I apologize for not posting lately. We encountered some courier problems which affected some of our shoppers’ schedule. But the good news is, it has been resolved! The kind operations manager of the courier arranged that the full amount of the shipment lost be reimbursed to us. Bravo for their speedy response and it’s another big hooray for the customer!

This is a topic I’ve been meaning to write about — how important it is to “recover” a customer after a really bad experience.  A company’s commitment to customer service is put to the test when the staff or management has to respond to a customer complaint. A complaint, big or small, is always an opportunity for the company to WIN that customer back and if done correctly, they win the customer for life! Let’s call it Customer Love!

Sometimes I feel I am a magnet for bad customer service. One example, every time I travel and use roaming services, I always (yes, always) find mistakes in my phone bill. I heard they call these ‘bill shocks’. Well, they couldn’t have used a better word.  But I’m still with the same carrier after so many years, the reason is definitely not their consistent service, because they are far from it.  The reason for my loyalty is every time I make a complaint to their head office, results come, sometimes delayed and would require me to follow up several times, but nevertheless, they do get resolved. And for a very patient customer like me, this is important.

The best scenario would of course be to make a complaint, and be pleasantly surprised that action is done without the pain of having to follow up.  Companies should actually welcome complaints, because not everyone will spend (or waste?) time to do the right thing and ranting on social media nowadays seems to be the easiest way to get results. I personally do not believe in this as my stand is to always complain to the company directly. Complaints made on social media do attract sympathy from the rest of the online community and the reactions are fueled by the mob mentality. Some can be very explosive especially when posted by influential bloggers and demand the attention of the company in question because of the negative publicity it is attracting.

I do it differently, and this is something I encourage my friends, colleagues and our Customer Experience Advocates to do. GIVE THE COMPANY THE CHANCE TO RECOVER YOUR TRUST.

I can say that this worked for me several times. And each time it happens, I silently cheer “hooray for customer service!” I had this experience before with my bank. They have been my bank for more than 5 years, and the branch personnel was pushing me to avail of their car loan. When I finally did, the experience was so bad that I wished I never even went through with it in the first place. The problem was actually the staff they assigned to handle my application. She was just disorganized from day 1, she gave empty promises and was the type that would just lead on
her customers. I visited her office one day to personally submit some documents, and the way she treated me face-to-face was really appalling. She was consistently bad. And for me to say this, it really means bad!  But still, I tried to be the patient customer and told myself, to just wait and follow whatever process they have.  The 2 weeks she promised me became 2 months and so many emails and texts exchanged to follow up on what’s happening to my application. The last straw was on the day I was to receive my loan proceeds, she told me that they have suspended approving loans at the moment and I needed to prove that I’m a valued client before they can continue processing my loan (in their eyes, a valued client means the number of zeros in your bank balance).

After this email, my angel wings just disappeared and no more miss-nice-customer!  I was really angry, and people who know me can attest that I rarely get mad.  So what did I do? I emailed the bank’s president, the head of loans, and the head of marketing.  I got their email addresses thanks to Google.

I channeled my anger towards writing a full complaint and documenting every text and email we exchanged (oh yes, I saved them all). By the time I was finished, my full documentation reached 17 pages.  My husband met the president to give him personally a hard copy of the letter. And the president’s first reaction was — why did I wait so long, I should have demanded action after  1 week! Wow. I’d like to take his word and test this one day . The best part, of course, was how they resolved things. After that email, I got calls from the head of loans and the head of marketing apologizing and reassuring me that it was not how they wanted my experience to be. The surprise came when I received my loan proceeds without having to leave home. It was credited to my savings account the next morning. Hooray for the customer!

So there, it was a big lesson for me. I shouldn’t be too patient to the point that I get abused already for being nice. Customers should know when to put their foot down and just demand what is right and what is just.  If you have experienced appalling service, the owner or the president of the company cares to hear from you. So give them a chance to make wrong things right, as it is their job to delight their customers. If the owner or the president does not care about their customers,
they shouldn’t be in business in the first place!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

PS. If you have ‘customer love’ stories to share, please leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Wishing all our Indian shoppers / CEAs a Happy 63rd Republic Day!

Happy Republic Day!

May the Year of the Dragon be prosperous for all! To our Filipino-Chinese Customer Experience Advocates, we greet you “Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!” and “Gong Xi Fa Cai!” to our Singaporean Customer Experience Advocates!

