"Sorry, I'm too busy right now..."

Back to the Basics of Customer Service, Part 6

By Robert Vaillancourt, CBTE
SBE Chapter 36 Vice-Chairman

The other day I went to lunch with a friend and we began to talk about automobiles and the hassle it was to purchase cars, let alone take your car back to a dealer for service. It was interesting, however, to focus on one area the car dealers have finally begun to address and that is the inconvenience it was for a customer to bring a car in for repairs. Many dealerships now offer their customers rides to work or home simply to eliminate this problem. Would you have thought that one day a car dealer would be willing to drop you off at work; and get this, pick you up the same day after fixing your vehicle? What a concept!

As lunch progressed, it was interesting to note that no matter how many changes were done at one particular dealership to provide special services to their customers, my lunchmate was very dissatisfied with his service. The primary reason for his dissatisfaction was that upon returning to pick up his car that evening, he noted that nothing had been done. He was convinced the only service done to the vehicle was to open the hood. To make matters worse, they wanted to keep his car overnight and try to repair the vehicle within the next day or two because they were "very busy" and it would take a while before they could get to it. Unfortunately, this was the second time this happened to him and he swears that he will never do business with this franchise again.

Ask yourself this question, "Has this ever happened to me?" How did you feel about the experience? You were probably angry. Frustration then set in because you could not complete your task whether it was to get your car serviced or other item repaired.

How does this line sound to you?

"Can't you tell that I'm simply too busy to get to your problem right now?"

What answer would you expect to have with this type of question? Take the short story above and you will have your answer in a heartbeat.

O.K. Mr. Big Cheese, now that you have gone through that whole dissertation, how do you let those individuals know that you are indeed too busy to attend to their needs at the present moment?

The answer is simple: let them know what you are working on and make it known to them that the problem they are submitting to you has just as much importance. If it is possible, give them a time when you can give additional focus to their needs. If you cannot get to their problem right away, at least touch base with them on a regular basis to let them be assured that you haven't forgot them.

You may be pleasantly surprised to find out that the person who is asking for help may try to resolve his or her own problem. When this situation comes up, try to go back to the old 50/50 rule. Remember that one? "100 percent of all repairs could be made successfully if 50 percent of the repair was made to the equipment and the other 50 percent was to assist the client."

Next month we will look at item, number 5 of our top 10 list. "If I wait long enough, maybe they'll forget about the problem."

Until next time, take care and enjoy your day.

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Web site contents ©1999 Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 36 San Diego. For more information, to become a member or a sponsor, or to make suggestions or comments, e-mail sbe36@broadcast.net. Write to P.O. Box 710702, San Diego, California 92171-0702.

Edited by Gary Stigall. Posted 2-Jul-99.