One of the hallmarks of a great company is customer care, especially when things go awry. We used to call it customer service, but to retain customers is this environment, it involves so much more than merely providing service.Below is the tale of two customers care incidents and how it was handled by their respective companies.

ISSUE: Driver behavior while delivering food to a residential address.

COMPANY 1: A driver, while delivering food to a high-rise condo, decided, for whatever reason, to dip their fingers in the order and then smear a design on the mirror in the elevator and on the floor number plaque inside the elevator door.

COMPANY 2: A driver while delivering food to thesame high-rise condo, decided it was okay to park in the stall clearly marked with the blue wheelchair symbol in the front of the building. He was asked twice to move his vehicle to one of the four adjacent, vacant stalls, both times refusing to do so.

After ensuring there was no disability placard on his vehicle, several photos were taken showing the clear signage and his license plate number. When told we would be contacting his employer, he sarcastically told me he would happily provide me with their phone number and would also take my photo and send it to them, so they could be prepared to receive my call.

Both Happened to Me

Both of these incidents happened in Calgary, the city where I live, in my condo building, where I sit on the board. In fact, the reason I found out about the food smearing incident was because I was able to access the security cam video and see clearly that it was a food delivery person who did the deed.

COMPANY 1 CUSTOMER CARE: THE FOOD SMEARING I contacted the company, Door Dash. I was required to call back several times and then transferred to several different people. I was finally connected with a customer service representative and explained in detail what had transpired. He asked for the name of the restaurant and the address to which the order had been delivered and, once I had supplied him with both, he was able to identify the driver responsible.He inquired as to what proof I had that the driver had put his fingers in a food order, then smearing same in our elevator. I told him that we had the entire incident on video.

When asked, I confirmed that we would be more than willing to forward copies of the video and was told that as this was an extremely serious incident, I would be contacted within 24 hours by a more senior representative who would then arrange for me to forward the video.That event took place early in May and I have yet to receive a call from anyone with Door Dash.It is certainly possible that the management at Door Dash have addressed this issue with the driver involved and have brought this matter to conclusion, but I have no way of knowing that.All I know is that I brought to their attention a matter of great seriousness, I was told I would be contacted to discuss the issue further, yet no one has bothered to contact me.

Meeting Expectations

Almost all conflict occurs when expectations are not met, and by telling me I would be contacted, an expectation was set. As I have not been called in almost 2 months, that expectation has not been met. Not only will I not use their service, but I will share this story every chance I get.If you are in business, never forget that the cost of retaining existing customers is a mere fraction of the cost of obtaining new ones. The cost of losing a customer to an easily resolved circumstance, is incalculably high.A simple phone call from Door Dash would have prevented all of this.

COMPANY 2 CUSTOMER CARE: THE POOR PARKING DECISION The following morning, I went to the Skip the Dishes website, opened a chat window and asked for someone to call me regarding an incident with one of their drivers. Within five minutes I received a call from a lady who listened patiently to my story, told me the company has a zero-tolerance for that type of behaviour and asked me to forward copies of the photos I had taken.

 

I was told I would receive follow-up information within 24 hours and, indeed, I received an email less than three hours later informing me that my information had been received and passed on to local management. Yesterday I received an email to say that appropriate action had been taken and also to thank me for taking the time to contact them. Skip the Dishes met and exceeded all of my expectations. They handled this matter in a swift and professional manner. Not only will I recommend their service to others but I will tell this story as often as I can.I would love to tell you more about customer care, but I have to run, Skip the Dishes has just delivered our dinner.

Let’s make a habit of meeting like this.