What Footprint Will You Leave on Your Customers’ Memories?

July 20, 1969.

The Apollo 11 moon landing rocked the world.

And one image became synonymous with the mission – a single left bootprint embedded in the lunar soil.

Amazingly, because there is no wind to blow it away, no water to wash it away, that footprint is destined to stay there for eternity.

Customer service is like this.

You can leave a good impression, you can leave a bad impression, but make no mistake – the impression you leave is, for all intents and purposes, indelible. It remains long after the encounter has incurred. And it has far-reaching repercussions.

I will always believe it is so critical to provide exceptional customer service. People greatly appreciate it, particularly when it makes them feel valued and respected.

Unfortunately, most customer service is woefully lacking. I know. A recent experience brought that fact home in a big way…

A few weeks ago, I scheduled a flight with Delta airlines. A day later, I discovered I didn’t schedule my flight to the right city. So I called Delta to change my flight.

The person who answered the phone told me, “It is our policy that we charge you $200 per ticket to change your flight.”

Wow.

I have a real problem with this “policy”. Yes, I did make the error in the flights in the first place. Yet the flight schedule was made via computer by me, into their network by me. No effort or energy by Delta was involved – zero dollars in costs.

Not wanting to unnecessarily pay this fee, I asked to speak with a supervisor who told me I could register my complaint at Delta’s website. When I completed the online form, I was told my time had expired. I couldn’t send my complaint without redoing the form.

Now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I did wonder if this was a tactic or pure coincidence? Regardless, it was obvious that transparency isn’t a characteristic valued at their organization.

Back to the story… I wound up changing two tickets, $200 per ticket for their “policy” and an additional $37 for the change in actual ticket cost for different city. The $37 I understood. The $200, not so much.

Delta left a $400 footprint on me and it wasn’t a good one.

Jeff Jarvis ran into a similar service issue with Dell computers a few years back. He had a significant impact on Dell’s financial bottom line when he made his situation known in his blog. He also helped them revamp their service policies and approach.

My question to Delta is this: What did it really cost you to change my flight?

This whole incident does not make sense, especially in this economic climate. They sacrificed a lot. They lost me as a customer. They lost anybody I can convince not to use their airline. The footprint isn’t going anywhere and it’s going to take more than time to erase it.

Take this story to heart and remember – you always leave a mark. Make sure it’s a good one.

Make every impression a positive one. Choose Smiles by Dr. John Gordon, Kansas City, MO.
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