Weekend Shorts: Response Time

Even when you don't have the answer, you've got to make customers feel you're doing everything in your power to resolve their complaint.

by Skip Cohen

It's a really easy concept on a Sunday morning, "How fast do you respond?"

Here's a great example. I'm having a challenge with BlogTalkRadio lately. Their system crashed just as I was launching a program for the Senior Friendship Centers here in Sarasota last week. We all have something we do in our communities to give back and I wanted to help them set up their own podcast. It's my way of thanking them for all the support they've given us with their weekly support group for Alzheimer's caregivers.

Well, the first challenge was updating the logo, which they still haven't fixed and the second was with their download counter that's down. I wrote to tech support and got the infamous "that's-what-the-cable-guy-would-have-said" response, "Reporting is not working at the moment and will be fixed in the next few days."

First, of course it's not working - I knew that already. That's why I wrote. Second, we live in an instant fulfillment world and a few days is NEVER an acceptable answer.  Podcasts are a product that's being "used" every day. The podcast is live, people are hopefully going on line all weekend long. We live in a global world with information being shared 24/7.

So, it's just a Sunday morning rant, but with the purpose of reminding you to not only respond quickly to emails and phone calls, but when you do respond, give people answers that are specific and concise. Don't make them come back for clarification.

"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong."
Donald Porter, British Airways

P.S. Here's the link to the podcast - if you know anyone in a position of being a caregiver, Paula Falk will be sharing some great information on every podcast.

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