Just got back from a vacation in Germany, and it’s always interesting to see how the experience is different than in the US. Whether or not it is a fair comparison when one is a tourist is of course valid, but I wasn’t necessary looking at my vacation as a “compare and contrast mission” the differences just reared its ugly head and I could not help but notice.
In the many hotels I checked into(about 7) there was a stark difference from how quickly they processed my from ‘hello’ to room key in hand. In most cases it was 5-10 minutes, including making me give up my contact and credit card information(all of my reservations were done on the internet). In the US, it is 2-3 minutes almost always. In Germany, this experience does not make you feel like a human, more of a transaction frequently.
This is in contrast to the UK, where many service workers don’t care if you are happy or not, you get the feeling of a general ambivalence to you as a customer or as a human. In Germany, I felt that I hadn’t received that ‘customer extra mile service’ I am spoiled with in the US.
On a related subject, general customer service in the US is getting worse. Regulations an dealing with customers seem tighter than ever and customer service ‘works to rule’ when there is a problem-meaning usually you get bumped up to someone else or told ‘no’. If you press on something, you’ll get ambivalence followed by shut down with the words-‘I’m sorry we weren’t able to help you, have a nice day’. Who is the customer and who the supplier?
Rather than focus on the negative too much, I flipped this around and started to look for the opportunity in the scenario. If “two-star” customer service is becoming the standard- can you in your business set yourself apart from the pack by being even more service oriented in business(and being able to market that effectively), and what is the consequence?
In my mind, it could be huge. I believe the one thing my clients value in my services, is that feeling that my services are tailored exactly to their needs, and I am going to solve any problem to both of our satisfaction and not let things fester until they are big issues. If my customers ever wonder if they are the customer, than my business is doomed. Something I have already applied, now I have underlined it.
As usual, there’s opportunity in them hills, make sure you take advantage!