Two Sides Of The Customer Service Coin
Today my family received two very different messages from two separate companies. I had to write about them and share them with you here, because the two experiences could not have been more polarizing.
The Bad Experience
My wife received a phone call from a representative at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). We have a couple of banking products with them, and they called to check up on us and see if they could sell us anything else. My wife said that we were fine, and that we didn’t need a loan, credit card, or line of credit, thank you very much.
The CSR asked if we had a VISA.
Yes, we do.
But that VISA is in your husband’s name, isn’t it?
It is.
The CSR continued that my wife should really get a VISA in her own name, just in case I ever decide to leave her and my children.
Let me repeat that. As a sales tactic to get an existing client to add an additional service, a representative of one of the largest banks in the country actually suggested that a client’s husband might abandon her.
The Good Experience
A couple of months ago my son, age 4, drew a few pictures of a Super Mario Brothers game that he though would be fun. He asked me to send them to Nintendo of America so that they could make the game for him. We wrote a short letter, gathered up the pictures, and then mailed them to Nintendo of America.
Today, he received a letter back from Nintendo. The letter was quite long, and it commented on the quality of the pictures, how much they liked his idea for a game, and a few other very nice things. To complete the letter, they said that they were very proud that their work had inspired my son, and went on to suggest that if he worked hard, that maybe someday his work would inspire others. They also included a few Nintendo trinkets as gifts for him.
The Takeaway
So in one day – in a time span of about three hours – my family was hit with two very distinct messages from large multinational corporations. One, CIBC, shared a threatening message of despair and pain. The other, Nintendo, shared a message of thanks and hopefulness.
Which of these companies do you think we feel better about in our household? Who would we rather deal with in the future?
And what about you? What message are you sharing with your customers? Are you scaring them into making a purchase? Or are you leading with a positive message? Are you the doomsday company, or are you inspiring your customers?
I would seriously call CIBC and ask if that is a typical sales tactic.
I’m sure that this isn’t a corporate approved sales tactic by CIBC. It does however, drive home the point that any company is only as good as it’s weakest link, and it is up to business to make sure those weak links are taken care of. I do have the name of the person who called, but my time is valuable and I’m not going to waste it on a phone call to a corporate 1-800 number that isn’t going to change anything anyway. I don’t need or want an “I’m sorry” from CIBC. I’d rather share both of these experiences with the 1500 people who will read this story this month and inspire them to achieve greater levels of customer service in their own businesses.
I think I am going to draw some pictures for nintendo right now. So awesome.
Ya know, there’s a downside to not calling to report this person. Based on this sales tactic, it is safe to say that this person has absolutely no ethics to speak of. In your case, you didn’t actually lose anything (and you gained material for your blog/classes/etc). However, my Grandma (who is 90) gets a constant barrage of phone calls from her bank. Grandma gets confused rather easily but as of yet, she has never signed up for a line of credit, or another product she has no need for. I credit the fact that the sales people who do call her are ethical enough not to take advantage of her. This twit, on the other hand?
There are lots of people just like my grandma out there…
Either way, big ups Nintendo. And big ups Ryan – this was a great article!!
Every call nowadays is recorded and backed up. The representative’s manager should be made aware of these tactics so they can be properly investigated. Something very similar happened to my family and the company in question was very accommodating when it came to my angry follow-up.
Great article, Ryan… and props to Nintendo!
Wild story man!
My daughter wrote to McDonald’s because they don’t have any vegetarian entrees except the grilled cheese Happy Meal. She suggested that they would have more customers if they expanded their menu. I was impressed when she received a personal letter in response and a few gift certificates.