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Tim Horton’s save

May 9th, 2008

In the sport of hockey, there’s the phrase ‘nice save’.  It’s used when one team has a brilliant scoring opportunity, and the other team’s goalie does something equally brilliant to avert disaster.  A fitting metaphor for the unfolding Tim Horton’s story, (see my previous post for details) given that the late Tim Horton was a legendary hockey player.

In less than 24 hours, Tim Horton’s, I believe, has recovered as well anyone probably could under the circumstances.  Whoever is responsible for their PR will be keeping their job for a while I think (unless, of course, he/she gives someone a timbit).  In a nutshell, from Tim Horton’s perspective, here’s what I suspect happened yesterday morning:

5:30 am:  Don Schroeder, Tim Horton’s president, wakes up to see his chain’s name splashed across every daily newspaper in the country, and sees it on every news broadcast.  He thinks “Oh crap!”

6:00 am:  He has already called his assistant who has begun to call everyone in head office, telling them to get their butts to work within the next half an hour.

7:00am:  They hold an emergency meeting to discuss what they’re going to do about it.  Don Schroeder uses at least one swear word.  At least one person suggests publically hanging the manager who fired the employee.

7:10am:  It occurs to them that there were actually three managers present for the firing, and the district manager had publicly and stridently supported the strict adherence to the corporate theft policy.  It then occurs to them that this is probably due to directives from head office, since this kind of behaviour rarely happens in a vacuum.  The public hanging idea is out, because they don’t have enough nooses to go around.

7:15am:  The woman is offered her job back, and all of the press is notified

7:20 am:  It’s slowly starting to occur to all of the managers, including the district manager, that maybe they did something wrong (although most still in denial)

8:00am:  It looks like the tide of ill-will might be unstoppable.  Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe & Mail, already has over 200 people writing in with comments on their website.  (by the end of the day, the number will swell to over 800 - one of the highest responses the G&M has ever had).  In at least 50% of these, people have vowed to never eat at Tim Horton’s again.

10:00am:  Tim Horton’s has received over a thousand emails and telephone messages from customers.  None of these customers expect a response.

2:30pm:  Tim Horton’s has pulled everyone off of all projects to ensure that each email and telephone call gets responded to.  The email is a generic, but not obviously so.  It is well written.  Most of the press is given regular updates, which includes the repetition of an unqualified statement that the firing was wrong, and that it has been fixed

6:00pm:  Everyone is exhausted.  Nothing to do but wait until tomorrow to see how it plays out in the media.

2:00am:  The managers involved in the firing still can’t sleep, but still aren’t quite sure why.

This has become a wonderful case history of how much of an impact one poor management decision can have on an organization.  It’s also a case study in how strongly people feel about policies and procedures that unreasonably restrict someone’s ability to deliver great customer service. 

We’ll be using this one in our management training programs!  Thanks Tim’s!

Tim Horton’s Customer Service Blindness

May 8th, 2008

Yesterday, a 3 year employee of Tim Hortons got fired for giving a customer a 16 cent ‘timbit’.  For those not familiar with Canada, Tim Hortons is Canada’s omnipresent and ultra popular donut chain.  One thing they’ve never been known for, however, is customer service.  Yesterday, they demonstrated that this lack of customer service is dictated from the top down. 

An employee saw a regular customer who was having a bad day.  The customer’s child was pointing at one of the little timbits, and the employee, in a gesture of goodwill, just gave her one.  For most people who understand customer loyalty, this ranks as a hugely wonderful decision on the cost-benefit scale.  The real cost to Tim Horton’s - probably less than five cents.  The benefit in goodwill and word of mouth - priceless.

Rather than celebrate the decision, Tim Horton’s decides the employee should be fired because of ‘corporate theft.’  The resulting press (eg. this blog) will now likely create tens of thousands of dollars of bad will.  Here’s a link with the bigger story:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080507.wtimbit0507/BNStory/National/home

 But this becomes a cautionary tale for all managers.  You see, one of the most common laments I hear from the senior levels of business is that employees don’t take enough initiative.  Managers can’t understand why so many of their employees are unwilling to go that ‘extra mile’ for a customer.  Well, Tim Horton’s has just sent the message to all employees that the risk in using their judgement is far too great.  Better they follow their policies and procedures in Zombie-like fashion, then to focus on customer happiness.

I’m very disappointed in a chain that has become a Canadian icon.

Trans-Globe property management services - a nasty piece of business

May 1st, 2008

I’ve signed a lot of leases over the years  - business and personal.  I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced an organization like Trans Global Property Management.  We’re moving our son into an apartment being leased by them.  They’ve used bait & switch tactics, we’ve been lied to.  It’s been a good many years since I’ve dealt with an organization with such questionable ethics.  Unfortunately, their building is in a prime spot, so they feel they can get away with mistreating customers. 

