Customer Service - What NOT to do

Anyways, anyone who is around me a lot hears how much I like VistaPrint. I like the quality of their products, I like the ease of ordering and I tell EVERYONE about it. Yesterday I found out that for some reason one of my orders was delayed (I could never get the customer service person to talk fast enough to tell me the reason) and I requested an expedited order. The customer service person hung up on me. I called back and requested a supervisor and another rep promised one would call me back by COB, no one did.

I will probably not stop using them as generally their printing service is impeccable, BUT their customer service department leaves A LOT to be desired. The person who answered the phone did not understand how to talk to someone like me - I want to get to the point and get a solution. I am not concerned with what went wrong or her evaluation that a week late delivery is FINE. It is NOT fine. Offering to cancel the order is not a good suggestion either as that defeats the ENTIRE purpose of wanting to get the item faster.

My listing partner and I are Robert LeFever groupies. He is an FBO profiler who uses the DISC profile to tell how to talk with your clients the way that THEY are most comfortable with. The rep yesterday missed the boat badly. Staying calm, talking in a low tone, droning on and on about why the order was late only made me mad, although it might have made another customer feel better because they need to know all the facts, or could have helped someone else because she was nice and they like nice people. I constantly have to remind myself to try and communicate with my clients in the way that makes them feel the best, not in the abrupt, get to the point way that I like, but which sometimes makes other people feel like they have been sideswiped by a bus.

How do you interact with your customers? Do they end the conversation with a smile or do they feel like you have missed the boat like the VistaPrint rep?

Real Estate Marketing Pro