Customer Service
Customer Service:
the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services
The Oxford Dictionary
We all appreciate friendly, efficient, and competent customer service. This helping hand can be like insurance or a doctor - you don’t know if it’s good until you need it! Whether on the phone or in person, the assistance can vary, good, bad, or indifferent; our recent experience has proven that ‘local’ is good and ‘corporate’ is not.
My husband and I found that canceling a vacation at the halfway point due to an illness brings it to life. Luckily, we started at the beach, but after 4 days of walking in the thick soft sand, his sciatica flared up hard. He woke up Tuesday morning and confessed he could not imagine continuing the trip. We decided to divide and conquer the calls we needed to make. Here’s how our “Cancelation Tuesday” went.
My call pile included airline tickets, parking, car rental, and one hotel reservation. My husband's pile included two hotels booked through Expedia, a sunset boat ride, and ferry boat tickets. These piles seemed daunting, but they had to be dealt with.
Let’s start with my stack.
Southwest Airlines App-no problem changing dates to fly home…except the $633.00 extra price! The Southwest agent on the phone couldn’t come up with a better price two days from takeoff. This is what you get when you buy cheap tickets to start with!
Is there a bigger corporation than Avis/Budget? Well, there isn’t one with worse customer service. After thirteen minutes and twenty-nine seconds of listening to a robot ask every question except “Do you want a refund?” I was finally connected with a human in a room of humans, all talking simultaneously. My guess is they were all telling their customers “no” because that’s all I seemed to hear.
After these two calls, a short walk on the beach was needed to put me in a better frame of mind to continue the pursuit of refunds. Next, I spoke with a kind woman from The Beach Haus Hotel in Traverse City. She was actually concerned that we were canceling our visit due to illness. Even though our reservation was in two days, she gave us a full refund for our deposit. She sent me an email confirmation as we spoke!
Jim’s pile of all local businesses produced much better results. I have to tell you about Gabby in Marquette, MI. With true sadness in her voice, Gabby informed us that she could not cancel the reservation made through Expedia. Something in Jim’s response told her we needed help with this transaction, so she offered! She gave detailed information, including the phone number to call and how to find the original email confirmation. She would not hang up until we fumbled through it, using my phone to make the call and confirm the cancellation. She even waited while we canceled a reservation from another hotel! The world is better with people like Gabby from Marquette, Michigan!
Then there was the call to “Ugly Anne Boat Cruises” in Mackinaw City, MI. It’s a family business; Mom and Dad work the office, and their son drives the boat. I assume it was Mom who answered the phone, and she was beyond kind, helpful, and concerned. She provided an immediate positive response to our request for a refund on our prepaid sunset cruise. (Someday, we will go on this boat ride with this lovely local company.) The ferry boat ticket to cross to Mackinaw Island was also handled with efficient, kind care. After filling out the request form online, we received a call informing us that they would send new forever tickets to be used whenever we could visit.
On Thursday, as we exited the airport parking, a disinterested young teen handed us a slip of paper with an email address in response to our concern over prepaid unused time. The address, info@parkdia.com, had a contact page, but no place for comments. I looked hard and often, but I found no link, no phone contact. I wrote a letter and mailed it to the office address. This seemed archaic even to me!
Putting aside the necessary customer service, along the way, in airports, shuttle buses, and security lines, we encountered numerous thoughtful people who wanted to help make the moment better. There was something about someone using a cane that invited kindness. The agent at bag check was friendly and syrupy sweet; I didn’t even mind her calling me baby -“Now, baby, don’t you worry about a thing, I gotcha” spoken in a beautiful Southern accent.
We also had a smaller bag to keep with us. I know not to use carry-on luggage if you can’t lift it into the overhead, but my struggle allowed a young father to model chivalry and kindness to his two little daughters. Imagine this - being at DIA and having a direction agent walk you to the shortest security line. Then, on the shuttle bus, a stylish businesswoman on a work-related call stood up and gave us her seat. She didn’t miss a beat in her conversation!
This experience taught me so much about making reservations, going direct, and how to read the small print for details. We ended with five out of eight positive customer service experiences. I believe all people are good, deep down in their souls, and this unfortunate experience helped prove and strengthen my credence. Business owners and competent customer service reps who carry this axiom rise to the top of the ladder. Those who can see the human requiring the service have the opportunity to do more than the policy dictates.
Update: Six weeks later, we received a $77.00 refund from DIAPark! That makes six out of eight positive customer service experiences!
Bit by bit, that’s all she wrote…