It’s a funny thing when customer service executives get to interact with each other. In May, I happened to be introduced to Dave Mitchell, Levenger’s dedicated VP of Operations, at the Operations Summit in Memphis.
I’ve been a Levenger fan for years and love the company’s products: I own a number of their bags and many of their tools for reading and writing and managing documents, and I have their furniture both at home and in the office. I had even used them as an example of a company I trust in a different conference discussion about the value of sharing data with suppliers to get a better experience of shopping and product usage (and in doing so, I met Steve Leveen, Levenger’s peripatetic and generous founder).
During my chat with Dave Mitchell, I chivvied him a bit, as any customer might, because Levenger had recently changed the specs of a product I had bought for years so that it no longer served my purpose. Now, of course, companies need to make these changes periodically. That’s part of doing business, and I was neither looking for any accommodation nor expecting anything — it was just some friendly ribbing among customer service professionals.
But shortly after the conference, Dave got in touch with me via email with the following message (all email excerpts are used with permission):
… Let me know what and if I can do anything to get you back to [this product line]. I suspect that some of our new (and previously existing) formats will delight you.
I actually feel bad about accepting special favors, so I tried to let Dave off his own hook by writing:
With regret for your aggravation,
LK
But Dave was both sincere and adamant:
This is what we do, and I am the leader of the crew — and I dropped the ball. Actually, we will use this as an example to the CS professionals. That is to say, to err is human and even the boss has an occasional brain cramp. … I have the honor of working with the best team, period.
So I would love to provide you with a new [product] and for you to use it daily. … and we will remain top of mind.
Please, no regrets on your part and certainly no aggravation at all. Let me know what would be most beneficial for you and I will ensure my team processes out to you without delay.
What a lovely, smart response, I thought, with his giving credit to his people while helping me help them ensure my loyalty. So what else could I do but accept Dave’s offer? Here’s what I wrote to him when I sent my “order”:
And then Dave sent something extra and special besides the product we had spoken about.
Every time I look at my [product] I remember my fondness for Dave and Steve and Levenger in general. Of course, for anything in their product category, I will always go to them first. And isn’t that exactly the attitude you want to create and preserve in your customers?
[Thanks to Jeff Klien, whom I had the pleasure of working with years ago when he was at Bedford Fair, before he started his own consulting practice, for introducing me to Dave Mitchell.]
Onward and upward,
LK
Liz Alt Kislik is President of Liz Kislik Associates LLC. Liz brings more than two decades of customer-focused management experience to businesses of all sizes and segments. She helps managers address complex organizational problems, particularly in the areas of customer care and employee performance.
2 Comments
This post has the hallmarks of a fairy tale, complete with a happy ending.
As I re-read this post, I recalled an episode of Under the Influence. “It’s the little things”, says the host, Terry O’Reilly. It’s also the bigger things.
For your information, here is the link: http://www.cbc.ca/undertheinfluence/season-1/2012/06/09/its-the-little-things-2/.
Quite right, Marianna, and it’s a real plus when a company can handle them both.
One Trackback
[...] name the recipients of praise and keep the pans anonymous. (You can check out these posts about Levenger and Winthrop University Hospital, and these about lack of communication and ineffective [...]