If you are ever faced with dealing with them, find another alternative in a hurry.  Their customer service, and their business practices, are amongst the worst I’ve ever witnessed.

California Customer Service

May 1st, 2008

I’m back in Santa Monica (LA) for a few days.  Ann, who works at the front desk of the DoubleTree is absolutely outstanding.  When I open my own hotel, I’m going to steal her.  Down on the third street promenade is a Clark’s Shoes that I visited to get myself a new pair of casual walking shoes.  The young man working there was terrific, and quickly stripped me of $100 for a nice pair of shoes.  As I walked out of the store wearing them, his counterpart commented “I LOVE those shoes!  And they really look good on you!”  Even if her comment was just schmoozing (which I suspect it was), it was still a great touch.  I’ll definitely shop there again.

Great customer service from United Airlines - and a missed opportunity

April 27th, 2008

April 25 

When I got to the Wichita airport to check in, the very friendly United agent made a point to let me know that there was some inclement weather around Chicago that could potentially effect my flight.  Nice, I thought.  (See the last entry about customer service and setting expectations).  I knew that my connection was tight, so I asked her what my alternatives were should things go sideways. 

To my astonishment, she had already figured this out!  And not just for me, but for all the other passengers with connections out of Chicago.  She as delightful, and she tentatively rebooked me on the next (morning) flight out of Chicago.  I wasn’t happy about the possible unplanned layover, but it’s not like United can control the weather.  She was great.

 Too bad the flight attendant on the airplane wasn’t as interested.  She was obviously tired, and didn’t even have the energy to muster up a smile.  When the pilot came on to announce that we would be over an hour and a half before we could take off, some passengers responded with outrage (they, obviously, believe that airlines  do have control over the weather).

Overall, they did a very nice job.  The pilot kept us informed on progress, and tried to reassure people that the issue was a weather thing, not a United thing.

The next morning, at check-in in Chicago, the experience continued to be very good, with a gate agent doing a great job with passengers like me who had unexpected layovers.  More of the same good stuff in the United Red Carpet Lounge 

It’s important to note that while United’s service was excellent overall, they still missed a huge opportunity.  Let me explain:

I think I’ve talked before about the Service Recovery Paradox (SRP).  The SRP is the phenomenon whereby, if your business has an unsatisfied customer due to a service failure, and you do whatever it takes to make things right, your customer will actually be more satisfied and more of an ambassador than had service just gone right in the first place.

I refer to them as WOW! opportunities.  You see, the positive customer service experiences we talk about with our friends and family are inevitably when a service person does something to exceed our expectations.  Often it’s something unexpected.  Sometimes it’s just a little extra in acknowledgement of the customer’s situation.  It doesn’t have to be much.

In United’s case, they must have had dozens of planeloads of people in the same situation we were in - all of them stressed about not getting in on time and not making connections.  The situation wasn’t United’s fault, and despite the squawking of the passengers, they knew it.  United had a great chance to send the message to customers ‘we understand your stress - here’s a little something to make it more bearable.’  It could be a free drink on the airplane, a pre-printed card with the names and phone numbers of Chicago hotels, a free pass to the Red Carpet Lounge, a coupon for a free meal on the next flight - something, anything, to say “we Care.” Give your customers something positive to talk about.

Don’t misunderstand, I believe the United people were very good.  But they were more focused on damage control than on seizing opportunity.  The airline industry is extremely competitive, and every loyal traveller you can garner is like gold.   They need to look at the positive side of these stressful moments.

Customer Service in Wichita

April 23rd, 2008

We miraculously touched down at the Wichita airport about 3 hours ago.   I’m not a nervous flyer, but after a half an hour of flying sideways, upside-down & backwards, I was beginning to twitch a bit.  A little more when the pilot aborted his first landing approach because of concerns of ‘microbursts’ at the airport.  Just my luck - the only thing I know about Kansas is the story of a little girl and her dog who got caught in a tornado, and I’m landing in the middle of a storm…  I looked for a yellow brick road, and didn’t see one, so I’m assuming I’m still in Kansas.

Anyway, so far I’ve had two experiences.  The first was while waiting for my luggage.  Now in most airports, they just let you wait.  It feels like forever, and is always an unpleasant experience.  Here in Wichita, however, a nice lady came on the announcement to tell us the status of our luggage, and that it should be ‘on the belt in about 15 minutes’.  Sure, I wasn’t happy about having to wait 15 minutes for my luggage, but now that I knew, I didn’t feel obligated to stand around and wait for it.  I bought myself a diet coke, found a seat, and did a little work.  Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, the bags appear.

There’s a ton of customer service research telling us how customer satisfaction is directly linked to customer expectations.  Manage the expectations, and you manage the satisfaction levels.  In this case, they managed my expectations - and then met them.  I was happy - as were all the others waiting.  And the bonus for the baggage crew inside the terminal was that they didn’t have to field a bunch of ‘where is my luggage’ questions.  15 seconds of someone’s time on the loudspeaker, and everyone’s happy.  Nice.

