Customer Service, where oh where has it gone?  My co-workers and I had an interesting day last Thursday, traveling down to Dallas.  Halfway through the day, we decided it must be a full moon.  However, whether or not the moon was full, should not be an excuse for poor customer service.

There were many antidotes from that day, but the one that stuck out most was our experience trying to pick up our pre-rented car.

The agent helping us first attempted to add on multiple unnecessary charges.  Forty five minutes later when we finally resolved these additional expenses, we requested the rental agreement reflect the actual time of the transaction, which we were told was impossible to change. When at last, we received the keys to the car; we dragged our luggage across the expansive parking lot, only to find an empty spot. 

You would think the situation couldn't get worse, but actually, this is when the customer service, which was already deplorable, hit rock bottom.  Upon dragging our luggage back to the terminal, we found we had to start the process over again with another agent.  This agent told us the problems we encountered were not caused by her and we should be thankful she was trying to help us! She informed us that it also wasn't the original agent's error as he was just an intern, so overcharging us, not changing the time on the agreement and the fact that there was no car, was whose mistake exactly? 

We then asked why they would have an intern wait on customers without a supervisor, who was clearly not ready.  Her response was "how else do you expect him to learn"?  When we asked for a resolution, perhaps a free day or an upgrade having now spent over an hour trying to pick up a pre-rented car, she refused without even taking the time to check with her supervisor, and when we asked to speak to a manager, she said, he was busy and couldn't help us. 

Okay, you get the picture, and are all probably thinking, as I was, that this would never happen within my organization, but the real question is, are you sure?  I know that it is not easy to take that hard look inside your own company, but it is more difficult not to.  I will never do business with this car rental company again and have already shared this story with multiple people, and as you all know, word of mouth marketing can hurt as much as it can help.  I know mistakes happen, but taking responsibility for those mistakes goes a long way to making a sour situation sweet.

So listen in when you are able to see how your sales staff interacts with customers.  If things are said or done that you don't agree with, take a moment in private to share with them how you might have handled the situation differently.  Always be available when someone asks for the manager, it displays your respect for the customer.  Most importantly instill a sense of ‘ownership' in your employees, so that they feel responsible and committed to the outcome of each and every interaction and never let employees deal with your customers until you are sure that they represent your store as you would.