I’m a bit of a DIY fan so I like nothing better at the weekend than trekking round the local DIY store gazing longingly at the latest power tools and wishing I could persuade someone to buy one for me. These days I like to shop at B&Q rather than some of the other big stores. Why? Because they give excellent Customer Service.

For me that means taking time to listen to the customer, understand what they’re saying and then go the extra mile to help meet their needs. That’s true whether it’s a DIY store, a financial services company or an airline.

Which brings me to a sad tale of atrocious customer service. Virgin Atlantic recently lost my luggage on a flight to Newark. An all too regular occurrence apparently – according to a recent survey by LV they lose about 1 in 8 bags!

It’s my strong belief that you can judge a company on how they operate when things go wrong.

Given that Virgin pride themselves on their customer service (or so they say) I expected some level of service from them. My bag took 20 hours to reappear and several phone calls and emails from me – all polite if increasingly frustrated. Not one call or email has been returned, no explanation or apology and not a penny in compensation.

Losing a customer when times are hard is unfortunate. Losing one through bad customer service is sheer carelessness.

So when we design a Customer Service Programme, at the heart of it is the concept of Breathtaking Customer Service. Of course, what constitutes Breathtaking Service will vary from one company to another and from one delegate to another. It may mean keeping a promise to return a call, taking ownership of the customers issue or being polite and helpful when faced with anger and frustration.

You might want to consider what ‘Breathtaking’ means for you in your industry and your company. What can you do to surprise and delight your customers?

For our suggestions contact us and ask for our free Customer Service document!

If each person who reads this blog walks away with just one thing that they are committed to doing to bring Breathtaking Customer Service to their corner of the world then I consider my mission accomplished.

Late breaking news…..

After a month of waiting Virgin have finally been in touch just as I go to press with an offer of up to £50 if I can produce receipts for what they consider ‘essentials’……

Even later news – the cheque arrived so 6/10 on customer service for Virgin.