I’m a big sucker for sales: end of season, warehouse, outlets… You name it, and if I can, I’m there. Imagine my delight when I found out through a blog that DwellStudio would be included in Quirks Marketing Philippines’ warehouse sale. I just knew I had to go. (I’m in love with DwellStudio’s prints! I vow that my next child will have a DwellStudio nursery LOL! For the short term, I was lemming for a Madison diaper bag. I’ve wanted it ever since. But I digress…)

So one nice morning in November last year, I dragged hubby and baby to Greenhills for the warehouse sale. I remember being attended to by a very friendly and helpful Oliver (He wanted to open the crib sets, even when I said I wasn’t buying, just because I wanted to see the full design). All the other staff were equally warm. For some reason, however, I held off on the Madison bag. I ended up with a few puzzle and stamp sets as kiddie gifts for Christmas.

Since that day, I would pass by the Dwell area whenever we were in Rustan’s, contemplating whether I should finally get the bag (at regular price, grrrr). And then a few weeks later, I got a notification that Dwell would be on sale again, this time on an online shopping site! It’s destiny!

Still, I didn’t jump right in (was making sure I wasn’t just impulse buying LOL). On December 16, at 9:30 pm, I finally decided to make the bag mine (Isn’t my purchase thought process exhausting?). Lo and behold, when I clicked on the design I wanted, it was out of stock! I started clicking on the other designs, figuring I would make do with whatever was available. No such luck, it wasn’t destiny after all. And then I thought, this wasn’t right, there wasn’t even 1 left, in any design, for me?? LOL.

I decided to send Quirks Marketing an email, inquiring if the bags were indeed out of stock. Here’s their reply, mere minutes later

Super fast! And it was almost 10PM on a Friday night!

We exchanged a couple more emails after this, and it ended when they said that they would get back to me on Monday.

I woke up the next day with a surprise text from Quirks

8:02 in the morning, on a Saturday! Really, really appreciated the effort. We texted some more

So 12 hours and a few texts after I made my inquiry, I was finally able to order. Got my stuff 3 working days later

Thank you to the Quirks team for the speedy and efficient service! You definitely made my simple transaction a very memorable one

Full Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. We are not in any way connected with Quirks Marketing Philippines. Quirks Marketing Philippines is the exclusive distributor of DwellStudio in the Philippines.

Very few dining experiences have really impressed me when it comes to service. Although food and ambience are the other two factors that make up the customer experience, it is amazing customer service that leaves a lasting impression.

When I first visited India in 2006, Oh! Calcutta in Tardeo, Mumbai was the restaurant where I had my first real Indian meal. The food was really good, they specialize in Bengali cuisine. I remember having a chicken dish called the Dakbunglow and some roti, the light Indian bread. But more than the good food, I noticed the attention they put in service, it has a certain elegance I couldn’t explain.  I later realized, that this is quite common in many dining establishments across India.

Coming from the Philippines, I was used to a more casual, relaxed style. Food is almost always served family-style. So it was truly an experience to have the service staff in India show you the bottled water and check if it’s chilled enough (that is if you want it chilled — they ask for the customer’s preference first) before opening it and pouring water in all the glasses. And because Indian food is mostly shared, the service staff also serves it on each plate. And the moment your plate is nearly empty, he’s back to give you more until you say stop or motion it with your hand (add a slight head wobble too for effect!). He will also clear any dish that’s empty. The really good service staff does everything without the customer feeling he’s even there. The service is formal and alert but not interfering.

I went back to this same restaurant just 2 weeks ago, the Dakbunglow was no longer on the menu, but they still prepared it for us Ashok was our server that night and gave us a really memorable service experience! He was pleasant, friendly, and yet maintained his professionalism. He asked us what ‘spice’ level would we prefer, to which I answered ‘very very mild’. And when he saw me taking my camera out to take photos of the food as it was being served, and he patiently waited for me to take the perfect shot. What he didn’t know was I was taking a photo of him, not just the food   Ashok even explained that the lime they served together with the dish were actually brought from Calcutta fresh daily (same with the fish they serve). These little things do matter when it comes to service. It is what the usual line, ‘going the extra mile’ is when put into practice.

Ashok serving puri, puffed Indian bread

service with a smile!

While waiting for our change, and the glassware already cleared, I noticed that their coasters had illustrations of famous Calcutta landmarks. I haven’t been to Calcutta so I was interested to see what these were about. Ashok noticed it and was scouting around the empty tables to get a sample of the different designs. He showed me these three and even explained what each landmark was all about! Wow

love the details, Calcutta landmarks on the coasters

The best part was that Ashok was not trying too hard. The service he offered simply came from his heart. He is a true gem.

And even if they were playing “Footloose” and some Bon Jovi songs in the background (i loved the music but it was not appropriate to the restaurant’s authentic Bengali experience it wanted its diners to have), in the end, my family and I left the restaurant with that warm, fuzzy feeling.  Ashok is a true Service Star!