Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S2E11 - Tales of Customer Service

Episode Date: March 16, 2013

We’re on the hunt for great companies that went out of their way to treat their customers well. From an amusement park that delivered such superior customer service that other corporations asked for lessons, to a shoe company you can order a pizza from, to a store that actually accepted a returned product they didn’t even sell just to keep their customer happy – join us as we search for companies that go the extra inch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. We'll see you next time. new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. From the Under the Influence digital box set, this episode is from Season 2, 2013.

You're so king in it. Scores of it in an instant. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon. You're not you when you're hungry. You're in good hands with us. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. In 1997, one of my favorite books was published. It was called Letters from a Nut.

The author was listed as Ted L. Nancy. What makes Letters from a Nut so unique is its premise. Ted L. Nancy writes letters to companies and prints their responses. But not just any letters. Hilarious, preposterous ones.

For example, he writes a hotel in Washington to make reservations and asks if he can bring 2,200 red ants with him. He assures the hotel that while the ants are, in fact, loose, none will leave the hotel room. The hotel responds in a very courteous letter saying they cannot accommodate Mr. Nancy or his red ants because they regularly fumigate the carpets and rooms. Both letters are printed side by side.

He writes to another hotel to ask if he can bring his own five-foot ice machine. Answer, no. In another letter, he asks a different hotel if he can bring his own bathtub, asking if they could take the hinges off his hotel room door so he can get the tub inside. Answer, sorry, we're fully booked. The letters get funnier and funnier. Some replies are earnest and gracious. Some are terse.

Some are one-line brush-offs, and others are just plain surprising. My favorite letter is to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In it, Nancy writes them to say that back in 1960, he was an employee of a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, and on one particular day, baseball legend Mickey Mantle was staying there. At about 2 p.m. that day, he was sent to deliver room service to Mantle. While in the room, Nancy says he noticed out of the corner of his eye

that Mantle was clipping his toenails. Suddenly, the phone rang in the other room and Mantle told him to leave the food on the table. Once Mantle left the room to answer the phone, Nancy writes that he dropped to his knees and collected all of Mantle's toenail clippings. As Nancy notes, he had all ten. A full set. The point of the letter is hilarious because he wants to donate the nail clippings to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sure enough, the Hall of Fame replies,

Dear Mr. Nancy, We would be most interested in Mickey Mantle's toenails. Tell us more about the condition of the nails and what shape they are in. Can you send us a photo? We'd like to examine them before making a decision. Thank you for thinking of the historical importance of these items and for attempting to place them in an institution

where they will be saved for future generations to enjoy. Sincerely, the Baseball Hall of Fame. Real letter. True story, I kid you not. Letters from a Nut went on to sell more than a quarter of a million copies and spawned three equally hilarious sequels. Ted L. Nancy is actually a pseudonym for a comedian named Barry Marder. Not only does the back-and-forth correspondence make you cry with laughter,

it gives you a good insight into the level of customer service at each corporation, how they respond, the tone they take, the language they use, and the kindness they choose to exhibit or not exhibit. Customer service is one of the most important factors in the success of any company most companies in the world provide terrible customer

service at worst or basic customer service at best yet customer service equals profit and the best companies know that welcome to tales of customer service sit back as we explore some of the companies that do it best the know that. Welcome to Tales of Customer Service. Sit back as we explore some of the companies that do it best, the effect it had on their customers, and some remarkable stories about how they did it. Ever walk into an Apple retail store? You'll instantly notice something different. Beyond the stylish store design, there's something else in the air. It's the lack of a commission system. The Apple sales staff are not paid on sales commission.

And there's a reason for that. Apple wanted their sales staff in their customers' hearts, not their wallet. It's also the reason they created the Genius Bar. Apple employees don't fix computers there.

They restore relationships. Apple wasn't out to generate a transaction. They out to generate a transaction. They wanted to generate a customer. That's a very interesting philosophy, and one you'll hear repeated often during today's show. Customer service is marketing. It's astounding how many companies never fully grasp this point.

But the best companies do. And the way they express great customer service is a lesson for all of us. There is a famous story about Macy's department store back in the 1950s. One day, a customer walked in to return an item she had purchased. Macy's took it back with a smile, refunded the full purchase price, and the lady left a happy customer.

