In support of National Customer Service Week 2013, NICE conducted a little competition among our customers to see who could turn in the best example of when they provided exceptional customer service. We received an assortment of entries, and in the end we selected an entry from Dyson Canada as the winner.
Dyson relayed the story of how one of their customers experienced a tragic event earlier this year in which a fire completely destroyed their home. Fortunately no one was injured in the fire, but their property was a total loss. Although a little beat up, their Dyson vacuum cleaner survived the fire in functioning condition. When the customer called Dyson to tell their story, the Dyson representative immediately stepped up to offer the customer a brand new vacuum cleaner.
The representative, who had been on the job for just over a week, felt completely empowered to make this decision. He was able to delight this customer with an act of service that was not necessary or even expected, and all without supervisor approval.
This is a perfect example and reminder of two pre-requisites to delivering excellent customer service.
First, customer service agents must be properly trained about the importance of and approach toward a great customer experience within their company. Management needs to conduct early and recurring trainings for the agents on how to best serve their customers. It’s crucial that agents understand not only the reasons for providing top-level customer experiences, but also the consequences of providing inferior levels of service.
Second, agents must be properly empowered to make on-the-spot decisions to take care of their customers. Not only do agents need to be empowered to make big decisions, but they need to be confident that when they make a decision regarding customer care they will not be overly scrutinized or punished after the fact.
The Dyson story provides a perfect example of how training and empowerment go hand-in-hand in providing excellent customer service through the contact center.
