First, I want to recognize my great Lexus salesperson, Christil Pinkerton. She's been the greatest. Our Lexus dealer is in Clearwater, and probably a 45 minute drive from home. Since the one day that I went to the dealership to look at a car, I've never had to go back to the dealership. When it needs service, someone from Lexus drives to St Pete to pick it up, leaves me a Lexus loaner, and delivers it back when it's done. Even when I traded in my Lexus SUV after 3 years, I never went back - I called Christil, told her the model and color I wanted, and she drove it down, changed the plates, and just handed me the new keys.
Two weeks ago I sent my Lexus SUV in for normal service (15,000 miles, I think). The driver who returned it was someone I didn't know, but it didn't matter. I drove it later out of our parking lot, and over to a client's house. When I came out of the house 2 hours later, I noticed a dent on the right front bumper. I called Lexus, told them, and they immediately scheduled a time to pick it up and leave me a loaner. There was NEVER a question about it being dented in the parking lot, or that I didn't check it while the driver was there. They immediately picked it up and fixed it, at no cost to me.
Believing your customer, listening to what they say, and then fixing it. That's one of the keys to great customer service.
Sharon,
Yup! Agree. All about not just saying you have good service but stepping up to the plate and delivering.
Kevin - yes, indeed. I don't expect businesses - or people - to always be right. It's what they do to take care of things when they go wrong that separates the talkers from the doers.
Jack - actually, the saleswoman has me as a loyal client. If she moved dealerships, I'd follow her.
Linda - must be a more pleasant drive in Connecticut.
Shaun - yes, as long as they keep making cars that I like.
Beth - we so often share the bad stories, I like to share some good ones as well.
Pam - I've actually found that it varies with the salesperson - just like our business.
Carole - I know what you mean. I remember in the pre-Lexus days when the salesman would offer to drive me around the block in it. Now how am I going to get the feel if I'm not the one driving it? Then, there was the Jaguar dealer - they were so chauvanistic and belittling that I wouldn't spend my money there if they were the only dealer in town.
Good luck, Joshua. Recognizing good service and striving for it are the keys to success. Yes, Nordstroms is also known for its service. I remember buying some clothes at Nordstroms in San Diego, and the sales clerk suggested that I could go sightseeing easier if she had the clothes delivered to my hotel, rather than my carrying them. When she finished her shift, she brought the clothes I'd bought to the hotel. You can believe I not only remember that, I talk about it. Viral marketing.
Marti - it's a great example of turning a problem (I would certainly have talked about how they dented my car when they had it for service) into a benefit (now I can talk about their great customer service).