Great stuff. And happy to hear we’ve got a few other Lands’ End fans who know firsthand what I’m talking about. Thanks to ALL of you for your sharing your great customer service stories. Good experiences stick with us. Amazing how that works …

Always happy to get your thoughtful contributions, Mike. Really great stuff you say on your site. If you guys haven’t visited the link he notes above, check it out. I’m not surprised it resonated with your client.

I say what works about it is that it’s the kind of things most people don’t talk about, but it provides someone with really valuable insights into what the experience of working with you will be like. And that’s priceless stuff.

And you’re right: there is a level of stress a client has when hiring a freelancer for the first time (in both senses: first time they’ve gone the freelance route, OR the first time with a given freelancer). And verbiage like this can go a long way to ratcheting down the anxiety level.

I encourage all of you to have something like this (and needless to say, don’t copy what Mike wrote; find the words that are a true reflection of who you are; don’t know about you, but I get a vibe of real authenticity when I read Mike’s).

Thanks Cathy, for underscoring how delivering great customer service is a lot easier to do than one might imagine. And usually, it comes from a basic grounding in common courtesy and consideration, and if that’s how you were raised (certainly true for me), then simply extend that to business. Nothing particularly difficult about that, but again, it’ll set you apart.

And thanks, Alice, for sharing that story! I definitely remember you and that situation. But, again, as I saw it, there was nothing else to do but what I did. Glad it stuck in your mind, and Cathy, sorry you had a similar experience that didn’t turn out so happily. So unnecessary, given how easy it is to do the right thing.

Anyone else have something to add? Let’s hear from you…

PB

As I shared on a recent post at Lori Widmer’s blog, I used to lead teams for audits of customer service units. Maybe that’s why I’m so tuned in – and often disgusted – by customer service. Mike and C. Hope are right – responsiveness goes a long way.

I once had a client tell me that I gave the best customer service. I didn’t do anything unusual (at least in my eyes) other than to be responsive whenever she called or emailed. I traveled a lot, but would immediately respond, letting her know I was traveling. I either delegated it (if it couldn’t wait) and let her know to whom or asked if I could handle it when I returned to the office the next day. She always told me it could wait until I returned.

I have translated that corporate days customer service into regular updates and follow-up to my business writing customers.

One last story. I had exactly the same thing happen that Alice describes. My problem was it WASN’T Peter Bowerman and I never heard from the seller and never received any refund. Which would you prefer to be remembered for? The rare exception of good customer service or yet another bad experience?

Embarrassed that I had forgotten this critical book that was going to help me launch my business, I sent an email to the seller explaining my situation, The response came back almost immediately indicating that my order had been cancelled and not to be embarrassed. The seller thanked me for my interest.

Who was it? Peter Bowerman, of course.

Thanks, Peter.

As for a customer service story, the only one I can think of is a time I shopped at Publix. Most grocery stores have done away with the friendly bagger who carries your groceries for you. Not there. (At least not that day.)

I hadn’t even bought much — just a few bottles of fruit juice. Heavy, but manageable. Yet the bagger was still willing to carry them. It really shocked me.

I don’t shop at Publix often because the nearest one is out of the way for me. But that gesture definitely made me want to go back, and I look upon them fondly when I watch their commercials.

I make and sell handmade soap with one of my businesses, and a happy customer today emailed me, so happy because I refunded the extra shipping charge she paid. She paid shipping–but was just so thrilled that I sent it cheaper, and refunded her the difference. I couldn’t believe she thought that warranted a note. Of course I’ll refund the extra shipping!

Now Lexmark is engraved on my brain in a good way, in spite of the lemons involved. There’s a trust factor that carries so much more weight than the basic product. As freelancers, it behooves us to take the simple minute of extra time to go above and beyond. That effort can create a customer for a lifetime.

I have a motto in dealing with my FundsforWriters customers. Answer every email, even if it’s no more than a thank-you and a sentence of personal attention. That tiny effort has repaid me dozens of times in customer loyalty and readership.

Good post, Peter.

Customer service is such an important part of business. You can make people life long fans, but easily alienate people if you don’t do it right.

This was drilled home again last week when I landed a new client. The first two sentences in his e-mail were:

“I read your website content w/ interest. I have several projects that need attention and like what you have to say about your personal involvement.”

No comments about liking my work or anything else, although we’ll assume he looked at my portfolio and liked what he saw. But the thing that apparently impressed him the most was what I said on my About page. (It’s at http://mikeklassen.com/about/ if you’re curious.)

He also referred to someone else he had considered working with for another part of his projects, but said she seemed “aloof.”

I wouldn’t have originally thought that just being responsive and thoughtful would qualify as “being a hero”, but we’ve all experienced rotten customer service and know that some companies just don’t get it.

What I’ve learned is that there is a level of stress for people who hire freelancers that work off-site. It’s not like going down the hall to check the status of a project. So clients can be nervous about freelancers who may be across the country or the world. They want to feel taken care of and that they’re important.

Peter’s story takes that a next step by refunding his shipping. They didn’t have to and Peter was probably thrilled just with the new pair of pants if that was the end of the story. But that little extra step cost very little, especially compared to the great word-of-mouth Peter will always be happy to share, including this article.

As for my best customer service story, it’s way too long to share here, but it relates to Apple giving me a free computer and the level of communication they provided. I told that story in a blog article a while back: http://magalogguy.com/blog/2009/12/03/what-a-free-apple-computer-reinforced-about-great-customer-service/

I appreciate your taking the time to provide more detail. Okay, I’m convinced it’s a potentially serious issue. And wow – sorry you had to go through it! But, also sounds like it had a positive resolution (though I’m guessing getting to that point was no fun…).

Read and heed, everyone. Always ask the origin of any stock photos that appear in any samples you have on your site. And know that should it happen, it’s not a foregone conclusion that you’ll have to shell out money.

PB