The London Underground could really learn a lesson or three in how to entertain customers.
Ever been on the Tube?
For me, because London is a rare treat, the Tube is a guilty pleasure and I consider it much like le Metro. It’s true that the stations under London perhaps hold less art, attraction and glamour than their counterparts in Paris, but I enjoy the trips, the freedom and the novelty.
If you’re using the Tube every day, however, it can be a chore. I’ve had less than stellar experiences when working away from home – the blasts of hot, stale body odour which fly around some of the tunnels, the cramped body crushes during the rush hours, the wall of people facing you when the door opens and the general misery of people who cannot find room to smile because of the oppression of the same grind, day in, day out.
The Lady who does the Voice of the Underground, voice artist Emma Clarke, has been sacked by the London Underground for allegedly criticising their services. Apparently she described the Tube as “dreadful”, referring to the fact that at every station she would have to listen to herself saying Mind The Gap. The L.U. took this as being her impression of the service as a whole and as a result, fired her after 8 years of work. They fired her via the media. And are not engaging in conversation.
That’s the way to deal with customer feedback.
How crazy is that? The best way to deal with criticism is now officially to plug your ears with your hands.
Now I know I’ve stated a preference for “firing the customer” in cases where the customer is proving to be seriously uneconomical. There are always going to be some troublesome customers and there will be times where a parting of the ways is best for all concerned.
Similarly a friend of mine emailed me yesterday with a customer services report. He was cold-called by a competitor of mine and grilled about his services and purchasing. When he said he used “us”, the caller hung up on him immediately. Is that the way to solicit business? Certainly when we’ve been called by their customers we’ve been nothing but courteous (and we don’t do cold-calling). Of course they may be a bit sore about the revelation last year that they used us for their hard work which caused some laughter in some parts.
Just be nice to people, it really works. If you be nice they’ll tell maybe 10 people. If you treat them badly, they’ll tell everyone.