Today’s blog is about service - or more specifically lack of service.
Can you afford not to read it? No. It could just be your business I am talking about.
I spent the last 3 days travelling from over 3,000km up the eastern seaboard of Australia to Cairns in the tropical far north of Queensland and it became evident while travelling that lack of service is rife in all business from small owner operated business to large corporations.
Let me give you a few examples…
Situation #1.
I travelled by Qantas and Jetstar over 4 flights and 7 hours of flying. Like most travellers there always are times when flights don’t connect so time is spent hanging around the airport.
Travelling with my husband we decided to grab a bite to eat from Hungry Jacks. There wasn’t a great deal to choose from and we were mindful of the time we had to before we had to board for your flight, so we opted for the “fast” food.
We dutifully stood in the queue waiting to be served, and as we waited we couldn’t help but watch the staff and what was going on. I counted 22 people waiting to be served (the majority a large contingent of Japanese travellers who having waited in the queue stumbled over what to have).
Despite being a time of year when air travel increases dramatically, there were only 3 staff working (2 serving and 1 cooking).
As we waited (and waited), I noticed the cook dragging his heels as he went about his shift. I don’t know what his problem was, but he displayed what I could only say was a complete lack of interest in his duties and carrying them out with any sense of urgency. You know the type… shuffle here, put this that, put that there, shuffle some more.
As I stood in the queue I couldn’t help but notice the lack of team work, and commitment to giving good service.
The 2 girls serving at the counter didn’t smile (maybe because they were obviously short staffed), but even more incredible was the fact that while the 2 girls were as busy as beavers, (and the cook was swanning around doing very little in the middle of all this mayhem), the counter staff had to stop and attend to the fries!
Now I’ve worked in the fast food industry and can appreciate that each person has specific duties which they are responsible for to ensure everything goes smoothly - but - what I couldn’t understand is why the cook couldn’t give a hand to the counter staff and in the spirit of service help the counter staff by looking after the fries.
Are we breeding a culture of “it’s not my job so I’m not responsible, therefore I’m not doing it“.
Was this an isolated case? Not on your life.
Situation #2
Our baggage came out worse for wear after the second leg of our trip. So much so I sought compensation for the replacement of our luggage from Qantas. I have travelled quite a bit over the years, and this is the first incident like this with Qantas airlines. They have a great reputation and are recognised as the safest airline in the world to travel.
I approached baggage services, (thankfully the counter was staffed), and advised (showed) them the damage. Ironically, (on the first leg of the trip) I sat in the plane waiting for departure with a full view of the luggage handlers loading the baggage onto the plane and made a mental note how they treated the luggage (chuck it on mate - she’ll be right!).
The woman at the counter never apologised for the damage (and it was severe enough to warrant replacing the bag), she dutifully observed the damage (at which time another staff member chimed in with the comment they could fix it in 5 minutes if I would care to wait, and added the comment “it’s only a cheap bag - they only cost about $30 odd.) I said “I don’t think so” as I showed him the extent of the damage along with a gaping hole where the zipper has come away from the bag and 2 sides of the bag were crushed.
The whole process of her completing the paperwork took about 10 mins and I was told to present the paperwork to baggage services on our return to Brisbane to collect compensation.
Fast forward 3 days: Purchased new bag to travel back to Brisbane.
We had a 2 hour layover so I went to Baggage Services to claim compensation. I arrived at the desk (no one to be seen but a button to call for service). Staff member arrived after a couple of minutes, and I handed her the paperwork as I told her the story.
Now here’s where it gets really interesting…
Much tapping away at the computer, only to be told the computer said I had already been paid the compensation. I stated that I hadn’t to which she proceeded to bring out clipboard and the duplicate “paperwork” to complete. More tapping away at the computer, then I was told to wait (as she had to retrieve a printout from another room). Back she came but not before other Qantas staff needed access (so with her security swipe card in hand I waited until she had let them in).
Back to paperwork: Much copying of information from the printout she had retrieved to the duplicate paperwork on the clipboard. Print name here. Sign. Take the duplicate paperwork over to “Ticketing”.
