Sticking one’s head in the sand, pretending that bad experiences are outliers, or writing the customer off as a crank is a fool’s exercise, only to be reinforced by the creation of a business culture that ignores the truth and rewards mediocrity.Īt this point, I assume Myers Hyundai has written me off as a crank. You could logically conclude that businesses would focus on hearing from and correcting these bad occurrences. That’s happened to me in the past.Ĭonsider the general rule of 10 people being told about a negative customer experience compared to five who share positive ones. Indeed, sometimes a bad customer service experience if handled properly by a business can actually strengthen a customer’s loyalty. But in the customer service world getting feedback, in all its forms, is the lifeblood of any business. As I said at the outset, as human beings we don’t like receiving negative feedback.

I have no idea why the general manager didn’t call me, nor why Shane has not returned my call, following his initial call to me. Waldo, I mean “Shane,” is now the new service manager. It was, of course, none of my business, but I found his comment interesting. Marc, the GM, told me he’d just “let go” the service manager, code for being fired. That reminded me of a chat I’d had with the general manager a month previous while one of our vehicles was in the shop for an oil change. I emailed Roy to express my disappointment, to be informed that many changes were underway at Myers Hyundai. I returned his call early Tuesday morning leaving a detailed message, which included asking what his role is at the dealership.īy the end of the week I still had not heard back from “Shane,” who at that point had become my “Waldo,” reflecting the kids book, can you find Waldo? He didn’t say his last name nor what his position is with Myers. Monday evening when I got home from work there was a terse voice mail message from someone called “Shane” who is with Myers Hyundai.

I was curious whether I’d receive a phone call. I also copied Roy on that email, who immediately responded to me–on a weekend I might add–saying he was sorry to hear about my experience, that he valued me as a customer and that he’d copied the general manager so that he would be aware on my experience. However, when Myers emailed me after that fateful service appointment (getting my summer rims installed on my Tucson) I replied with a short note and a link to the blog post I’d written on my experience. No one likes to hear negative feedback, even businesses that are supposedly customer-focused. And all to the same sales man, Roy, who is one of the tops in Canada. We own two Hyundais, three of my four adult kids own Hyundais, and they in turn have recommended their friends to Myers Hyundai in Ottawa’s west end. In my last post Customer Service Meets Productivity I shared a recent customer service experience with the Hyundai dealership where I’ve dealt for three and a half years.

Don t whiz on the electric fence