When a service technician that comes to your home, you figure there’s a technology issue that needs to get fixed by an expert. What’s gotten you to this point? Numerous phone calls. Tweets. Self-help attempts. Thrown remotes or phones. Frustration.
This was our home the other day. Marc came in this week to fix an issue with our modem. Very nice guy, very thorough, and you could tell he really liked his job. Then we started talking about Chicago’s frigid -40° weather and he said this:
“The weather is horrible but I do it because the one thing that people have a hard time with is not being able to connect with others. I want to be the one who fixes it so people are able to talk to loved ones or are able to reach someone if there is an emergency.”
Service With a Purpose
Marc’s statement struck me. You could see the emotion in his eyes when he was saying this. You felt the passion and knew he had a purpose. A purpose to figure out his customers’ problems and get them fixed, no matter what.
“We’ll have to send someone out” is the last sentence we want to hear from customer service when trying to resolve a problem. He understands his role as a technician is one that customers depend on. He’s the missing link that will help get them back to 100%. Even more importantly, they’re the link that will repair a sometimes torn relationship with the customer and the company.
Behaviors Create Experiences
My experience was slightly broken. Marc came in and let his passion shine through, which translated into a behavior that resonated with me. We think a lot about how social helps in brand experiences, which it does. We need to think bigger. Companies need to remember that the experience we get from any one employee, no matter if it’s on social or not, can impact the future of that relationship.
What Marc Teaches Us
Having a purpose matters. Having a company that builds a culture around this behavior is even more impactful. While Marc may be a unique personality, he showed me that his personal purpose was the backbone of my experience. Companies have the opportunity to translate this behavior into what they stand for. Customer experience is more than just a quick social response or a surprise gift sent to a random customer. It’s about what your employees believe in and how your company instills this type of culture.
It’s easier said than done but what Marc taught me is that being passionate and having a purpose makes the world of difference for a company.
Replicating Marc’s values across your organization makes the benefit exponential.
