Providing Workarounds

Sometimes it’s the little things that customers appreciate. Here are two events which display some thinking outside box on customer service. These real-life events show how inferior products can be used to achieve superior customer support. When did you last see this in action? And more importantly, what do clients value more, superior product or superior support?

[CASE #1] The office coffee machine was broken. The repairman came in the morning to fix it. It’s one of those fancy types which can make a coffee/expresso/cappuccino at the touch of a button. He wheeled in his equipment, and the first thing he did was to take out a little old Mr. Coffee machine (you know the kind your parents used to have). He started his work by brewing up a pot the old-fashioned way for people to use while he’s working. With Mr. Coffee perking away, he started in with his tools to get the fancy machine repaired. Even though he delivered inferior product to them (Mr. Coffee), he delivered superior customer support.

[CASE #2] A database administrator messed up a report delivery for a large client. The client had been waiting four days for the report to be corrected. The client was frantic for the data. It was a complex issue that the database administrator was not able to resolve, and the customer service person was worried that this delay would put the account in jeopardy. In desperation, the customer service person talked to the DBA and instead sent the client a spreadsheet with the report data straight from the SQL tables in a raw format. It was not very pretty to look at, but it was the data the client needed to get their analysis done. And instead of being angry that a report was broken, the client was thrilled that they had the information they needed to do their work. So again, we see an inferior product used to provide superior support. And instead of losing an account, the company was able to strength the relationship with the client.

Neither solution is ideal. But both work. And in both cases the client is happy with the service. The clients feel like they are getting special treatment when in fact they are getting an inferior product. It is the little things that retain clients. Leaders need to highlight examples like these so that it becomes second nature within their units.