Exceptional customer service is redefining what we, as customers, expect—and that affects all customers and all brands, including yours.
Takeaways
- The bar is higher than ever before regarding your brand’s customer experience.
- Tesla’s customer support goes above and beyond in routine service appointments.
- Exceptional customer service leaves a lasting impression and makes customers feel valued.
Anthony: Exceptional customer service is redefining what we as consumers expect, and that affects all industries and all brands, including yours.
Hello. I’m Anthony Helmstetter, strategist with Convince & Convert. Exceptional customer service is changing the way we as consumers look at everything. I had a recent experience I want to share with you in the next 90 seconds about having my car repaired in my own garage.
I drive a Tesla Model S, and they can only be serviced at an authorized Tesla service center. I’m fortunate I have one about 30 minutes away, so one weekday morning at 7:30, I fired off an email to the service center explaining this problem with a door handle that intermittently wouldn’t work from the outside. Kind of a hassle. I wanted to know if I needed to make an appointment and how soon I could get in. I took my son to school and ran a few errands, and back home about an hour later, I had an email reply already.
They apologized for my problems. They said they’d be happy to make an appointment, or if I prefer, they would send one of their mobile service technicians—a Tesla service ranger, they call them—to my house and do the repair here. I also had a voicemail—again, this is one hour later—from Jack, the service technician, the ranger, who said he would be available within an hour to come to my house to make the repairs. I called Jack back and set an appointment for 10 o’clock that same day.
Jack arrived on time, Tesla truck, necessary parts with him, and he proceeded to dismantle my car door in my garage. I mean everything. He took the glass out, inside panel off, wiring harnesses to get the handle out, replaced it with the right version, put it all back together. He cleaned the glass. Then he did the annual service maintenance check. He made sure the firmware was the current version, and he made sure the log files had no errors. They didn’t, and then he topped off the windshield washer fluid. My warranty expired at 80,000 miles, and on the day that Jack visited, I had 86,000 miles on the car. Total cost to me: zero.
That is exceptional customer service. Tesla didn’t have to do that. They chose to, and by doing so, they raised the bar of expectation against all their competitors. And we as consumers, when we’re treated like that, by all companies and all brands, there’s a lesson to be learned here, my friends. Look at your customer service, and strive for being exceptional because your customers, if they don’t already, soon will expect it. Until next time, take care.
