The Single Greatest Customer Service Weapon You've Got

This summer, Sarah and I took a cruise with our two boys. Of course we had an amazing time (& my wife got a great deal so even better right?!?)

When we got back to the port, we of course, had to go disembark the ship, collect our luggage and go through customs to reenter the United States. However, the process to do that wasn’t as smooth as I’m sure the cruise line would have liked. Now, before you start thinking that this is going to be an article in “How to Improve your Systems” (which I’d love to write) it’s NOT!

In fact, this article isn’t about Systems at all, it’s actually about one of the simplest and yet MOST POWERFUL Customer Service Keys known to man! And here’s the principle:

Communication ALWAYS Helps!

Whatever the issue, whatever the struggle, whatever the problem, Communication always makes things better, not worse with your customer!!!

So here’s what happened while we were getting off the ship…

We kept getting backed up and stopped. Right after we left the ship, we rounded a corner and then were stopped for “No visible or Apparent Reason.” Now, as a leader, I am well aware of the fact that there is ALWAYS a reason right!?! I mean, come on, I lead a large organization who manages complex people systems all the time so it’s not like I don’t understand that things bog down and line stoppages are just part of the deal. I get it.

And believe it or not, it wasn’t Customs’ fault. It was actually the cruise line’s issue.

But again, being stopped wasn’t the issue. I get that, and so do the vast majority of your customers!

What became instantly obvious to me as I stood with my family and about 65 other people at the top of an escalator that was running but had an agent stopping our entire line at the top of, was…

We didn’t mind that there was a breakdown, we just wanted to be communicates to!

After standing there watching a few families be let down an elevator, I could feel my blood beginning to boil along with about 64 other people’s. At which point I said to my wife and 2 boys, “Watch this, the level of anxiety we are all feeling will instantly lessen by half, the moment I ask that lady over there what the hold up is.”

So I leaned across the belt of the people mover and asked her in a really kind voice (You can ask Sarah, I wasn’t rude at all) I even said it empathetically, “What’s happening down there?”

To which she said, “People are getting clogged up in the baggage area.”

To which I said, “Oh, I get it.”

Now, here’s what I want you to see…

The moment I and my family and the 6 or 8 people around us, had that little bit of communication, our anxiety and stress and frustration diminished by AT LEAST HALF!!!

Now, don’t miss this:

She didn’t solve my problem, she didn’t throw the company under the bus, she didn’t offer to let me cut in line, and I DIDN’T NEED HER TO!!!

I just wanted her to tell me something!

Any communication is ALWAYS better than NO communication.

Always. Always. Always.

People don’t need to be fixed right away, but they do need to be communicated to right away.

I would dare say that the vast majority of your customer service issues and headaches could be diminished by half, simply by telling your customers something.

Now, it doesn’t mean you don’t need to fix your broken systems, but telling people something will always make things better.

By the way: none of the cruise agents acted like this was an anomaly, in other words, they all had apparently had this issues in weeks prior. So what if, until they could fix the system, they simply empowered that lady by the elevator to walk the line and softly whisper to people, “There’s a hold up at baggage claim, I think.”

It would make her life, and about 4000 passengers final interaction with their company a lot better.

Just a thought…