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I feel as though I’m often whining — or at least complaining — about poor customer service or bad crisis communications. Let me change that by telling a good news story…
This story relates to my dentist. I had an appointment not long ago, and was racing through the tasks of my day to be able to get there on time. Then, my phone rang. It was the dentist’s office saying they needed to change my appointment time to later in the day. I wasn’t thrilled — my daily schedule is so complex it’s often put together like a game of jenga — but I agreed without complaint.
When I arrived for my appointment, I soon discovered why the change in the necessary. My dentist had been in a hockey accident the week before, and needed to visit his own doctor for a last-minute appointment. Of course, I felt nothing but sympathy and even a touch of embarrassment for having felt mildly irritated.
At the end of the appointment I went to the desk to pay and the clerk surprised me by presenting me with a Starbucks gift card for $15. “This is for the inconvenience we caused you,” she said. Wow! I hadn’t told them I was inconvenienced or even irritated — and my dentist was the one who’d suffered a hockey injury — yet they took it upon themselves to make me feel better.
When the clerk pulled the card out of her desk drawer, I also noticed she had a stack of them. Presumably, she’s able to use her own judgment to use them to smooth over problems or small crises. My dentist is not only good with teeth, he’s also really really smart with customer service. Why aren’t more companies this way?