In a previous post, we discussed the challenge often faced by managers and business owners in teaching customer service skills to entry-level employees.
Editorial credit: Grzegorz Czapski / Shutterstock.com
Companies in any industry can use Tesla’s real-life example of how it has built and retained a loyal customer base as a model to better demonstrate basic customer service skills and concepts to their employees.
In our previous post, we looked at three examples; here, we take a look at three more.
Think Through the Entire Customer Journey
Many companies think the customer experience starts and ends at a sale, but that’s not the case. Think about the level of service you receive from your cable or Internet provider when you have a problem, for instance—how does that compare with the service you received when the company first solicited your business?
The customer journey is long, and at each step, it’s important to maintain the same high-level service you provided when you first courted your customers.
Be Honest and Transparent
Tesla learned honesty and transparency the hard way, such as when its customers were frustrated by the pushed-back rollout dates of the company’s Model 3. “Soon, customers began seeing backlogs of Model 3s sitting at assembly plants and wondered why they hadn’t received their cars,” writes Forbes Contributor Blake Morgan. “Instead of hiding behind the problem, Tesla learned to be honest about its challenges.” She notes that some customers even received personal notes from company founder and CEO Elon Musk.
That’s the kind of service that can “wow” customers, even after a bad experience. And in fact, recovering well from an error can really boost customer loyalty and increase positive word of mouth.
Remember that Experience Is as (or More!) Important as Product
Tesla’s products are flashy, high profile, and state of the art, but some argue that what truly sets the company apart is the customer experience it provides.
The learning process is enhanced when you can provide a concrete example of how a concept is applied to a real-life situation.
Tesla is a great example of a company that has generated strong customer service goodwill. In our final post on this topic, we’ll look at the remaining lessons we can learn from the company’s customer service success.