Sitting on my side of the boating service desk, it pays dividends to learn from our own personal service experiences. Recently I had an experience as a customer that was not what I expected, to say the least. I wish to share it with you because I believe that we; the customer service staff, at Lens Cove can learn from it, and you as our customer will have a good laugh.
Shortly after Christmas my 2 year old dish washer decided to call it quits and go to dishwasher heaven. I was actually ok with this as my dishwasher was not holding up its end of our relationship for quite some time. It was a mid-level dishwasher that didn’t have many bells or whistles, and did not have the ability to remove a filter to be cleaned and serviced regularly…thus why I had gone thru 2 dishwashers in 4 years. I decided that I would research and purchase a top of the line, high end dishwasher that had a serviceable filter and LOTS of bells and whistles. I am a firm believer that items that are serviced properly will last longer.
I know you are thinking what does this have to do with boats, right? Be patient with me I will get to that.
I searched and researched online; as we all do, and decided on a brand and model. I spent a day driving to different stores to actually look at and inspect the model I had decided on. I found a store to purchase it from. I could order it online and get it delivered to my house for a reasonable charge. There was an additional bonus…it was even on sale. JACKPOT! I had used this company in the past for other products and had been pleased by the experience. I do need to tell you that I am not a demanding customer, but I do expect to be taken care of when I make a purchase.
The order was placed on line and I received an email telling me that someone would contact me within 7 days to arrange for delivery. At this point I was so excited and could not wait to hear from them. I know you are thinking “it’s only a dishwasher”, but to me it is more than that. It is a tool that decreases my work, and gives me satisfaction to have nice shiny clean dishes. I can tell you that I am a fan of anything that makes my life easier and increases my time with my family and this dishwasher was going to do all that. I think that it stated in the brochure that the dishes actually get put away for you. ;-)
Back to the story, I was feeling “warm and fuzzy”. You all know that feeling when you are feeling happy and excited about something. That is a warm fuzzy feeling, and should be what we feel after any kind of purchase or service experience. I waited the seven days to the following Friday and did not receive an email or call regarding my delivery. I decided that I would call them. I called the company and the person who handles the deliveries was on vacation. This customer service representative told me that the time frame was actually 7 “business” days, which would meant that I would need to wait until Tuesday and then call back if I hadn’t heard anything. I hung up the phone and realized that my Customer Service feeling had just gone from “warm and fuzzy” to “cold and prickly”. I waited a few minutes and thought about the call and decided I didn’t like the answer she had given me and I would call them back. Is anyone starting to pick up on the type of personality I am. Ok, so I call back and get a different person. She was very friendly and somewhat helpful. She told me that the deliveries are subbed out to another company to arrange, but that my dishwasher was actually coming from out west and was still out there. She put me on hold to transfer me to another person for some answers. The gentleman I got then told me that he was going to check into it and call me back within the hour. I hung up thinking “ok now we are getting somewhere”. I waited the hour, then two and no call. I decided at this point I wanted a manager; no, I needed a manager. I called back and left a message with one of the customer service representatives, for a manager to call me. The manager called me back later that day. I tell him the story and he puts me on hold and checks into it. When he comes back on the line he tells me that he will call me on Monday with more information. I waited until Monday, and no phone call at all. I decided that I would call the delivery company directly to see what I could find out that way. They found my order and proceeded to tell me that my dishwasher would be delivered to my house within the next hour. WHAT? I am at work. Nobody arranged a delivery day or time with me. Ok I decide to leave work and rush home so that at least I would get my dishwasher that day. The time was 3:00pm. I wait and wait and wait some more. At 4:45pm I call the transport company back and was told that the driver decided that he wouldn’t deliver it as he didn’t think he could get in and out of our road. Ok our road is a dead end, long, narrow cottage road, but I would think that any good driver could get a delivery truck into us. I asked “what is he driving? I was told an 18 Wheeler. I start to picture my dishwasher on this huge transport truck, and then realize that maybe they are sending me the wrong item. I ask cautiously “is this a small kitchen dishwasher or an industrial size dish washer”. He confirms that it is just a small dishwasher and I started laughing, full out belly laughter to the point of almost crying. Understand though, that this laughing is actually my frustration showing thru. Did anyone check a map to see where they were trying to send a full size transport truck? NOT. It was lucky that the transport driver actually had the mental smarts to decide not to try. He would have been able to get partially in our road, but never would have been able to turn around and get out. Now I was told that they would call me the next morning after they had a chance to make other arrangements.
