Everyone has more than likely had at least one memorable customer service experience, whether that be good or bad. Take US entrepreneur and angel investor Peter Shankman, for example.
While at an airport, Shankman realised that if he didnt grab a bite to eat hed be stuck riding the plane back on an empty stomach. He took a shot in the dark and jokingly tweeted his favourite restaurant, asking if it woulddeliverhim a steak.
To his disbelief, one of Mortons staff drove 23 miles to the airport to greet him with a full meal.
He proceeds to tell me that hed heard I was hungry, and inside is a 24 oz porterhouse steak, an order of colossal shrimp, a side of potatoes, one of Mortons famous round things of bread, two napkins, and silverware,” Shankman said. It comes to show that customer service isnt about telling people how awesome you are, it’s about creating stories that do the talking for you.
This is a stellar example of doing exactly that, and Mortons deserves all of the attention it received for making it happen. However, when it comes to creating the ultimate customer service,communication has a large role to play. For example, what if you were talking to a client online Through the crafty use of words alone, it’s entirely possible to turn an angry or confused customer into a loyal one.
We took a look at some examples of customer service exchanges that went viral due to the sheer imagination of employees.
One of the most famous examples is when Amazon managed to get Avengers’ Thor to man the customer service department for a day and a customer whose book hadn’t arrived on time gained new faith in the power of the Norse gods.
It all started when the Amazon representative introduced himself as “Thor,” and a customer asked to play his father, Odin. The conversation just gets better from there.
Here’s a sample:
Amazon: Warmest greetings. My name is Thor.
Customer: Greetings, Thor. Can I be Odin
Amazon: Odin, father, how art thy doing on this here fine day
Customer:Thor, my son. Agony raises upon my life.
Amazon: This is outrageous! Who dares defy the All Father Odin! What has occurred to cause this agony
Customer:I’m afraid the book I ordered to defeat our enemies has been misplaced. How can we keep Valhalla intact without our sacred book
Amazon: This is blasphemy! Wherever this book has been taken to, I shall make it my duty to get it back to you! I fear it is Loki, but I dare not blame him for such things. I shall have your fortune returned to you and thereafter we can create a new quest in order to get the book back to you.
Customer:Very well my son.
Amazon: Allow me some time to round up my allies and complete this, my father.
Customer:Do it for me Thor, but most importantly do it for the mortals whose destiny (and grades) rely on this book.
Amazon: Alas, the treasure has been returned to you. You now need to reinstate your book into your archive so that you may yet receive it soon. I shall have the Valkyrie deliver it to you as fast as their wings can move.
Customer:Ok so roleplay aside, I have my money back and reorder the book
Amazon: haha, yes I have refunded you and you need to reorder the book.
What’s even better, however, is when several other brands pile into the conversation. Back in 2010, Riccardo Esposito told Tesco Mobile that someone had been “mugging [the company] off”. But we won’t start at the beginning of the conversation, we’ll fast forward to the part where the company suggested that together they were Batman and Robin.
Tesco Mobile: We’re Batman, you can be Robin.
Esposito: Anything for you.
Tesco Mobile: Put the kettle on. Our bare feet are killing us.
Esposito: Yorkshire tea alright
Yorkshire Tea: You rang
This quickly escalated when follower Hooson suggested that Jaffa Cakes needed to join the party which the company did.
Jaffa Cakes: Ain’t no party like a Jaffa Cakes party!
Esposito: Cadbury, do you want to join the party
Cadbury UK: Ke$ha sang party don’t start till we open a tin .
Some ten minutes later and after Jaffa Cakes’ rendition of Sting’s I’ll Be Watching You a debate sprung up about where the crisp companies were hiding. Phileas Fogg answered the call. I’m sure Esposito never had this conversation in mind when he contacted Tesco Mobile.
Read on to learn about the company that employs ninja’s, and the customer service representative famous for pretending to be a crew member of Star Trek.
Zappos has constantly been heralded for its amazing customer service. In 2011 acustomer service representative physically went to a rival shoe storeto get a specific pair of shoes for a woman when Zappos ran out of stock. The same year, it overnighted a free pair of shoes toA best man who had arrived at a wedding having forgotten his shoes.
