The Cheese Guy versus the Vitamin Lady: Tales of Customer Service Wins and Woes

Last week, I had two strikingly different customer service experiences.

Let’s start with the woes: I had a weird charge on my health care credit card listed as “virtual Services.” I asked my card company to do some research. Turns out, this request initiated a chargeback on a legitimate charge. Oops! 

How did I figure this out? Well, I went to place another order with the company (their product really works) and was told that I have been permanently banned from doing business with them. 

I realized my error, and explained why this didn’t look like a legit charge. I let the customer service woman know that I’d correct my error with the credit card company and asked to make it right by paying for the chargeback.   

There was no give from my customer service representative. She was curt, inflexible and totally uninterested in solving the problem. She refused to let me make up the payment, refused to let me order again, refused to let me speak to the fraud department, refused to let me speak to the next level manager. As a result, this company is left out of their rightfully due payment, leaves me without the product, and robs the business of all my future orders. Seriously, this stuff works so well I would have ordered it for years. What a loss for everyone.

Now onto the wins: At the Golden Farmer’s Market there is this cheese guy. He sells the most marvelous cheese. Really. His stuff is delicious, interesting, flavorful, handmade and amazingly fresh. The cheese guy sees me and my friend approaching, remembers us (from last year!!), strikes up a friendly conversation, and gives us samples of his new products.

I spend a not insubstantial amount on a chunk of cheese that pairs perfectly with the meal I was making that night. I’m already planning my schedule around getting to that Farmer’s Market again for the cheese guy. Interestingly, he was nonplussed that my friend didn’t buy anything. He was just as friendly, just as kind, just as interactive. It was clear that attending to relationship was more important than a sale. What a win for everyone.

You probably know this already, but it bears repeating: how you treat people really, really matters. A kind tone of voice goes a long way, as does an attitude of curiosity. It is possible to hold to a policy and still have someone feel heard. It can be fun to solve problems creatively. Even if the outcome was still that I’d be banned (how interesting, I don’t think I’ve been banned before), I could have left that experience with regret but without hard feelings towards the vitamin lady and the company she works for. 

Wishing you all customer service experiences like the cheese guy.