September 2011 Issue

It's Not My Fault

I recently had an experience with an international hotel booking agency online that made my head spin. And while in the end all was well, the calls to get to the end result were breathtaking.

It was one of those “it's not my job” experiences. You know what I mean - one of those customer service moments that leave you tilting your head like a bewildered puppy and wondering what just happened.

I was at the tail end of a 10-hour drive to Tampa with my stepdaughter when my mother called to tell me the hotel we were all staying at did not have my reservation. I laughed, saying I had made it a month ago. “You must be wrong, Mom, let me call the booking company."

And I did. And the nice woman I reached in Asia worked tirelessly to understand why I was calling and where I was checking in. When we were both finally on the same page, she simply told me, “Yes, I see your reservation.” So I explained again that the hotel was not honoring the reservation. She told me again, “Yes, you have a reservation."

I asked her as nicely as possible to hang up the phone and call the hotel to confirm it.

Shortly after, I received a text from the company asking me to call them -there was, in fact, an urgent message regarding my upcoming stay.

I was an hour away from the hotel.

And then came my favorite call. I explained to the next assistant that I was having an issue: my family was awaiting my arrival at the hotel to celebrate my stepdaughter's freshman year in college ... and she would not be able to stay at the hotel. They suggested I could stay elsewhere. I asked them to please get us into the hotel. Again, I was told I could be relocated.

When I explained they should now be paying for the majority of my stay since I had paid in advance for every detail of my reservation, I heard this:

"I did not book the reservation. I am simply trying to help relocate you. I can help you if you help me."

Pardon me?

After an hour or so of calls back and forth as we were trying to shop for college dorm items, I finally threw in the towel and took whatever they offered me.

A half hour later, I changed my mind. And then it happened.

After explaining the events of the day to the next relocation associate, Paige, I heard something new.

"Let me see if I can change your new location and provide you with something that is more similar to what you had in mind when you originally booked your stay."

Wow.

And Paige did it. She restored my faith in the company in question - a company I was ready to boycott after several years of loyal customer status - and provided a great solution without giving away the store.

Does your staff have the customer service skills and ability to make decisions that help keep your loyal customers loyal? How do they handle situations when you aren't around? Do they give away the house? Are they too nervous about making decisions that they stick with scripted replies?

Every time I have a poor customer service experience, it makes me look back to my own business and double-check the pulse of what we do. I ask my staff “What would you do if...” questions. I have friends stop in and create situations that require problem-solving to see which of my staff is flexible enough to bend to the customer's needs without breaking.

Because the most important thing is what the customer will say to the next person they see about my business and about yours.

Cheers!