Poor Customer Care - A Scenario

Companies often in their approach to customer care have “values and mission” statements. Thus all managers, not just sales managers, should be tasked with ensuring their staff gets regular sales training so they know what is needed to make these value and mission statements more than just words. The following account illustrates how the simple things need to be included in such training, and the consequences of getting it wrong!

Let us presume that when buying a car you chose to buy from a large car manufacturer and that you decided to pick up the new car directly from the manufacturer’s factory.

You arrive at the factory, thrilled about your new, and very expensive, purchase. You enter a large, sober-looking reception hall where you receive a collection slip and a note with the number plate of your new car. Which you then give to a friendly woman at the counter.

Your car, as in many of these cases, is a company car, so the friendly woman does not know your name, nor does she bother to find out what it is. The friendly lady explains to you, “You’ll be called under this number later.” Every person has a first name and a surname but that detail obviously wasn’t included in the sales training this lady received!

Then you are shown a film that has been perfectly made by the marketing professionals about the company and its products. You also go on a tour of the factory, which is, admittedly, very interesting.

Once back in the reception hall you decide to have a coffee while you wait and quickly realise the second failing in this company’s customer care: you have to pay for your own drinks.

Once you’ve done your bit towards financing the company’s hospitality facilities, your number is called. You go to yet another counter and announce that you are number 0815. A friendly gentleman politely asks you to be patient for a few minutes more. Your new car will soon be at stand 16 in the transfer hall.

You think to yourself, “It actually makes sense that they number the stands.”  You then walk along a long corridor towards stand 16.

The place where you take possession of the car is very dull and appears a little dark. You look for, and find, stand 16. But there is a different car with a different licence plate to the number you have been given parked there. After a few minutes you see your car being driven from the factory into the transfer hall. The person driving your car sees that stand 16 is occupied and so parks your car in a different spot before hurrying away without even acknowledging you.

So that you can enjoy your first encounter to the full, you are left alone with your new car. A brilliant marketing achievement: just you and your car alone in the hall!

Then another young man abruptly brings you back down to earth: “Is that yours?” he asks abruptly. The young man, who is obviously in a hurry, enquires about the car you used to drive. You tell him what model of car your last one was. His face lights up and he says, “Ah, then you know about cars!”

Only when expressly asked does he explain to you about the electronic drive block and the central locking. The highest maxim of the last and most decisive phase of this company’s client care is quite clearly: “Don’t explain more than one detail to your client! Otherwise you will deprive them of the adventure of finding out about their car for themselves.”

The moral of this story: any company that lets their clients into the factory and lets their employees loose on those clients must look very closely at this scenario to ensure that it is not being replicated in their company!

A postscript to this sorry tale… a few weeks later your wife buys a new car from a different manufacturer. As an academic exercise you decide to investigate this company’s approach to client care. The result of your research: your wife is addressed by her name, given complementary drinks while she waits for her car. Finally, a very friendly woman spends 20 minutes explaining the new car to your wife in very pleasant surroundings. You suspect that this company’s marketing people have researched their customer care and have ensured appropriate sales training has been given to all staff who interact with their customers.

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