Of my many quirks, one that I actually enjoy is my unceasing study of customer service.  I love to observe customer service interactions and I’ve made it a habit to try and figure out why the good ones are good and the bad ones so miserable.

I’ve noticed a distinct upturn in attempts to improve customer service from organizations that have conditioned us not to expect it.  A thin silver lining in a struggling economy.

My unscientific but well considered conclusion is that you can learn all you need to know about a manager and a management team by how his/her associates serve customers.

Good customer service flows from people that genuinely enjoy their jobs and respect their organizations and the people that they work for every day. The respect and the concern for customers is palpable in these environments.

I credit the leadership for hiring and training properly, for establishing and reinforcing values and for understanding that every point of contact with a customer leaves an impression.

Lousy customer service is reflective of pent up anger, unhappy workers and a distinct lack of regard for the organization and the people in charge. The management is to blame for these conditions, and in my opinion, should be summarily fired and horsewhipped, perhaps not in that order.  In lieu of corporal punishment, perhaps some time in jail would help them reflect upon the misery that they’ve inflicted on countless well-intentioned but unwitting victims.

OK, enough with my unpopular suggestions for curing bad customer service.  Here are some good and not so good examples. You be the judge.

Case 1: The Hardware Store

A few months ago I had a fairly long list of items to procure for a home improvement project.  I shop at the local Ace versus the Big Box because people actually answer questions and don’t run in the opposite direction when they see you approaching with the dazed and lost look in your eyes.  The Ace is a bit pricier, but it is worth it.

It happened to be an off time and business was slow.  The helpful clerk took one look at my long list, grabbed a cart and said, “Let’s go shopping.”  He took me from item to item, offering helpful and even money-saving suggestions and filling my cart. I followed dutifully, a bit confused.  Bet that never happens at the Big Box.

Case 2:  The Hardware Store Again

Another quirk…I like holiday lighting.  I happen to invest a hefty amount in this hobby every year to satisfy my inner Clark Griswold, and this same Ace had always carried the industrial-grade, multi-color lights with just the right color spectrum.  No pink and yellow, just amber, red and green.  As I scouted the aisle looking in the usual places, the lights were nowhere to be found.  I approached the new young manager and received a curt, eyes averted, “we don’t carry those anymore,” answer.  He added insult to injury by turning around and heading the other way.  I had been dismissed!

There are many number of ways to deliver less than ideal news,but this wasn’t one of them. A better approach is to show concern, attempt to see where I could procure the 30 sets of these insanely pricey lights or at least be apologetic and empathetic.  The curt response with eyes averted and the quick turn and run tactic at the Ace where clerks had personally shopped for me was disagreeable at best.

After stewing for a few minutes, I re-approached this manager and proceeded to provide a polite, quiet and fairly lengthy round of constructive feedback.  Yep, he received a nice, no-fee lecture on customer service.  I’ve seen him since, and he always comes up and says hello and offers his help.  I hope that he is doing that for everyone.

Case 3: The Power of Making Eye Contact and SMILING:

Another pet peeve in customer service is any customer service representative that fails to look you in the eyes and smile. Start observing this yourself.  The next time you approach the cashier at the grocery store or elsewhere, judge his or her performance like you are Simon on American Idol.

A good smile is priceless and changes the nature of the transaction.  The lack of contact and consideration tells me that the clerk and the management don’t give a crap.

Case 4: A Coffee Shop that Gets It

I’ve written about the incredible customer service at Conscious Cup before in my post, The Best Marketing Ever.. .  Just yesterday, I stopped off to pick up a pound of the Fair Trade Mexican Roast to give as a gift to a guest lecturer in the class that I’m teaching at DePaul.  I indicated that this was a gift and wondered whether they had a nice bag to dress it up. The clerk thought about it and dashed into the back to emerge a few moments later with a nice gift box.  She assembled it, arranged things for a nice presentation and handed it to me with a smile.  I offered to pay for the box, and she declined.  I left a nice tip.

Case 5:  The Cup-holder from Hell.

OK, this one totally doesn’t fit with the customer service examples, but bear with me.  I have an unnatural affection for my automobile (yeah, another quirk), and still smile every time I drive it.  However, as the customer, I’m allowed to judge it for flaws, and it has one flaw so big that it can only be the work of a madman bent on inconveniencing customers around the world.

Imagine if you will, a precision engineered machine that rewards you with performance the harder you drive it.  Now imagine the initial planning session for this great piece of machinery.  I believe that the aforementioned madman placed at the center of the design, the world’s biggest piece of you know what cup-holder. And said something like, “We will drive them crazy and make certain that they never ever drink anything while they are driving our automobile.”

This evil genius knew full well that his cars would find their way to the Chicago-area where the winters, the plows and the salt combine to create potholes that swallow large animals and mid-sized cars.  I can only imagine him laughing maniacally as my large coffee does yet another triple-gainer dive into the air and all over precision engineering and really nice leather. “That will teach you to drink coffee in our cars,” I hear him saying as that evil laugh echoes through the forests of Bavaria.

OK, Enough for Now:

Manager, get your act together.  Hire people that care.  Teach people the power of a smile.  Make certain that your values reflect serving your customers and hold yourself and your team accountable for supporting those values.  Otherwise, I’ll write about you.