Oh, and Zappos employeesdon’t read from scripts. Here’s an example of when Bonnie Frampton got in touch with one Justin P over Facebook:
Justin P: Hey, Bonnie! My name is Justin, but I’m known around the Zappos office as the master of the ninjas. I move silently like a shadow, as quick as lightning, and I slay bad customer service around the globe. I would be happy to help you with your UGGs.
Frampton:Thank you master ninja. I generally go by She Who Must Be Obeyed.
Justin P: She Who Must Be Obeyed, do you happen to have your order number handy
Frampton:?I could tell you but the message will self destruct in 30 seconds…197422947.
25…24…23…22…
Justin P: *Shadow Bomb, disappears*
Frampton:?Foiled again.
Justin P: *From the shadows* Can you verify your full shipping address for me please
Frampton:?*sent by blow dart*
Justin P: *Snatches dart of of the air* Would you like me to send the replacement of the UGG Classic Short in Chestnut size 10 Medium to the address you verified above My ninja hounds can have them to you by Thursday.
Frampton:?That would be amazing! Are your ninja hounds able to dart past a pack of rabid raccoons
Justin P: They are more than capable to handle a pack of rabid raccoons, that is a normal Thursday afternoon for them.
Frampton:?*whew* I will have my agents posted at the coordinates at the appropriate time. Shall I post the destructive “boots” back in a return container As soon as they are received you can begin shoe phone installation for Agent Smart. Do you copy
Justin P:?Affirmative. Your new order number is 211667029, the hounds will have it there by Thursday, please have the destructive merchandise back to me within 14 days or the hounds will be released. The link for your agent to transcribe will arrive to your inbox in just a moment.
Netflix has also repeatedly stated that creating positive customer experiences is a major goal for the company. The secret to its success The cast of Star Trek, of course. Such is the story of Mike Mears, who started a chat with “Norm,” a Netflix customer who was having a problem streaming “Parks and Recreation“.
They both stayed in character the whole time, and after the transcript of the conversationlanded on Reddit, websites around the world picked up the story. Mears was even interviewed on cable news channel HLN alongside William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek.
Mears: This is Capt. Mike of the good ship Netflix, which member of the crew am I speaking with today
Norm: Greetings, Captain. Lt. Norm here. Engineering has a problem to report.
Mears: What seems to be the problem
Norm: Visual displays are erratic, sir. Season 5, episode 13 of Parks and Recreation is behaving oddly.
Mears: How so, LT?
Norm: At five minutes of operation, the visual creates a temporal loop, and nearly three seconds of footage repeats over and over again.
Mears: Oh, no. LT I told you no watching Netflix while we sail through the Bermuda Triangle.
Norm: I’m an engineer, not a navigator. We also attempted to start the episode after the anomaly, and we were pulled back in and the loop continued. Worst of all, Captain… the dialogue… it looped over councilwoman Knope saying, This is real life… This is real life… This is real life.
Mears: That is a horrible place to get stuck. Councilwoman Knope is such a warrior.
Let’s also not forget the time that Sainsbury’s used all the fish puns it could when a customer complained about a packet of salmon.
Marty Lawrence tweeted the supermarket, telling the company he’d had trouble buying a packet of salmon, because it had no “bar cod”.
Here’s part of the exchange:
Sainsbury’s: Were there no other packs in the plaice, or was that the sole one on the shelf Floundering for an explanation!
Lawrence: I tried dropping you a line but this whole situation is giving me a haddock. What are you going to do about it Let minnow.
Sainsbury’s: If i’m herring you right, you’re looking to eel our relationship. I’ll tell the store to find the shelf & fillet.
Lawrence: I don’t think it’s necessary to scale the shelves. There’s no point doing it for the halibut. You might pull a mussel.
Sainsbury’s: I feel that some fin should be done to sort it trout. You shouldn’t have that hassle trying to spend a few squid.
Lawrence: Something dolpinately needs to be done about it. The quicker we sort it out the batter. Before the situation gets cray.
Sainsbury’s: Agreed, we mustn’t shark the issue. Salmon should be brought to account for this mis-shake.
