One wouldn’t think an app itself could be responsible for memorable customer service. But one app did just that, as reported in an Inc.com article, “Make Your Customer Service Memorable.” The author’s road trip turned out to make more than just pleasant family memories. An app called Hotel Tonight gave him and his family some memorable customer service moments.
This app was particularly helpful to his family’s travel patterns, since they don’t make reservations in advance. They prefer to head out with a sense of adventure and follow their whims, not really knowing where they will end up in the evening.
At the recommendation of a friend, the author downloaded the Hotel Tonight app, which pools hotel rooms at popular hotels that you can book the same day at a discount. The app is only available in large metropolitan areas, so don’t try it out in the boondocks or small, out-of-the-way destinations. Ready to stop for the night, he found a phone number and made a call.
The first memorable moment was the human voice that answered the phone. No cyber voice guiding him through a maze of choices and instructions to hit a number of the keypad to get to the next automated level.
The service rep was friendly, and began to build a relationship with the caller by asking why he was traveling to this city. Instead of just reading a list of questions from a script, the rep made some interesting small talk that made the author feel comfortable and relaxed. She was unique in that she was friendly and personable. It was like talking to a friend, not someone who is paid to talk to strangers.
The next memorable moment was when she asked if he had applied a first-time customer discount. Many companies have discounts and coupons and special deals available to customers that they may not know about. If it wasn’t for the service rep’s willingness to offer the discount, the author wouldn’t have saved $25 off his first hotel reservation using the Hotel Tonight app. The company gave a generous incentive to first-time customers, but without the generosity of the service rep, the author wouldn’t have been able to reap the benefit.
Finally, the service rep was bold enough to ask for a recommendation. Who wouldn’t want to recommend a good product or service? While some people would think about it, most won’t follow through. They get busy and once the moment has passed, they soon forget. This service rep asked the author to recommend the service to a friend, and even offered an additional discount for each referral.
The author admits that this experience seemed different because he had experienced so much poor service. But this service rep did a great job because she obviously loved what she did and was able to customize her conversation and service to the situation. Companies can learn from this experience. As the author suggests, instead of spending a lot of money on training and scripting service reps, more attention should be given to hiring friendly, personable people and giving them the ability to determine the best way to help a customer (within guidelines) and the authority to make decisions to make the customer happy. The app is the gateway to the service, but the memory maker is the service rep.
Photo Source: KROMKRATHOG / Freedigitalphotos.net
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