I saw two forms of customer service in the same day.  Just yesterday I was in the middle of two customer service issues, one mine and the other with a dear friend.  I’d bet $5 that some of you have had the exact same experiences with the exact problems.

First Event

My car was not running smoothly. You know the drill. Gears were bumping like they were not talking to each other, weird noises, etc.

What I know about cars and mechanics can be put on the left wing of a medium size mosquito so I always take my car to Joe who owns a small repair shop.  Joe asked what was wrong and I said the car was “missing.”

I left the car and Joe called me two hours stating,

“I’ve driven the car and checked everything. Your transmission needs a computer update and it is still under warranty.” He has already called the dealer and done all the service talk work and verified that the issue was still under warranty.”

I call the service department of the dealer and he gives me an appointment within one hour. Within two hours of dropping the car off the service rep calls and tells me the car is updated and ready. Almost immediately after the phone call I get an email from the service guy with the details of the update and the charges—which are $0.00.

Three things happened that are directly in line with the three issues of America’s Customer Service Disaster.

1. Both parties were warm AND determined to help.
2. Both responded quicker than expected over the phone and used technology CORRECTLY.
3. Their performance insured that I will never go anywhere else for car problems. And, I’ll buy my next car from that same dealer.   Like I told you, the external customer will KNOCK the door down to do business with people that provide exemplary service. Can you imagine the way I could’ve gotten slaughtered on this deal if I went to a blood thirsty service department??? Like the kind you’ve been had by.

Second Event

My buddy has been seeing the same attending physician for 30+ years. The attending physician has gotten a little set in his ways. My buddy, we’ll call him John from now on, was understandably anxious to get the results of a biopsy on his lung.  After all, a spot on your lung can be a pretty not good thing.  He was told the results would be available in four days.  For EIGHT days he struggled to get through the doctors phone system which is essentially a brick wall, designed to keep patients away.  After finally connecting the attendant, better known in doctor’s offices as ‘the gatekeeper’, informed him that they could not find any record of the biopsy — and further quizzed him on where the procedure was done.

Miffed and angered to the extreme he complied as best he could with the questions until he finally hung up.  He is still waiting for the results. In the meantime, on the SAME day, he called and engaged membership with a concierge physician. Expensive, but with the level of service in Healthcare today, well worth it.

Two events

One made me a customer for life. The other one cost the doctor a life customer.