Now, you may not think that's a remarkable story, but it is. Because Macy's didn't even sell the product the lady returned. Macy's simply wanted to do everything in its power to have that lady leave the store happy because a happy customer is a repeat customer. They gave her a refund even though she had bought the item at another store.

There's no doubt about it. Memorable customer service means going above and beyond the call. I read a wonderful story on the mentalfloss.com blog recently. A woman's best friend was dying of AIDS. It became clear he wasn't going to make it to Christmas. It was her friend's favorite holiday, and he always made a huge deal out of it. So, the two of them decided to hold Christmas in August.

She called a local Christmas tree farm, explained the situation, and asked if they could come and cut down a tree. The farm agreed. When the two of them got there, they found that the tree farm had apple cider and cookies set out for them. Not only that, they had hitched up one of their horses to a wagon to take them around the property. The owner and his wife, both in Santa hats, drove them around in 80-degree weather,

all of them singing Christmas carols the whole way. When it came time to leave, they absolutely refused to charge for the tree. It was an amazing thing to do for a group of strangers. As the blogger wrote, it still remains a beautiful memory after all these years. Great customer service is all about being human. It's not about the transaction. It's about making an emotional connection. It's 1 a.m. and it's freezing in New York City. A father and his kids are camped out in front of Radio City Music Hall, hoping to get wristbands for the NFL draft.

But the ticket window won't open for another five hours. Suddenly, a taxi pulls up, a doorman jumps out, drapes the family in blankets, hands them all cups of hot chocolate, then speeds off. As Adweek magazine notes,

it wasn't an act of random kindness. It was caring customer service. The family had checked into the Ritz-Carlton before heading out to Radio City, and the night manager there just wanted to make sure they were comfortable as they waited in the cold, even though they were on a sidewalk four miles from the hotel.

The Ritz-Carlton is a smart company, and they know exceeding customer expectations can't just be a marketing campaign. It has to be an operating platform. David Ogilvie, one of the legends of the advertising business and the founder of Ogilvie & Mather New York, had high customer service expectations for his staff. I always remember one of the things he insisted upon. He said,

We don't walk our clients to the elevator. We walk them to the street. Think about that. He expected his staff to walk their clients not just out to the elevator, but all the way down to the elevator, but all the way down to the street and help them hail a cab. I would venture to guess they were the only agency in New York that did that. But Ogilvy and Mather believed in hiring

people not just for their intelligence, but for their manners. Why do so few companies do that? Because the philosophy is so rare. In his wonderful book titled Small Giants, Bo Burlingham writes about 14 small companies that rejected the pressure of endless growth and chose instead to stay small but be great at what they do. He tells the story of restaurateur Danny Meyer,

who owns several restaurants in New York, including the Gramercy Tavern. Meyer believes that all successful companies must have a soul. He regards traditional customer service,

like being prompt, getting the food to the table while it's hot, and cleaning up quickly afterwards, as a technical skill. You can teach people those skills, but Meyer wants his people to deliver something more. He wants them to make the customer feel like the staff is on their side. And that is an emotional skill. It means Meyer has to hire people who already have that capacity. You can't instill empathy.

You can't make people sensitive to the way their actions affect other people. You can't give staff the desire to bend over backwards for customers. So, he hires for those innate emotional skills and trains for the others. How does Meyer's philosophy look in action? Well, often waiters see customers having trouble deciding between two desserts, so they'll bring the second one for free. One of his managers recently returned a handbag a customer had left behind, but chose to send it Federal Express instead of just holding it for her at the restaurant.

One of his maitre d's recently put a rose on table 27 for a couple, knowing they always sit there on their anniversary because that's where he proposed to her. None of these acts of customer service are big, just beautifully unusual. Danny Meyer realized the difference customer service can make back in 1995. In a restaurant survey, the Gramercy Tavern was ranked 10th for food quality and didn't even make the ranking for decor. Yet it was voted as the third best restaurant in Manhattan. Clearly, people were coming for another reason. And that reason, as it turned out, was the incredible attentiveness and humanity of his staff.

As writer Bo Burlingham points out, you don't want customers to leave just satisfied. You want them to be happy. And that's a step beyond service. It requires the company to develop an emotional connection with their customers through individual one-on-one contact. Think about how often you feel like you're just another number at a store or a restaurant. I would venture to say we all feel that way more often than not.

