March 21, 2005

Customer Service, the Blowfish Way (part 1 of a series)

I've started formalizing a lot of Blowfish's customer service policies, and I thought it might be fun to publish them here. Given how lousy so much CS in the world is, it can't hurt.

Today's Topic: We don't say “no.”

Of course, that doesn't mean we always give the customer what they are asking for; that would be insane. It means that we do everything we can not to use the word “no” with a customer, especially in a way that directly contradicts the customer.

Wrong interaction:

Them: “Your web site said that I could return it!”

Us: “No, that's not what the web site says. That item is not returnable.”

Correct interaction:

Them: “Your web site said that I could return it!”

Us: “The description of the item does include a note that says that particular item is not returnable. Is it defective in some way?”

The important points are:

  1. Do not directly contradict the customer unless it is absolutely required. It almost never is.
  2. Tell the customer what is the case, rather than spending time on arguing with the customer's perception.
  3. Always lead the customer from what they want to what we can do, rather than dwelling on what we can't do.
posted 12:14