I am hoping, however, that my cabbie isn’t representative of Wichita cabbies.  He never left his seat - just popped the trunk and waved for me to put my luggage in.  Once inside the cab, it was quickly apparent that he hadn’t showered in a few days.  When I gave him a $20 for a $14 cab fare, he asked “you want change?”  “Yes,” I said.  “Yes I do.”

Customer Service at Just for Laughs

April 21st, 2008

 I just got off the phone from a young man who’s name I believe is Armand.  He works in the ticket sales department for Just for Laughs in Montreal.  I was trying to sort out an issue with our tickets for the upcoming summer festival.

I’ve simply never dealt with a better customer service representative.  He was positive, pleasant, polite and upbeat.  I will hold this experience up as the gold standard for how a call should be conducted.  His choice of words and phrases was excellent, and he comfortably balanced friendliness with professionalism.  He also made the effort to upsell, by trying to arrange hotel rooms as well.  Wonderful!

Armand - If you’re ever looking for work, I know a dozen people who would hire you!

More Pittsburgh Customer Service

April 19th, 2008

It’s been over 25 years since I’ve been to Pittsburgh, and the city has pleasantly surprised me in many ways.  The biggest has to do with the customer service levels.  It very well might have, overall, the best customer service I’ve seen in a city in North America.  Hotels, restaurants, stores - so far the level of service I’ve experienced has been outstanding.  Even the TSA employees at the airport were friendly!  For the first time in my recent travels, I was sent to the ’special’ area of security for the full treatment - the metal detecting wand, pat down - the works.  It’s not a fun process, and the TSA agent that did it was exceedingly thorough and professional.  I’m glad, though, that it happened in Pittsburgh.  The agents were friendly, and made a concerted effort to ensure I was as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.  Proof that you can deliver great customer service even when doing a very serious job.

The People of Pittsburgh

April 18th, 2008

Being in Pittsburgh at the moment is a little bittersweet.  On the one hand, it is an absolutely beautiful city.  On the other hand, I’ve had the misfortune to be here when the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team twisted the blade in the Ottawa Senators to put them out of their misery for this year.  Way too many happy people here on this sad day.

The people of Pittsburgh are, overall, exceedingly friendly.  The Holiday Inn Select here by Carnegie Mellon has the best service of any Holiday Inn I’ve seen.  From the front desk to the housekeepers.  The housekeeper on our floor may be the friendliest I’ve ever seen, and I would choose this hotel on my next visit just because of her. 

Another small but memorable customer service experience came from a little restaurant on 5th Avenue called Camilles.  I was stupidly trying to carry too much stuff - and talk on my cell phone at the same time.  The inevitable consequence was a semi-spilled Mango-Strawberry smoothie on the counter.  The woman behind the counter actually apologized to me!  She cleaned my cup, and offered to refill it.  The mess on the counter was seemingly unimportant to her as she inquired as to whether or not I got any on my suit.  Wow.

 On another note, I found this quite interesting article on dealing with multicultural customers.  I’m not sure I agree with all of it, but he does make a few good points:  http://www.exchangemagazine.com:80/morningpost/2008/week16/Wednesday/041601.html

Customer Service in Washington DC

April 17th, 2008

I didn’t get a chance to leave my hotel room much while in DC.  (I had to hang around in case President Bush or the Pope dropped by for a visit), but I did manage to have a couple of experiences.  The first was with the hotel - the Ritz-Carleton in Pentagon City.  As one would expect from a Ritz, the people were above average in attentiveness, and clearly well trained in customer service.  Having said that, though, things were different in their restaurant.  On a whim, I decided to time how long it took to get service.  It was 15 minutes before my waiter made it to my table to take my first order, 25 minutes for a drink to arrive, 55 minutes for the simple steak to arrive, and 90 minutes before I got my bill. 

I’m quite certain that the young waiter had not been doing this for long.  He seemed…uncomfortable…not knowing what to do next.  The worst part was when the steak finally came.  For maybe only the second time in my life, I found myself sending a meal back.  It was rare, and I had asked for medium.  I hadn’t really made a big fuss about it, but at that point the head waiter came over to apologize and take over.  That would have been a nice touch, if he had just said he was sorry for the error, and that he would correct it.  Instead, though, he made a point to blame the waiter - several times.  So much for looking out for your employees.

The next day at Macy’s in Pentagon city was a different story.  Macy’s seems to have a lot more staff than most department stores, and it makes a big difference.  I had a couple of people take an interest in my shopping experience, and in doing so probably doubled my purchase.  They were friendly, helpful and focused on their customers.  An unexpectedly pleasant experience in a large chain store. 


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