David
Pollay
Read David's bio and previous columns
September 24, 2007
Great Service Worth
Its Weight in Diamonds
I learned two key
things while building and running large customer service organizations.
First, good service is "sticky." It keeps you attached to a company's
products and services. You're more loyal to companies that treat you
well.
Second, people talk.
It used to be said that if you had a bad customer service experience you
would tell seven people. The Internet changed that the stakes are a
lot higher. Today we have YouTube, blogs, email, podcasts, chat
sessions, clubs, groups, instant messaging, message boards, text
messaging and more. Now, one bad service experience can be shared with
thousands of people instantly. The same is true for positive experiences
good news can be shared quickly and globally.
Here's an example of
service worth talking about.
Dawn and I were
celebrating our second wedding anniversary in Kauai, Hawaii. We were
staying at the Hyatt Hotel. On the second day of our vacation, Dawn and
I decided to go for a swim.
When we finished our
dip in the ocean we went back to our cabana and started to towel off.
And then suddenly Dawn cried out, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" We both
looked down at her hand. The two carat diamond on her engagement ring
was gone. Two prongs were bent and two were missing.
Dawn was crying and I
did my best to comfort her. I told her, "We'll get another ring. It's
just a symbol of what we have. And what we have is each other, and
that's all that matters." Now don't get me wrong, I loved that ring it
was hard to find and even harder to pay for. But now it was lost in the
sand.
Although I was pretty
sure our diamond was gone forever, I asked the hotel staff to help us
search for our diamond. To my surprise, they sent a small search party.
Together we retraced our steps and combed the sand inch by inch in and
around our cabana.
After more than an
hour, I called off the search. We tried our best, but the task was too
great. While the ring had sentimental value, I knew the ring was
insured. But our vacation wasn't. We needed to put the lost ring behind
us.
Now here's the rest of
our story. Four days after we returned home, Dawn received a call. "Mrs.
Pollay, this is Yvette from the Hyatt in Kauai." And the magic words
were spoken: "We found it! We found your diamond, and we'll ship it out
today."
We couldn't believe
it. How was it possible that Yvette and her team could find our diamond
in the sand? They did it with incredible customer service, that's how.
Each day at the start of their shift, the original search party sifted
through the sand around the cabana. On the fourth day after we returned
home, they found it. And they returned it! In all my years in customer
service, I have neither experienced nor witnessed such service.
Now to return to the
question, "Does really good service matter?" Here are two reasons it
does. First, because of the great service we experienced, I now choose
Hyatt Hotels for more of my trips. Bottom line, their good service is
sticky.
Second, we talk. Dawn
and I have told this story to hundreds of people, and to thousands more
through my writing, seminars and speeches. And you're now one of them.
Really good service does matter.
Oh, and our ring, it
now has six prongs.
David J. Pollay
is a syndicated columnist and an
internationally sought-after speaker and teacher on how to build
positive momentum in your business and life. Mr. Pollay
is the founder and president of TheMomentumProject.com, a
strengths-based leadership training and consulting organization with
offices in Delray Beach, Florida and Washington, D.C.
Prior to founding The Momentum Project,
he held senior leadership positions at Yahoo!, MasterCard, Global
Payments, and AIESEC. Mr. Pollay holds a Masters Degree in
Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an
Economics Degree from Yale University. Email him your stories at
david@themomentumproject.com,
or call 561.265.1165.
© 2007
David J. Pollay. Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be
republished without permission.
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