again. I spent 45 years in customer facing jobs and took pride in making interactions pleasant and efficient, being kind made my job easier, truly helping others helps yourself right back.
This sounds to me like a fundamental difference in attitude on the part of retailers (or any service to customer industry) which sees the customer as a real person rather than one more number to be tabulated.
Marriott used to empower their front line staff to solve Guest issues regardless of cost. When I was at Disney I tried this out at the cruise line business unit I managed. We discussed with the team what would be needed and I gave them ownership of giving gifts, discounts and even refunds as long as they felt it was appropriate. Guest ratings and revenue both went up as team members sold more and refunded less. Everybody felt more confident because they also knew that they would be able to solve 99% of challenges without having to call a manager - and this is the most overlooked part. As much as it costs to deal with each unhappy Customer, it costs even more to deal with frustrated team members and a whole load more to hire and onboard new staff. The lesson: give your team the power to make your customers happy!
I rarely participate in the 'rate our service and give us 5 stars' game. I believe it is a broken system. But when I give feedback I try to call the company's attention to the disservice their policies do to their employees who get yelled at every day simply because of self-defeating procedures.
Brilliant take, I can attest to having been a completely satisfied DVD customer and remain a loyal streaming one, customer service is everything. I too had a shipping issue with a dog related item, which caused a rift with a well known retailer, it was not resolved and I've never shopped there again. I spent 45 years in customer facing jobs and took pride in making interactions pleasant and efficient, being kind made my job easier, truly helping others helps yourself right back.
This sounds to me like a fundamental difference in attitude on the part of retailers (or any service to customer industry) which sees the customer as a real person rather than one more number to be tabulated.