but data doesnt replace your own capacity to persuade your board; in my experience, stakeholder management and your own passion are even more important than the hard facts!
good luck with that.
JM

While I could list a million negative experiences since my arrival here I will do as I’m asked and report my most recent good experience.

It started out as a very BAD incident really, I had purchased a car from a Mercedes Direct website in February, I took the train to Chester to pick it up but after owning it for only three days I decided that I really really did not like the way the car handled. I emailed Mercedes of Chester and sadly they told me that there was nothing they could do!

That sent this Yankee into a tailspin and I escalated the issue to Mercedes Corporate. I was issued a case number and although it took two weeks I recieved emails every few days updating me as to the progress of the case. Today I got an email saying that not only are the going to take the car off of me - they have located the car I would like in place of this car and are happy to adjust the loan so that it costs me nothing!

I pick up my new car in a week and I could’t be happier. They were able to turn my ‘Im never buying a merc again’ into ‘the quality of the brand rings true still!’

Merc do care about their customers it seems even if the original salesperson did not!

It’s the personal touch that I love about these fabulous companies. Both are named after the chaps who own and run them and there’s a real sense that they’re at the helm of their empires (not sitting in a boardroom somewhere whilst everyone else runs the ship). I once rang Boden and was greeted by a jolly answerphone message from Johnny Boden himself saying that no one was available as all the hard working staff were being taken out for the day as a reward for all their efforts - I even found myself envying the staff, who I imagine live happy lives through their work at the company!

Both Boden and Alistair Sawday Publishing care about their customers. Their marketing is friendly (but far from insincere) and makes you want to be a part of the ‘family’ that they have created. It is a joy to read their catalogues and online newsletters.

So please - companies out there, take note from these two customer experience leaders - rid yourselves of the insincere messages we are forced to listen when we call your customer service lines; be sincere about what you say to us and above all, make us feel like we can’t live without you!

This lady would never have seen me again but had still memorised my name.

The best thing is that this happened in the world capital of customer service: Germany.

But I don’t know if this was based on systematic training of this store’s staff. If only German politicians would preach the customer service message more often; businesses would sell a lot more and ultimately contribute to economic growth and lower unemployment. It’s so obvious, that I don’t understand why nobody is seriously trying to change the culture.

The one type of customer service that consistently impresses me is that of online booking/buying sites like Amazon, eBay/PayPal, British Airways (choose your seat a day before you fly).

The U.S. is often cited as the role model for great customer service/experience. I find the UK sitting somewhere in between the U.S. and continental Europe: enough customer service to make you feel welcome, but not fake and artificial as I sometimes was treated in the U.S.