There’s a saying that goes something like this. If you have a positive experience, you will share that experience with one person. If you have a negative experience, you will share it with 20 people.
I was reminded of the “tell one person” customer service formula last week when I bumped into “him” in line at a check out.
After my father passed away several years ago, my mother was finalizing the paperwork, insurances, etc. that are so difficult after a loved one passes away. My Dad had worked very hard to make sure that my mom would be comfortable in the event that anything ever happened to him.
Cancer took my father at age 72. As a small business owner who had employees, property and vehicles, my Dad had always believed in good insurance as protection. I think he was one of the last dinosaurs who didn’t think employees should have to have a co-pay on their health insurance.
He was such a good customer, he and his insurance agent, an alleged well-reputed local businessman, became “friends.” My Dad even made it a practice of stopping in each month to drop off his rather weighty check so they could chat. For years, they went to Penn State Quarterback Club together on Wednesdays during the football season.
When my Dad sold his business and the number of employees in his company dropped, the friend, aka insurance agent, continued to take my Dad’s money. Without fail and in person, my Dad would drive to the insurance office each month and drop off the check.
I remember one day my Mom calling me to tell me that my Dad came home upset because one of his insurance agent’s employees had erroneously accused my Dad of hitting her car in the parking lot. The apologies that followed did little to erase the hurt that comes when a friend makes a false accusation.
That misunderstanding and weak defense of a friend should have been a warning sign. When her husband of 47 years passed away, my mother bravely began the difficult process of trying to figure out how to continue on.
She contacted my Dad’s friend who pointed out that there had been an error. My Dad’s policy was allegedly written to cover a business with 20 or more employees. As my Dad’s friend had taken the checks each month for the previous 6 years, he never mentioned the need to change the policy or saw the need to direct my Dad to purchase a new one.
“Sorry” he said, and wrote my grieving mother a check for the premiums that had been paid, an amount considerably less than the death benefits of the policy my parents thought they had purchased.
If you can think of a better example of the worst customer service ever, let me know. It’s interesting that he never makes eye contact with me.
Decorum (and probably concerns about libel) prevent me from sharing his name with you here but in a letter that I wrote to him immediately after this mess, I said “I will tell every single person I know how incompetent you are in your business.”
On the other hand, spending even one more minute on this crook is just a downer. I would rather share the names of those businesses where I have been treated with respect and have been given good customer service.
Evolve hair salon. Gigi’s restaurant. Halfmoon-Valley Towing. Home Delivery Pizza. The summer camp where my kid is going this summer. National Car Rental. Tammy at the downtown Panera. The whole crew at Penn State Federal Credit Union. Lisa at National Penn Bank. Wegman’s Pharmacy. Brothers Pizza in Stormstown. Napa Auto Parts. The Sheetz on Valley Vista. I keep going back to these establishments because of the way these folks treat me and their other customers.
If someone gives you bad service, tell a few people. If they give you good service, tell a few more.
