CUSTOMER SERVICE SITUATIONS:

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE SITUATIONS: YOU MAKE 10 DECISIONS M. Piczak February 2006

2. MAKING THE CALL • Situations arise that demand your intervention • Are beyond policy • Are beyond training • Demand a judgment

3. WHAT GUIDES YOU? • Mission statement • Values statement • Common sense • Past experience • Industry practice • Doing what is right by the customer

4. VANCOUVER BABY CARRIAGE • You are in Vancouver with an ‘umbrella’ carriage bought at The Bay, Limeridge Mall 6 months ago • Crossing a downtown street, a rivet breaks and the fabric supporting the child now lists to the right • You are going home to Hamilton in the next day or so • Looking up, you are right at the Bay • Your wife says, ‘why don’t you take it upstairs into the Bay and see what they will do’? • Personal esteem says you can’t, but what the heck…they’ll never see you again…. • No bill, only a sorry tale WHAT DOES THE PERSON AT THE BAY DO WITH YOU?

5. YOU HAVE NO WARRANTY? • You buy a personal DVD player declining to buy the ‘extended warranty’ (you are that part of the market that buys things where you expect them to work) • A few months in the on/off switch breaks rendering the device inoperable • You take it back to where you bought it expecting to exchange it for another • You receive sympathy from the clerk along with a referral to ‘the boss’ WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

6. THE PHANTOM • You buy tickets for the Pantages Theatre for the Phantom • You get there with seats 1 & 2, row A – there is no seat 1 and 2 (tickets were printed before the chair arrangement was finalized) • The seats, you find, start at 3 onward • The usher comes by to answer your enquiry and deal with your sad and anxious look WHAT SHOULD THE USHER DO WITH YOU?

7. 100% GUARANTEE? • You buy a plant • Plant it according to instructions • Plant dies • You take it back complete with bill to receive an exchange within the one year guarantee period • You receive a plant but the price has now gone up from $30 to $40 WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

8. THE FAITHFUL • You have flown to the Big Apple to see Letterman and U.S. Open tennis • Armed with a copy of standby ticket instructions from the web site, you arrive at the theatre VERY early (5:45 a.m.) since you are ‘the faithful’ & do not intend to be denied • At or around, an official looking type walks by and says there’s no need to line up since the ‘lottery’ won’t start until 9:00 • At 9:00, numbers are given out and at 10:00, random numbers are drawn for standby entry • You point out that this is not consistent with the web site’s instructions…the person looks at your piece off the web and agrees… WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

9. KENYA AIR • Two queues form for ticket pick up at Kenya Air’s ticket office in Mombasa • You finally get to the front of the line waiting to be served next • After some time, you look around to find your attendant and can’t seem to spot him in the office • You finally, after an extended period, ask where the person has gone… • Response: He has gone to lunch WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

10. YOU HAVE A RESERVATION? • You, wife and 1 year old arrive at Banff Springs Hotel as part of western tour • After being separated from $5 to get your bags from a cab to the front desk, you are informed that there is no reservation • You had booked the tour of 5 star hotels through a travel agent some months before and you have paperwork to show WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

11. YOUR CAR IS HERE SOMEWHERE • The scene: Royal York Fairmont Hotel, Toronto • At the end of the weekend, you go to valet parking to retrieve your car • 10 minutes becomes 30 becomes 45…no car • The car is parked in the maze of underground parking stretching 3 blocks in each direction • “It’s there somewhere”…”they think they found it but the keys are with another person searching somewhere else” • Looking up, you notice a vehicle amazingly similar to yours some 75 feet away…same make, colour, year, rims, etc. • “Might that be my car over there?”…it is…it is now 60 minutes since the search began…It’s February and you’re standing outside waiting for your car WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

12. CELEBRATED OR UNEMPLOYED? • Businessman staying at 4 Seasons Toronto exits the hotel in a hurry leaving behind briefcase at front door • Calls doorman from Washington indicating importance of contents, needing them in morning and pleading for immediate delivery to DC • Case not to be let out of the doorman’s eyes • Doorman’s next move is… SEE CUSTOMER POLICY EXCERPT NEXT PAGE

13. THE WORDS WHAT SHOULD THE DOORMAN DO? WHAT SHOULD HOTEL MANAGEMENT DO WITH DOORMAN?

14. THE ALTERNATOR • A customer is in a tough situation after dropping off their car for service • You loan the person your Mercedes so they can make their rounds • They return the car after mid day having used half a tank of gas • You receive a call from the husband the next day complaining about the high cost of the alternator installed in their vehicle • You had done tricks the day before finding a refurbished unit to cut down on the cost WHAT DO YOU DO?

15. CUSTOMER SERVICE SITUATIONS: EMPTY WORDS MEETING FACTS… OR DO YOU GENUINELY MEAN WHAT YOU SAY? M. Piczak February 2006 THEEND