So here is the experience:
Apple Store:
Greeter, holding an iPad, asked how she could help me and I explained my issue. She took my phone, showed me that all of the apps were open by holding the button and then she proceeded to clear these apps. This 30 second activity cleaned up the giga..whatever you call it so that the video could operate.
A++ for quick, simple and nice service.
Lessons Learned:
- use common sense to avoid creating processes to solve basic problems. I did not have to wait to speak to anyone to get help. help was there
- friendly service is always the way to go
Verizon Store:
Greeter, holding an iPad, asked how he could help me and I explained my issue. He asked my name, typed it into my iPad and then told me to stand over there. So I patiently waited while the desk was packed with what seemed to be customers who had all day. It appeared that all the service team members were pretty busy so I waited and waited. I was standing there all alone. Finally, customers were finishing up and I would be next. So I thought. Immediately, the service employees ran away to the back room or to another customer without asking me if I was waiting for someone. I felt ignored.
I noticed the computer was showing names on a wait list and my name did not appear. What was the purpose of the iPad and the greeter? When I asked a woman to help, not one smile or acknowledgement of my waiting. She took my phones went to the mysterious backroom (what happens back there?) and came back in 5 minutes with my phones and still no smile. As if I was bothering her.
It gets better! I ask to return this charger that my husband purchased at another Verizon location. She took it, without saying a word, looked at the receipt and said she could not accept it and I had to go to the other store. At this point, I am confused and say why? She says that the store in the mall is corporate and the other store is a retailer. Very confused. So what??
By the way, the first Verizon store where I went initially to ask about my iPhone could not do a simple troubleshoot which would have avoided the entire trip to the mall.
D for poor service
Lessons Learned:
- retailers take note! just because you have a greeter with an iPad in their hands does not make you Apple. Pretending you are efficient just makes customers more frustrated.
- notice and acknowledge your customers when they are not dealing with your frontline
- break the rules on policies if it is basic stuff
- smile ... smile .... smile. Service professionals are there to serve and should never look or act like they are being bothered. Customers should not feel uncomfortable asking for help.
Send me your comments on Apple and Verizon. Hopefully they will listen!
I like your post - sorry for the nasty experience at Verizon.
ReplyDeleteI'm from Poland, so I don't know what Verizon stores are, but I have heard of apple ;)
I have a question - you say use common sense instead of making processes for simple stuff.
I'm not a fan of beaurocracy, but sometimes what I think is common sense is not obvious to others. Hence, it's not common sense.
Don't you think it's good to have quidelines even for the simple stuff?
Ex. a "customer greeting policy" doesn't have to be formally written, but so at least everyone knows how to properly greet a customer.
Dorata, thank you for the note. I believe the issue is far larger than a policy. It starts with hiring the right people. Are companies hiring talent with service in mind and how can they test their potential employee to see if they have a service heart at their core. I also believe the word policy is an ugly word. Many situations are not always black and white and what a policy does is keep the frontline from doing the right thing for a customer. If companies can teach service by explaining the value of 1 customer interaction from a financial standpoint, then customers would probably not feel rejected, frustrated or upset based on experiences they have. A good way to enforce this is to grade the service and compensate the frontline for the grade the customer gave them. In my case, I rated Verizon a D so that service team would not have been compensated for my experience. So net-net, hire service professionals and tie the value of every customer interaction to the frontline's performance.
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