I was listening to Terry O’Reilly’s “Age of Persuasion” last weekend. In that episode, he illustrated how good customer service leads to customer loyalty and profit.
I was particularly drawn to his expounding on Zappos, an online retailer. Here are a few of the points that caught my attention.
- Their call centres have no time limits, despite fielding over 5,000 calls every day.
- They have a 365-day return policy.
- They don’t charge for shipping, and usually ship your order overnight.
- If they are out of stock, they will search competitor’s websites and direct you there.
These are great examples of customer service, and are in contrast with things I’ve read about Amazon’s corporate culture.
I couldn’t put my finger on why I do some of the things I do in my business (and for which I get criticized), but maybe deep within myself, I want to provide great customer service. I’m no Zappos, but listening to that episode definitely inspired me.
Listen to the entire episode at CBC.