“Where’s can I find Ticketing?” I ask. She responds with “over there behind the glass, opposite security check in”. I peer approximately 50mt into the distance and can make out security check-in (must be somewhere near there I think), so with paperwork in hand I venture off into the unknown. No “sorry for the inconvenience”, or “thank-you, have a nice day”. Nothing. No reference to using my name. No “On behalf of Qantas I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused, and I hope this doesn’t deter you from flying with Qantas again”. Nothing.
By this stage my blood was boiling. Not because I was in a hurry (because I wasn’t), I simply couldn’t understand the lack of service along with the paperwork shuffle which had taken up so much time - mine and hers.
I finally find “ticketing’ and within a minute was walking out compensation in hand.
Now I want you to stay with me…
Situation #3
We managed to have some spare time, so we did what all “tourists” do. Went travelling around. Long story short we stopped at a cafe right on the beachfront at Ellis Beach (somewhere between cairns and Port Douglas).
I was getting the gut rumble which speaks “feed me” so stopped for a late breakfast of bacon & eggs.
There wasn’t many customer, so I was served straight away. Order was correct. Payment by EFTPOS.
Would you believe what happened next?
The staff member had no idea how to use the EFTPOS machine! So I (with smile on my face) gave her a quick lesson in how to use the EFTPOS machine. She tears off the receipt and hands it to me. I look. “No.. that copy is for the merchant”. Blank stare. “You are the merchant (the business). I point to writing on the bottom of the docket “Merchant Copy”. She smiles and hands me the other copy and I show her “Customer Copy” written across the bottom of the receipt. I detect a note of gratitude.
By this time a rather dishevelled youth approached. Greasy hair, pierced nose, black jeans held up by protruding hips. And then it hit me. He was the cook!
Gulp!
I was in two minds about cancelling the order but my stomach was protesting and won out.
Bacon & eggs with toast came in record time (along with the thought it was very quick- and we know what that means).
We waited for the coffeea another few minutes while I tucked into the late breakfast.
The waitress (no smile, no greeting) dropped off the coffees, bypassed the table next to us which had to be cleared, and returned to what she was doing.
Now some could argue that I have been in the industry and I am a bit “picky” when it comes to service, but am I really?
I have just shared with you three situations where there was a complete lack of regard for the customer to provide them with good service.
Who’s fault is it? The staff? The business owner? The corporate giant?
Well.. I say all three have to take reposonsibility.
And let’s be honest. The ultimate responsibility to the service a customer recives lays squarely in the hands of the business owner. Lack of training, lack of follow up, poor staff selection, lack of monitoring and lack of procedure.
Did you know statistically, 1 dissatisfied customer will tell 11 others about their experience, and only 4% of dissatisfied customers will complain directly to the establishment. Others just keep quiet.
What does this mean for your business?
Firstly, the volume of dissatisfied customers is much more than what you have on your records. And that means that you need to rethink the implications on your business.
Consider this: If you have a 2% complaint rate on a customer base of 1,000 one would assume that the number of dissatisfied customers is around 20, which is fine, because, after all, you can’t satisfy everyone.
But if the 4% research is to be believed, then this volume is not 20, but 25 times that, or 500 customers! In other words, some 50% of your customers are dissatisfied with you.
Now that’s a pretty disturbing picture.
Secondly, because a large portion of dissatisfied customers do not complain, you are losing out on important feedback. Remember, these are customers who trusted you enough to give you a go and hand over their hard earned money, and many were perhaps even long-term customers or users.
If these ‘trusting devotees’ of your business start deserting it, obviously there is something about the product experience which has changed in a way that these customers find unpalatable. And if you are not being aware of this dissatisfaction, your marketing efforts are a waste of time effort and energy.
What are the fallouts of not being able to address a customer complaint? While a customer may not tell the organisation about his or her dissatisfaction, he or she definitely speaks; and speaks with vehemence.
It has been estimated that while a satisfied customer may speak about their experience to about 10 to 15 people, dissatisfied customers speaks to at least double that number. So the ‘word-of-mouth’ channel starts working against the business, and thanks to the widespread nature of the net, the voice of dissent now spreads much faster and travels farther.
Remember the saying the best form of advertising for your business is “word of mouth advertising”? You better believe it.
You and everyone who works within your business is accountable for giving good customer service.
Tomorrow I will add my comments about what you can do as a business owner to significantly reduce dissatisfied customers and retain customer loyalty.
What’s your take on service today? As always you can leave a comment.
Tags: General by the silent avatar
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