There were a few comments recently on the Mountain Home New website about people getting horrible customer service at local businesses. I haven't experienced bad customer service in Mountain Home until just recently. And it really bothered me...bothered me enough to write this blog post.
What is “Customer Service”
Definition: Customer service is the practice of providing customers (people) with a positive experience from the time they enter a business (or your life) to well after they leave that business (your life).
The US Post Office Makes a “Mistake”
The doorbell rings at my house. My wife and I are just sitting down to an early dinner but I answer the door anyway. I open the door just in time to see a US Postal Service truck pulling away. I look down and see a big box sitting on my front porch step and I get excited. I pick up the box, go back inside only to discover the package was delivered to the wrong house.
Mistakes happen all the time and the USPS is not immune to them either. My first inclination is to call the US Postal Service and have them pick up the package for delivery to the right person. I know the Post Office will be closed by the time we finish dinner so I decide to be a good neighbor. I finished my dinner, put a leash on the dog and head out with the package in hand to find the “addressee” of the box.
Yeah, What Do You Want? -- Really?
I knew approximately where the “addressee” lived and it would only take 5 minutes to walk there. I found the right house, walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. I figured the right thing to do, considering I had my dog on a leash, was to leave the package on the step and move well away from the front door until they opened up.
Finally the door opens about 4 inches. I hear a grouchy voice say “Yeah, what do you want”. I briefly explained to that 4 inch crack in the door about the Post Office mistake. I could now plainly see a little toddler standing in front of the mostly closed door with what I think is mom standing behind said toddler. I tell them the package is sitting in front of the door.
No “Thank You”? Is That What I'm Complaining About?
The next and only things I heard were the words “O.K.” and the door closing shut.
There was absolutely no gratitude and no thanks for delivering the package. I wasn't looking for a reward. I wasn't looking for a hug or slap on the back. Heck, it didn't even enter my thoughts to expect a “Thank You”. But when it didn't materialize, it really pissed me off. So Yeah, I'm complaining that I didn't get a “Thank You”.
Where's the Customer in this Story?
I know some people will read this and think “Tim wasn't a customer”. And in the strict definition of the word, I truly wasn't a customer. But I am a “Potential Customer”. Think about it.
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Sounds very familiar Tim. 37 years around Mountain Home and this is not unusual.
This person probably owns a business there.