Comments on: Is customer service cultural?

By: Andrew Stein

Andrew Stein — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:36:37 +0000

I have spent a great deal of time being assisted by customer service representatives of all sorts. Some for Starbucks, some for apple, some for hotel reservations in Argentina and countless more. I have also spent enough time waiting, only to be a customer not served.

In all my experience, I have learned one thing well, it pays well to play well. By this I mean that competing companies’ survival depend on customer service. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. A single experience from a single customer can influence countless others, either to except a company’s service, or reject it. Yet, far too often the customer is only seen as one who won’t pay for his cold food, a mere $20 loss in the scheme of things.

*The US might not be the best when it comes to treating our people right, but seven trips overseas (and counting) have shone a bright light on the beauty of our approach to the customer’s needs. It’s not bright yet, but it’s getting there.

By: 4 Action Items for More Lucrative Customer Communication | Create Business Growth Offers...

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:35:25 +0000

[...] Service Untitled asks a good question, Is Customer Service Cultural? Maybe, but it doesn’t have to be. The people I talked to were in located in the US, the Philippines, and in India. Good, consistent customer service starts with a series of well defined processes. [...]

By: Service Untitled

Service Untitled — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:24:51 +0000

Hi Evenlevel, Thanks for your comment. I agree with you. I wrote about something similar to what you're talking about not too long ago. Companies (and cultures) that promote great customer service and value it will definitely see better results. Eric, Great points! And an interesting solution to the French. What you mentioned about the Dutch is more what I was thinking about when writing the post. It is just how people look at each other and their cultures that makes the customer service difference on a national level. Thanks for your comment!

By: Eric Fraterman

Eric Fraterman — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:23:27 +0000

I agree with the influence of natural culture. Many, many years ago the French government realized that the French culture did not make for greatr customer service or frinedliness. They insituted a massive program allowing visitors to hand out redeemable certificates when a person gave them great service and treated them right. Also, I hail from Holland. My observation is that the Dutch ingtrinsically are not the greatest service providers. Why? Their culture is one of social egalitarism and providing good service in their views translates into acknowledging not bein equal to the other person. Dutch society is clearly founded on social broadbanding. So here is my twopence worth of observations to agree.

By: Evenlevel

Evenlevel — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:30:27 +0000

I ran across your blog, this post, and then read about your unpleasant car buying experience today. I think customer service is generally frowned upon in America because, in most cases, it does not pay well, it does not require specialization and its certainly not a profession that many people aspire to.

I’ve always enjoyed shopping at places with good customer service, like Nordstrom’s or Whole Foods. I think those corporate cultures actually place a premium on customer service and even tell urban myths of excellent service to promote certain behaviors within the company.

I’ve read several times about the Nordstrom’s employee that took back tire chains from a customer even though Nordstrom’s doesn’t sell tire chains. If more news stories were written about people who provide service beyond expectation then I think our culture would eventually shift to be more like Japans, at least in the case you mentioned.