Tabula Rasa

November 19, 2004

Scenario

I want to share a recent situation I went through with a service provider. I hope you'll find it instructive and helpful.

The background:

1. On September 20, I purchased a piece of hardware to help me manage my time and workload more effectively.
2. By mid-October, in the middle of a very busy period, I had connected and synchronized all but one feature with my laptop computer. I know, I know, that's a long time but honest I was really busy and besides I quickly ran into technical problems that I was not able to solve. Of course the one feature that did not synchronize was the prime one I needed and the basic reason for making the purchase in the first place. Isn't life wonderful?
3. By mid-November, 3 different hardware and software technicians had done their best and still it wasn't working properly.
4. I went back to the 'big box' store to return the item and get a new one. I stood in line for 45 minutes to be told that they could do nothing for me because I hadn't returned it within two weeks of purchasing it so I had to go directly to the manufacturer.
5. I called the manufacturer and was told to take the item to their contract shipping center and they would return it for repair or replacement.
6. When I arrived at the shipping center they refused to take it because they didn't have a shipping number.
7. At this point I was ready to kill, but I called the 'Help Desk' and spoke to someone named Neo (right!), and it was Neo who turned the situation around and saved the reputation of the business.
8. Neo, first had some bad news for me. He told me that it was not possible to leave the product at the shipping center and that in fact it had to be 'shipped' there via courier...worse still, he didn't want to do that because he (Neo) was going to fix the problem.
9. I was barely able to control my frustration as I explained that we had been through all the remote-repair options and that now all I wanted was a new or repaired unit.
10. Neo assured me that he understood and would get me a new unit but that he was certain the problem could be fixed without the inconvenience, cost and lost time associated with shipping it.

I'm sure we've all experienced something like this and perhaps we've even put some of our customers through situations like this. The reality is that 'stuff' simply doesn't always work perfectly.

After all is said and done I would purchase from this company again, in spite of all the problems, because of ...Neo!

Neo did an amazing job of using two key skills and techniques that I've written about before but after this recent experience I want to reinforce and encourage you to use and use and use until you are as good at them as Neo.

1. Reflective Listening
   1. Neo heard me out. He never once interrupted me or tried to slow me down.
   2. Neo empathized with me. He repeatedly assured me that he understood my frustration and apologized for anything his colleagues might have done. He related to my feelings, I could hear it in his voice as well as in his words.
   3. Neo never once blamed, not his company, nor his colleagues, nor the retail outlet, he stayed very mature and focused entirely on solving the problem.
   4. Neo took responsibility for fixing the problem, he didn't pass me on to anyone else. He made a commitment and he delivered.
2. The Fault/Severity Matrix
1. Neo did not over or under react to the problem. He could easily have Done either.
2. He assessed that for me, at this moment, this felt like a very severe situation. I was very emotional and even in the midst of it, I knew that I was over reacting. But Neo remained calm and business-like. His job was fix this problem, something which he must have known he could do, in which case he realized that the severity was fairly low.
3. He recognized that the Fault was completely with his company and so Committed himself to getting the job done in this one call or he would immediately replace the unit.