At this point my “Customer Service Experience” was so cold and prickly it was painful. Gone was my feeling of total elation about getting a new dishwasher. I would have cancelled the order, but I really did want this model and the price was good.
The next morning I get a call, they will arrange for a smaller truck to deliver it and let me know when. I wait and no call comes to tell me when. I call back on Tuesday and am told that the smaller delivery truck is in the shop and won’t be fixed until the next day. Wednesday comes and goes with no call by the end of the day, so guess what? I call them back again. I am told the truck didn’t get fixed and they will call me Thursday morning. Thursday morning comes and again guess what happens? NO CALL. I call in to them again at 1pm, “yes Mrs. MacNay the driver will be at your house shortly he is already in the area and your dishwasher is on the truck”. I am completely blown away, once again I am being told last minute that my dishwasher would be at my house shortly, and if I had not called in they would have gone to my house and left with my dishwasher as nobody would be there to sign for it. I ask if he can give me an exact time, as once again I have to leave work to get home. He tells me he will check and call me right back. Fifteen minutes later I get a call, it is not the same gentleman but is actually the driver of the truck. He informs me that he is 10 minutes away and we make plans to meet at the local gas station so that I can lead him to my house. I get to the gas station as he is pulling in, and he waves me over to his truck. I get out of my vehicle and go over to him and he asks me if I want him to just put it in the back of my van. I think for a second and decide that I paid for delivery to my home…I am going to get delivery to my home! He follows me home and informs me that I have to help him lift it out of the back of the truck which is almost over my head in height. The truck does have a hydraulic tailgate, but he tells me that they charge extra for its use. REALLY!!!!
The dishwasher is now sitting in my kitchen still in its crate, but at least I finally have it.
During this cold prickly experience I also had to purchase a new pair of downhill ski boots for my growing 9 year old son Dylan. The two of us drove to Smiths Falls to SportX, a store that buys and sells used skis and boots as well as quality new ski equipment. We arrived at the store 20 minutes before they were to close. The gentleman who was working explained to me that he was shorthanded and alone, but he would do his best to help us out. I told him I understood as I watched 2 more customers come into the store. I showed him the old skis and boots and he sized Dylan for a new pair of boots. He did all of this while helping the other two customers never once looking at the time. We looked at the used boots and there were none the correct size. He went in the back and came out with a new pair. He took his time and made sure they fit Dylan properly. I apologized as I realized that it was now past the stores closing time. He said that it was ok and he did not mind at all. At no point did he rush us or make us feel that we were anything but important customers. When he worked out the bill for trading in 2 pairs of used boots, buying a new pair, and set up and service on the skis, it turned out he owed me $20.00. Then he told me that he would call me when the boots we're fit to the bindings, and the skis tuned up. Oh no, alarm bells went off in my head. I was now going to be counting on a phone call that may never come. I left the store feeling happy that I got Dylan some boots but worried about the potential for a good experience going bad again. I had no reason to worry though. The ski equipment was ready when promised and I did received a phone call telling me so. When I went to pick the equipment up I decided to make a purchase, they had given me such great service after all. I left very happy to have spent some money with them as a thank you for their service. I did tell them the reason I spent the money instead of having them give me the $20.00 they owed me.
You may or may not have noticed that I have named the store that gave me the warm fuzzy experience and not the one that gave me the cold prickly one. This was very intentional as I want to advertise for the store that gave me exceptional service, and not the other one. Let's just say that the next time I need a dishwasher it would be nice if I could buy it from SportX.
Sooooo, after reading all of this you may still be asking what this has to do with boats. The answer is, absolutely nothing! What it does have to do with is warm, fuzzy customer service, versus cold prickly customer service.
The second my dishwasher purchase landed in the hands of actual people it failed to meet my expectations and the expectations that the company had set for me in their email. There were 3 failures thru this process. The first was that I was passed from person to person, the second was that I was told different stories by staff who did not bother to find out the accurate answer, and finally, I was never kept appraised of the delivery as was promised.
It is important to me that I am giving you the “warm fuzzy” experience. It does not matter if you are buying a boat, renting a cottage or slip, buying a small part over the counter, or getting your boat repaired. I can promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure this is the case.
On a side note, the dishwasher will be installed without any problem. I have some pull with a plumber who will make it his priority to make sure that I am a happy customer and that the dishwasher is installed in a timely manner. He has to live with me you see, it’s my husband Scott.
Looking forward to the 2014 boating season with all of you, and clean dishes.
Wendy
