This post is about good service and bad service. It has nothing to do with shoes really but I would like to make a point.
Tuesday afternoon my internet service suddenly went out at the store. I tried the usual remedies turning on and off the modem, computer etc but no go. Bad Service No.1 – I called Verizon, and spent 48 minutes speaking to 3 different “tech support” personnel until they finally agreed that I needed a new modem.
Last night at 3:00 AM I was awoken by the sound of rushing water. I checked my bathrooms no water anywhere but there was definitely water pouring down behind the walls. In 10 minutes my bathroom, kitchen, foyer and closets were flooding. Good Service No.1 – After a panicky call to the desk the Super and handyman were quickly on the job shutting off the water and vacuuming it up with a wet vac. I won’t go into the details of how much stuff we had to move in order to stave off damage but we did it.
The modem arrived this morning Bad Service No.2 - I then spent 1 hour and 45 minutes with another “tech genius” who not only couldn’t get me online but also messed up my network settings and told me the problem was not the modem but my router. Bad, bad, bad Verizon. I subsequently got it all together myself somehow.
Good Service No.2 - My Super just called and told me that instead of replacing the patches of wet carpet he is going to replace the carpet in the entire room. He’s a great guy and knows how to keep his tenants happy.
My point of all this is that it just as easy to give good service, as it is to give it badly. It’s no coincidence that the bigger the company (Verizon behemoth) the more difficult they seem to be. Not a very smart business strategy, but I’ve come to expect it of them. On the other hand one on one and personal relationships build trust, loyalty and happy customers, at least in my mind and that’s always been my philosophy. After all it is called a “Service Industry” for a reason. Please feel free to share any of your good or bad service experiences.
Back to shoes tomorrow.
