Apple, Nordstrom, Warby Parker, and Kohl’s rarely disappoint in their service. Just yesterday, I needed a consultation on a replacement connector for my MacBook Air. I made a reservation with Apple, the service person was on time, and the item was replaced. Last week, due to an update on my iPhone 6S, my anna@personalimagesinc.com address was not receiving emails. I called Apple support and they were able to walk me through the steps to get Microsoft emails to work. Nordstrom provides consistently good delivery service and easy exchanges, as does Kohl’s with their curbside pickup or returns.

I have a Dell laptop and a MacBook Air laptop. Microsoft Office products are available for PC and Apple computers. With the Dell, I use Office 365—a subscription-based version of the Microsoft Office suite. With the MacBook Air, I use Office for Mac. First introduced in 1989, Office for Mac has become virtually the same as running a Microsoft Office product on a PC. Both products are readily available. In a shopping center near me, the Microsoft store and the Apple store are across the way from each other. People have long considered Apple to offer superior service in helping the consumer manage and troubleshoot their products. Apple’s chat service is especially helpful. Microsoft has stepped up their service and offers a program called Assure. Both companies have learned the value of good customer service and made their products compatible for the user.

How many times have we tried to reach a customer service person on the phone but instead of getting a person, an automatic system responds with a long list of numbers to call? In appreciation to all the companies that offer this, we like the ones that make it simple after you hit the correct number! The companies that do well with the first customer service contact, usually put an efficient, inclusive agent on the phone that wants to help get the problem resolved.

When working with clients or others to solve a problem, resolve the issue so that everyone leaves with a sense of closure. This burnishes a reputation of inclusiveness and competence.

Recently, my partner needed to replace his iPhone due to the screen coming apart. Apple in Oakbrook opens on Sunday at 11 am. We arrived fifteen minutes early during a pouring rain. Outside, an employee took names for reservations for a technical person to help Bill with his phone. Apple management thought this would prevent folks from rushing in and help the customer and the staff manage the flow.

By the time 11 am came around, at least 20 folks waited to get in. How many times have you stood in front of a store waiting to get in amid confusion followed by a mad stampede! Apple deserves five stars for customer service. We were also waited on and taken care quickly with a new replacement phone in just 35 minutes.

Recently, I was in a retail store purchasing a large ticket item. The order taker gave the impression she was being put upon (unlike Nordstrom in Oakbrook or Kohl’s in Elmhurst). The order was taken. However, it took 20 minutes to fill and no other customer was in the store.

The color ended up wrong, the original service person was not available, and the one that was there said she could not wait on me. The store manager walked by when I was waiting and did not pause or even cast a glance my way. I realized that this was the reason for the unfriendly service people.

It all starts at the top. An excellent product will sell regardless how difficult it is to purchase but when the service people are unhelpful, any product can lose market share at least in that store. Most products can be purchased at multiple places.

Shopping on line has become the way for me to shop whether it is for the house, office or personal items over these last few years. Before 2015, retail shopping meant going to various stores. It was not always fun to shop. In fact, it became more of a chore that a joyous experience.

The service, easy returns and problem handling of Amazon, Zappo, and Nordstrom (my favorite ones) has always been stellar. Whether working in an organization or as a consultant, when you offer consistent 24/7 service, you will build up loyal customers and client champions for your organization.

A recent Chicago Tribune business section article, talks about the importance of showing appreciation by saying thank you in different ways. Giving thanks in ways other than words such as lending a helping hand, offering a small gift, or breaking bread (having lunch or coffee), are three great ways to do that. Showing appreciation forges relationships, professionally and personally.

I have been having issues with my Mac Air since updating the operating system. At a recent session, while I tried to determine why my logins were not working, the Apple associate helping me was new. He tried several options and they did not work. Instead of trying more options he went to his boss and they thought I should go back to the technical person I use.

He could tell this bothered me so he went to another associate and asked him to lend a hand. Sure enough, this other associate solved the problem for me! What I found amazing is that this young associate was willing to go the extra mile to help me out. He did not just quit. He also learned from the more seasoned person how to fix my problem. A win-win if there ever was one!

Good people get worn away when working for a bad company as in the story below.

As a business owner, I know that having good credit is very important for many reasons. For example, using automatic payment ensures I am never late for a payment. A company I did business with changed credit card companies making it necessary to call all the vendors to replace the card. This firm experiences many problems with their systems. They are trying to mitigate that by hiring good customer service people. However, no matter how good or how new, a customer service staff can only stay positive when dealing with legitimate complaints. Not ones stemming from receiving a call from a company saying a payment was rejected because they did not have the credit card.

I spoke four times to different representatives about this very situation. They apologize because they have the new card in the system but are uncertain of the problem. You can hear their frustration (forget about mine!).  How can a company keep good people when the system works against them? How can the reps  keep a cheery voice and attitude when the problem keeps recurring? That’s what wears them out, I suspect.

I am still amazed when customer service calls me back. Recently, I had two very different customer service experiences. One was a rep who directed me to the website to make changes to a service plan. Two days later, after no success with customer service and not being able to get into the website, I went to the retail store to speak to a representative. This person could not get into the site either but promised to call me back the next day.

No call.

I then called the store number where another customer service person helped change the plan. Four days of phone calls, no luck with website or even with the retail store.

My second example was a “wow”! I called first to get a customer service person. This person told me he would handle it and would call back with the correction needed. He called me back within ten minutes with the change and a confirmation number.

When running a business, customer service is critical to the survival of almost any business. It will set you apart from competitors but the key is to “wow” the customer!