Just Another Customer

Perspective On What Really Matters

A split-second decision by a Dillon driver makes all the difference - and makes a real impression

Grade: A
Company: Dillon’s Bus Service
Event: Coming to the Rescue of a Someone in Trouble
Location: Washington D.C.

Something Special Happened Today
I was on my usual commute home today from D.C. to Columbia when something special happened. A few minutes into the ride, I looked out the window and saw several teens approaching and threatening another young man. At first, he tried to avoid them but they continually moved to block his path. In a flash, the potential victim took off out of my sight and I thought that had he escaped. However, a few more seconds passed and I could tell that they had him trapped near the front of the bus. I felt a little helpless as this scene unfolded as it really looked as if something very bad was going to happen.

Somebody Decided to Take a Stand
At that very instant, the bus stopped, a passenger from the front seat jumped out and was quickly able to usher the young man at peril into the bus. The driver quickly pulled away and, unfortunately, one of the aggressors threw a rock at the bus and cracked the window next to me. No one was hurt, although the affair got a little more complicated after that as we eventually had to wait for about 45 minutes as the police came and sorted through the details.

Focusing on What Really Matters
I never learned all the details of who took charge and decided to intervene but the fact of the matter is that the Dillon driver made a real difference for the young man that was rescued. I have written before about how a Dillon driver made a good impression by helping a distressed and confused individual but this was something special. Customer experience took on a whole new meaning today when something truly memorable took place.

Everybody is Talking, Who Is Listening?

A quick Twitter search shows that customer service is on everyone minds. The question is, who is paying attention?

Photo Credit: Brian Solis

The Game Has Changed
By far, one of my favorite tricks is the ability to turn searches into RSS feeds. It is such a great tool for keeping track of things in the overwhelming digital current. I have long used feeds from Google Blog search and Google News but my newest favorite comes from the Summize Twitter search. Yesterday, after doing some upgrade work on the site, I thought I would see what I could find on Summize for “customer service” and, if promising, could add the info as an RSS feed. I was not disappointed. The volume on this topic is incredible and it really shows how the game has changed and how companies need to pay attention to all the channels out there. Of the 10 tweets currently shown, here is the breakdown for the companies that I could identify:

• AT&T - positive
• Alaska Airlines - positive
• Walmart (I think) - negative
• Verizon Wireless - negative
• Cox (I think) - negative

What is being done about it?
These comments provide a great opportunity for these companies to engage with their customers. Engaging with those with positive experiences could turn these people into even stronger evangelists while engaging with those with bad interactions can help identify unknown issues and possibly stop a snowball before it gets rolling. As bad as some of my personal experiences with Comcast have been, Comcast seems to be one of the companies that do get it. One question though is if customers relying on phone service alone will see any carryover effect. Overall, however, I think the tide is definitely turning in favor of the customer.

Going The Extra Mile

Although we didn’t get the outcome we hoped for, the staff at Howard County Community College went beyond expectations to help us

Grade: A
Company: Howard County Community College (HCC)
Event: Trying to Get a Visa for My Sister-In-Law
Location: Columbia, MD

Many Failures
My wife and I have been married for a little more than seven years. We met shortly after I finished Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa but we have lived our entire married life here in the US. During these seven years, we have tried time after time to have her relatives come visit - without success. Her father, who had been in the US before as a guest of USAID, was rejected when planning to come to our wedding reception. Her mother could not get a visa for the birth of our second child, even though she was able to come for the birth of our first daughter. Nearly all of her sisters and cousins have been rejected, sometimes more than once. This has been a terrible emotional hardship for my wife not to mention an economic one for us as we have spent many thousands of dollars on visa requests. Recently, and despite all of the failures and heartache, we made another attempt.

Could This Time Be Different?
This time, one of my wife’s sisters wanted to come to the US to study international business. She is well-educated, had money for the flight and tuition and had a place to stay in our house. My wife began the process by talking to our local community college, Howard County Community College (HCC). My wife took several years of English classes there and I enrolled in several continuing education classes in Web development and design. All of our previous experiences were very positive and this experience was no different. From day one, the staff at the college, and in particular the English Language Institute (ELI), went far out of their way to help my sister-in-law. This included using translation tools and online chat to communicate daily with my sister-in-law in Senegal.

Same Result, Different Experience
I will spare the details of the problems that my sister-in-law had at the US Embassy in Dakar, but suffice it to say that our streak of bad luck continues - no visa again. My wife, daughters and I are heartbroken and my sister-in-law is, at best, disillusioned. That being said, no one can fault the HCC and their staff. They did everything that they could, and then some. I can only hope that one day my sister-in-law will be able to come study at HCC because I know she will receive the best treatment possible.

Somebody Made A Very Bad Decision

Autoplay for an audio-enabled site is bad. Giving no option to turn the sound off - ridiculous!

    
Grade: F
Company: Mays & Associates
Event: Visiting the Columbia Festival of the Arts Web site 
Location: Online

What Can I Say
I was looking for some online information this week about the upcoming Columbia Festival of the Arts when I found the (apparently) official site for the event. As soon as the page loaded, some music kicked in along with a Flash slide show. Not so good, I thought, as I searched desperately for the pause or stop button. Really not good, I began thinking, as I got a little more frantic looking to stop the noise. THIS IS NOT GOOD AT ALL! I concluded as I realized there was no option for me to control the volume aside from leaving the page or turning off the sound on my computer.

Hello, Goodbye
There are some instances where I expect videos, Flash animation or Flash audio to start when I bring up the site. In most cases though, designs with these elements come from people with little Web experience. Everyone gets a little carried away when they make their first Web page and a few jumping smiley faces or, these days, a little overzealous Flash animation can certainly be forgiven. However, it is unforgivable for a professional Web design company to engage in these practices. The poor design choices has a tangible negative effect on people interested in the event. I really like living in Columbia. I really like all of the great events we have in this wonderful city including the Arts Festival. I do not like this site and it is a shame that I have to navigate around it to find the information that I need.

You Made a Promise, Now Let’s See the Results

A thoughtful email promises a new Web site for the Columbia Association and (hopefully) a better customer experience

  Grade: B
Company: Columbia Association (CA)
Event: Responding to a complaint
Location: Columbia, MD

Do You Get It?
I wrote last year about some issues I had with the Columbia Association, but there have been many positive experiences as well and I generally think that they have good facilities and good staff. One point of contention, however, has been their Web site. I find the site architecture very difficult to grasp and there are consistent technical problems. I sent in a comment to them several months ago about broken links on one of their more prominent pages and I recently emailed them about the fact that their site search was down entirely. I was very frustrated and not happy at all. I manage a Department of Agriculture site and some of the problems that they have really just should not happen for a site of their size.

It Looks Like You Do
A representative from CA responded promptly to my email (even though I had not requested to be contacted) and said all the right things. He was sympathetic and acknowledged that the site was sub-optional. Moreover, he said that the Columbia Association was working diligently to solve the problem and that at least some of the upgrades to the site should be available no later than July 1st.

I Am Holding My Breath
The July 1st deadline is fast approaching and I am looking forward to the new site. As a Web professional and as an engaged customer, I hope they can pull it off. I am absolutely willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as they try to resolve the problems on the site. I only hope that the promises proffered in the email are kept. Of equal importance, from a customer relations and customer experience, the thoughtful, seemingly sincere response from the CA representative really helped mitigate a bad customer experience.