It takes an obsessive company to deliver standout service. One of the best organizations in the world at that is one you've grown up with. And we'll be right back. If you're enjoying this episode, why not dip into our archives, available wherever you download your pods. Go to terryoreilly.ca for a master episode list.

The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is a model of customer service. This attention to detail comes, not surprisingly, from the founder. Walt Disney's mantra was, Give the public everything you can give them. From that simple statement, everyone at Disney strives to exceed customer expectations every day. MSNBC.com did an interesting article on Disney World titled, What Time is the 3 o'clock Parade?

I'll explain that title momentarily. Customer service at the Magic Kingdom is both an art and a science. For example, Disney houses its lockers and wheelchairs to the right of the park's entrance, because they have long observed that the majority of visitors go to the right when they come through the gates. A Disney study showed that people who bought hard candy with a wrapper took about 27 steps before tossing the wrapper on the ground.

So, Disney put a garbage can every 25 steps. Another of their key philosophies is, it's not my fault, but it's my problem. Which means even though visitors may approach a Disney employee with a random question or a predicament, the employee is taught to own the problem and stay with the customer until it's solved. And when visitors ask,

what time is the 3 o'clock parade? Disney employees are never sarcastic, but answer instead by saying, The parade starts at 3 p.m. at Frontierland, but it will be at Main Street USA by about 3.20. You can wait here in the shade if you like. Every ride, show, and train at Disney runs right on time. If the train is a second late leaving the station,

the conductor gets on the speaker and explains why the train is delayed and how long it will be before the train gets going. Disney staff are trained to be assertively friendly. In other words, they are encouraged to seek contact with visitors. For example, they will actively approach someone who looks confused instead of waiting to be asked for directions. Disney's grasp of customer service was so exemplary, their customer satisfaction rating so high,

that other companies began approaching Disney for instruction. So, in 1986, the Disney Institute was born. It's a Florida-based division of the Walt Disney Company that teaches other companies how to exceed customer expectations. Those companies have included Delta Airlines, IBM, General Motors, Chrysler, and even the IRS. The basic message at the Disney Institute is something that Walt Disney himself discovered decades ago, that people remember people, not products. The key is to encourage employees to be consistently attentive,

without seeming overly rehearsed or robotic. For example, the Miami International Airport came to the Disney Institute for help. Surveys ranked its customer service among the nation's worst. Now, you might think that an airport and Disney World don't have anything in common. But, when you think about it, both companies have millions of people waiting in line for a ride every day. And 400 Miami airport staff learned to put it's not my fault, but it's my problem into action.

The Disney Institute's lessons are transferable to any industry. For example, a Chevy dealership in Massachusetts watched as their customer satisfaction levels jumped to 90% after studying with Disney. A staffing service company took the course and saw their revenues double in one year's time. A hospital in rural Wisconsin took Disney's customer service lessons to heart

and its customer satisfaction scores soared to 90%, and employee turnover dropped by half. And by implementing Disney's best practices, the Orlando Magic Basketball organization introduced a new service-oriented culture to its staff, and its customer satisfaction levels jumped above the 90th percentile. The list is endless. When customer service soars, so does profit. In case nobody's told you, weight loss goes beyond the old just eat less and move more narrative, and that's where Felix comes in.

Felix is redefining weight loss for Canadians with a smarter, more personalized approach to help you crush your health goals this year. Losing weight is about more than diet and exercise. It can also be about our genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix connects you with online licensed healthcare practitioners who understand that everybody is different and can pair your healthy lifestyle with the right support to reach

your goals. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. One of the most legendary customer service companies is Zappos. Zappos is an online retailer that began as a shoes-only site, and it goes to extraordinary lengths that keep their customers happy. It all begins with their hiring practices. For example, during their four-week training course, the company offers people $1,000 to quit. It's unheard of, but there's a reason. They want to weed out people who don't share their philosophy of empathy, kindness, and humility.

In 2007, 3% of the candidates took the money. In 2008, 1% did. In 2009, no one took the money. So Zappos upped the offer to $2,000. Even the Zappos job application is unusual. For example, the very first question is a crossword puzzle. At every step of the job training process, Zappos is trying to see if their values line up with the applicants.

