Moving is an event all its own. It’s not as simple as, “I’m moving. Pack up belongings. Move. Unpack. Settle in and smile.” Moving nowadays involves many more “little issues” that you don’t think about until you actually move. With that said, my recent move proved to be an “experience” all it’s own.
I hired movers for the first time in my life, which despite all the horror stories, ended up being an expensive, but pleasant experience. The physical move lasted only 3 hours! “Great, I thought, I’m almost done!”
Not quite.
I have to get my mail forwarded to my new apartment. I have to call all my credit cards and student loan companies to update my contact information. I have to locate the Chicago office that sells parking permit #62 so I can stop receiving tickets for parking in front of my new apartment. I have to go through everything I own and throw something out. I have to find a new route to work - what trains do I take? Where is the nearest grocery store? Oh no, my old gym is too far to get to now, but I have a contract with them. Can I cancel that? Where is a closer gym? And most importantly, what and where are the take-out restaurants that will deliver dinner to my place almost 5 days a week? My old “menu” of places consisted of a Chinese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a diner, and a Mexican place - all phone numbers that were efficiently programmed into my cell phone. But now, the comfortability of knowing what was where and what I wanted had vanished. I needed to find dinner delivery, and fast!
Luckily, there were take-out/delivery restaurant menus stuck in my mailbox, scattering the floor of the foyer walking up to my apartment, rubber banded to the front doors, and cleverly shoved underneath my windshield wipers. So, I was in luck. i’m not going to go hungry here!
The first place I ordered from was a somewhat higher class Chinese/Sushi restaurant. I was excited - I had never ordered sushi in before. Nice! So, I ordered in for myself and a friend using a credit card, having been told on the phone that delivery time was 45 minutes to an hour. About an hour and a half later, my doorbell rang and I buzzed the delivery guy in, who emphatically apologized for being late, I gave him a gracious tip (thankful that he acknowledged his lateness) - he then went on his way, and I went on mine. The food was delicious! Even though he was late, he apologized. I thought I had found a keeper.
Again, not quite.
The following day, I was viewing my checking account information online, and to my surprise, “Fantastic But Slow Moving Chinese Restaurant” had charged my account twice for dinner! And not even the same amount - one charge was what the meal, with tip, really came out to, and the other amount was $20 more! So, I called them to inquire about this mystery charge and this is how the conversation went:
ME: “Hello, I ordered from your restaurant last night and was just reviewing my credit card information online, and you charged me twice for dinner- at two different prices!”
THEM: “What’s your name?”
ME: “The order was placed under “Niki.”
THEM: “Oh, yeah, I remember you. The girl must have hit the wrong button. It’s not really a charge.”
ME: “Well, then what is it? I have 2 withdrawals in my account from your restaurant and there should only be one.”
THEM: “She just hit the wrong button probably. It’s not really a charge.”
This conversation lasted a little longer, with this man named Frank insisting that this was not a real charge, though the amount ‘charged’ was no longer in my account! He rudely told me the money would be reimbursed in 5 business days, never offered an apology, and hung up.
Five business days later, and no reimbursement. I called back. I asked to speak with the manager. When he got on the phone, he seemed to know who I was after stating my name. “It should be in there tonight,” he said almost like he was annoyed with my call. Never an apology, never a “sorry for the inconvenience” - nothing. And this was the manager I was talking to! I offered up the fact that I was indeed frustrated, that I hadn’t even been offered an apology. I said I know mistakes happen, but in this instance, I can’t believe an apology wasn’t offered. And still none, and he basically hung up on me.
Lucky for them, I was reimbursed the following day. But the moral of this story is this: Good food. Good location. Wait time was longer than expected, but I was still ok. But, POOR customer experience. And they just lost a potentially loyal customer. And there were three simple words that could’ve changed that, “I am SORRY.”
Niki I agree with your conclusions here. In my business we use a shoe as a metaphor for the customer experience as only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. If only organisations large and small were to stand in their customer's shoes and see where it pinches they'd realise just how off the mark their customer experiences are.
Customers may forget what you did, they may forget what you said word for word but they rarely forget how you made them feel.
Posted by: Mark Gregory | February 26, 2007 at 03:35 PM