My car is in the shop. The garage promised it would take just one full day. So, when the dealership garage called just after lunch asking to keep the car a second day, I asked why?
"One technician is off sick today so we're a little backed up," they offered.
So now their problem has become my problem. I'm sure that this is not the first time a technician has ever been sick. Does your business grind to a screeching halt because one person called in sick? Wouldn't you have a backup plan? Wouldn't you do your best to keep your promise to your customers without excuses?
I scheduled my appointments around my car being out of commission for one day, not two. That means that if I leave my car with them for another day, I have to reschedule all of my appointments. That means my business and several other businesses are affected by one guy calling in sick. Would you expect your customers to have to endure your internal staffing problems?
Why should it be the customer's job to solve the garage's problem? It's real easy for the garage if the customer is willing to lower their standard of service expectation and simply lay down and take whatever they give you. But that would make you a lousy customer. A "great" customer is not a pushover when it comes to service. A "pushover" customer does not inspire business to get better. It creates an environment where service actually gets worse. A "great" customer, on the other hand, is the customer that challenges business to get better at delivering service. So, here's how you become a "great" customer: you say no. You refuse to accept mediocrity and challenge it. You simply force them to be better.
"Great" customers (customers of greatness) don't let mediocrity reign supreme. Great customers set a standard and expect the people they deal with to rise to it. Great customers make businesses keep their promises and their word. And if those same businesses try to slide, great customers will make them pay.
I suggested a rental car. They hummed and hawed and reluctantly agreed. Had they been the first to offer a rental car I would have been over the moon with a excitement and would have professed my undying gratitude for a "wow" service experience. But, sadly, that's not how it went.
An Attitude of Service isn't just for business. Every customer should have one too. Become a "great" customer. Stop being a pushover. Don't lie down and just take whatever they hand you. Stand up and ask for what you want. The answer is always "no" to the questions you never ask and the standards you never set. When it starts costing businesses money because they don't keep their promises, then and only then will service start to improve.
It's easy to complain about how bad service is. But what are you doing to help improve it?
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