Tales in (Good) Customer Service

I recently had a friend tell me about the wonderful customer service he had received from Qwest after moving.  This came as a surprise to him, as he was not expecting anything other than outsourced incomprehensible delay tactics.  In his case, he got better support from Qwest than from Speakeasy.  Just a few years back this would have been unthinkable.

I recently decided to upgrade my home DSL connection.  I called and scheduled the upgrade yesterday afternoon.  Everyone I talked with was pleasant and helpful.  I did not feel rushed.  They were good at explaining my options.  When talking about TV package deals and my lack of TV usage, the rep on the phone related a personal story that was quite cute. 

I finished the call with a plan for faster DSL service at a lower monthly cost.  What do I remember?  The personal story from the rep.  I remember that he made the call friendly, unrushed, and inclusive.  This is what customer service should be about.  This is as close to old-fashioned small-town customer service as you can get.

Putting a pleasant approachable face on a company makes a significant difference.  Qwest used to have a monopoly on phone service.  Now with VOIP, I have many choices.  If you have bad customer service, you are suggesting to your customers that they should look elsewhere.  Customer Service is about keeping the customers that you have.