i'll get that right to you.....

Technology is amazing. Wireless phones can keep you in contact with anyone in the world, practically anywhere on the planet. The Internet brings information to you from all over the world. Playstation II's EyeToy lets you use your body to play games instead of using game controllers. I'm looking at a new handheld/PDA that will allow me to have wireless Internet access. Amazing stuff. Evidently a large corporate bank that I have my corporate credit card with isn't up with the rest of the world.

About this time every month, I complete an expense report. I usually get my card statement around the 12th of each month. Then I gather my receipts, match them up with my statement, and submit my expense report to the board chairman. As of yesterday, I had yet to receive my corporate card statement for the month. I called to ask that they fax me a copy of the statement. The representative of the bank, who was very cordial, told me that he'd be glad to get that to me. He then said something that caught me by surprise. "We'll have that to you within 24-48 hours." I thanked him and hung up. I then realized what he had said. 24-48 hours? To fax something? Are they hand-delivering it to me? Yes, I know, "within" is the key word. But why even say 48 hours? It takes you two days to fax something to me? Are there chisels and stone tablets involved?

Poor customer service is a pet peeve of mine. Do something right the first time and the customer is happy. If there's a problem, don't just fix it; fix it in such a manner that the customer is so impressed that they'll want to do more business with you. I used to have a boss that said, "If you make the customer happy, you're making me happy." How were we making her happy? First off, it was her job to see that customers were taken care of. Second, the happier we made the customers, the less griping and moaning she heard. I'm the same way in my office. Consider how you'd like to be treated, then treat that customer the same way. It's simple, Golden Rule stuff. I love the way The Message translates Luke 6:31 - "Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!" Maybe if more businesses operated like this, there'd be more satisfied customers.