Recently, the travel advocate Christopher Elliott interviewed Alison Ausband, Delta Airline’s vice president for reservation sales and customer care. Ausband said to Elliott that:
Customer service is the core of what we do. We’re proud of the Delta culture of customer service and are always working to improve it every single day.
Elliot then asked her what has changed for the average customer, and she responded:
Probably one of the most positive steps we have taken over the last few months is the creation of two new options for our customers to get their feedback to us in a faster, easier way.
It seems that for Delta’s Ausband, the emphasis in customer service should be on efficiency. Efficiency is certainly important, but not the first priority for customers, according to this blog post on Entrepreneur.com. Customers have chosen L.L. Bean as having the best customer service. The blog post says this about why this is so:
How does L.L. Bean keep its customers happy? President and CEO Chris McCormick says it’s all about compassion.
L.L. Bean’s philosophy of customer service: Treat customers like human beings. How refreshing that the company has retained this, in our age of “please fill out this e-mail form on our website, and maybe we’ll respond to you sometime.”
McCormick quotes company Chairman Leon Gorman: “A lot of people have fancy things to say about customer service, but it’s just a day-in, day-out, ongoing, never-ending, persevering, compassionate kind of activity.”
In an era of cost-cutting, customer service that has a heart wins the day (and it doesn’t have to cost more). As the post on Entrepreneur.com says:
But McCormick’s words bring home a truth of retailing: Ultimately, it’s an opportunity to serve people. And to treat those people in a way that is uplifting and makes them feel you care.
Efficiency is good, but when you are all about efficiency and don’t show any caring, then you are not connecting with customers on a human level. Delta may have better systems in place, but that does not mean customers are satisfied with its service.