It's the same philosophy Danny Meyer uses in finding people for his restaurants. They are both searching for untrainable skills. Most companies who rely on phone centers to do business have time limits. They want their staff to process a certain number of calls per hour. But not Zappos. They field over 5,000 phone calls per day and there are no time limits. So their 1-800 number is the first thing you see at the top of their website. Because, as CEO Tony Hsieh says, they actually want to talk to their customers. Hsieh believes the telephone is one of the best branding devices out there.

The way he looks at it, you have your customers' undivided attention for 5 or 10 minutes, and what smart marketer doesn't want that? He also firmly maintains that every phone call is an opportunity to wow their customers. First of all, there is a 365-day return policy. That's right, you have a year to return items. Zappos is also okay if you want to order 10 pairs of shoes, try them all on, and return the 9 you don't want.

All returns are free, no questions asked. If you're not sure of your fit, order a size 7 and a 7.5, try them both on, then send back the other pair. Zappos also knows how to deliver. Not only is shipping free, it's often done overnight. That means if you order up to midnight, your shoes will be on your doorstep 8 hours later when you wake up in the morning. That kind of service creates that wow factor. More importantly, it creates emotional impact.

As a matter of fact, people are so amazed that their purchase arrives so fast, many of them literally scream when the package arrives. UPS delivery people say they are used to that reaction when it comes to Zappos. If an item is out of stock, Zappos staff will search out three other competitors' websites and direct customers there, even though they will lose that sale. But there is a reason they do that. They are not trying to maximize the

transaction they're trying to build a lifelong relationship I can't stress this enough in the end excellent customer service doesn't cost money it makes money one last Zappos story CEO Tony Hsieh took some clients out for a night on the town once. After the bar closed, they all went back to their hotel. One of his clients had a yearning for a pizza, but it was 2 a.m. and the hotel kitchen was closed. So Hsieh suggested she call Zappos and see if they could find her a pizza. You have to understand what he just suggested.

He told his client to call his company, Zappos, a fashion retailer, at two in the morning, and ask for a pizza. So, the client called Zappos and asked for a pizza. There was a short pause on the other end of the line. Then, the Zappos operator found three pizza stores near the hotel that were still open and ordered the pizza. That moment floored the clients. But I bet it didn't surprise Tony Hsieh.

Because he has hired the kind of people who have an overwhelming desire to make customers happy. That's why Zappos reached $1 billion in sales in only their eighth year of business. There's another lesson here. 75% of Zappos customers are repeat customers. They call more often and they spend more money. And they keep shopping at Zappos because they've never been treated better in their lives. Customer service is marketing. It breeds more customers because it fuels the most powerful form of advertising, word of mouth.

Most companies can't afford to find a new customer every day. That means they have to rely on repeat customers. And the best way to ensure repeat customers is by exceeding customer expectations. As almost every example showed today, customer service doesn't cost money, it makes money. None of these companies were out to create a transaction. They were out to create a relationship. As Walt Disney said,

people remember people, not products. Companies have to care about their customers to want to exceed their expectations. It's the reason the Ritz-Carlton delivers hot chocolate at one in the morning. It's why Danny Meyer insists on hiring people who are inherently kind. And why Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh insists on delivering happiness. That's why customer service is like taking the ultimate temperature of a company.

Because it reveals exactly what a company thinks of its customers when you're under the influence. Hi, Terry. I was just listening to your show on customer service, and I agree, all the best companies go above and beyond the call. Speaking of call, I'd like to order a pizza. I'll take a large with pepperoni, green peppers, and light anchovies. I emailed you my address. You're the best.

Ciao. Under the Influence was produced at Pirate Toronto. Sound engineer, Keith Oman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. Series coordinator, Debbie O'Reilly. Research, Shea Cole. Follow us on Facebook

and log on to our website at cbc.ca slash under the influence to see all the visual elements from this episode. see you next week in case nobody's told you weight loss goes beyond the old just eat less and move more narrative and that's where felix comes in felix is redefining weight loss for canadians with a smarter more personalized approach to help you crush your health goals is here losing weight is about more than diet and exercise it can also be about our genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix connects you with

online licensed healthcare practitioners who understand that everybody is different and can pair your healthy lifestyle with the right support to reach your goals. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A.