FM Walsh & Associates Inc.

I am always amazed at the cavalier way large companies often treat their customers. They ignore complaints or treat them with disdain. The truth is no one likes to deal with a frustrated or angry customer, but you have to remember that unhappy customers are much more likely to tell a lot more people about their bad experiences than the good ones. Who hasn’t experienced getting caught in an endless maze of voicemail or having to repeat your story over and over to a series of customer service reps, only to hear “I can’t help you with that. You need to talk to another department?” Over and over these days, I hear people complaining about the shabby way they are treated by their bank or telecommunications company. We’ve almost become resigned to it as a way of life.

That’s why I was so surprised by the outstanding customer service experience I recently had with Fido. After two separate experiences with their customer service department, I really was not happy with how I was treated. So I dropped Fido an email just to let them know what my experience had been. I was extremely surprised to receive an email and a phone call from Customer Service asking me for the details. They took the time to listen to my story, asked a lot of questions and then offered a generous solution to my issue. They delivered one of the most outstanding customer service experiences I have ever had – I am really impressed. Here is a large company that really does want to improve customer experiences with their products and services.

The lesson learned? If you have a bad experience with a company, don’t just walk away and only complain to your friends. Let the business know how they fell short – tell them where they went wrong. You might be surprised at the results you get! And if you are a business owner, make sure that you encourage your customers to let you know what you are doing right and wrong. You have to know what is broken in order to fix it.