These companies take customer service seriously. And they dominate their competition. Learn more in this post from Pollock.
Do you know what great customer service looks like? Every company says they do it. But customers don’t always agree.
However, consumers and experts agree these companies offer some of the best customer service experiences in America. Here they are – and here’s what they do:
- Amazon
Don’t we usually hear stories how big corporations don’t treat you well? At $224 billion, Amazon’s one of the largest companies in America.
But it gets great customer-service ratings from Temkin Group, which researches and rates customer service in all industries. All sorts of other resources rank Amazon highly too.
CEO Jeff Bezos does something unique: all employees, including Bezos, have to work 2 days of customer service every 2 years.
Oh and the company’s mission statement: “We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company.”
Wow!
- Chick-fil-A
When you think of fast food, you don’t think of great customer service. You think of teenagers working their first job, or adults just trying to make ends meet.
“Customer service” and “fast food” seem to go together like loaded firearms and unsupervised children – the two just don’t mix. The Quick-Service Restaurant Trade Journal actually named the company the “best drive-through in America” for two consecutive years.
A couple things they do:
- They don’t thank you for your business. Instead, they say, “My pleasure.” It’s a classier gratuity, which leaves a stronger impression than the “thank-you” you get from other fast-food chains.
- The company does nice things for its customers so they spread the word. Before a new restaurant opening, people in the area get invited to a special free dinner the night prior to opening. Everyone gets 10 free coupons for free meals for all customers to give to their friends and neighbors. And you can bet they do it!
- Costco
With a company worth of nearly $64 billion and a position as the leading warehouse club in America (even ahead of Sam’s Club), Costco has enough strength to stick it to its customers.
But they don’t. In fact, they’ve build their business so they can only profit from great customer service.
For example, they break-even on the sale of their retail goods. Where does all their profit come from?
They get it from selling annual membership fees to happy members! So if their service quality dips, their business suffers badly because members would go somewhere else.
But, they avoid that by paying their employees unheard of salaries in the industry. Compared to another unnamed leading national retailer, they pay almost double the average salary. The typical Costco retail worker makes around $40,000 per year!
The theory is that if you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of their customers.
And Costco’s do.
What Can You Learn from These Big Guys?
There’s something you can learn from every one of them and apply to your business.
What inspired you today?