by JimRaffel on February 17, 2011
Recently, while visiting a client, he offered to have his driver take my rental car out and fill the gas tank so I could spend a few extra minutes with the customer. My client was also kind enough to pay for the gas; not realizing I needed the receipt to avoid Avis’ $13.99 gas charge for driving under 75 miles. Here’s the story of how Avis dealt with that missing receipt and how one manager ultimately retained me as a customer.
Unclear communications
Upon returning the car, I was met with unclear communication from the return agent in the lot. He was pleasant enough; but didn’t clearly explain the need to visit the counter to resolve the missing receipt. Once he saw I had driven under 75 miles, he asked for my gas receipt and then said if I didn’t have one, I’d need to pay the $13.99. I said, “Come on – really? Look at the gas gauge.” His reply was: “Oh well, there is a glitch with your return anyway so you will need to go inside.”
Once inside, I tried to explain the situation as patiently as possibly to the return agent who happened to have a chip on her shoulder. Basically, she had the attitude that I was going to listen to her point of view whether I wanted to or not. Here’s the deal folks: Business travelers at the end of a trip just want to get home. We really don’t want a lecture about Avis’ silly rules. So, I firmly but politely requested my receipt as it was and let her know I’d be calling the customer service center later. Yes, I walked away from the counter dissatisfied.
How to not run a call service center
While still at the airport, I called the 800 number where I got the runaround and was then transferred back to the airport location to speak to the woman with the chip on her shoulder. Um, really? You transferred me back to the person I want to complain about? Yes, by now, I am not thinking “Avis tries harder.”
The power of one person in the right place at the right time
The next morning, I called back the rental location and was almost immediately connected to the manager. He was sincere and apologetic and he resolved the issue while I was on the phone. One guy who cared and understood the importance of the customer and that customer’s happiness fixed what probably a half dozen other employees had messed up.
So, if the “we try harder” attitude that Martin showed me spreads, then Avis has a chance. The fact that he is in a management position gives me hope.
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by JimRaffel on February 25, 2010
Your ability to shift or totally eliminate the point at which you become completely frustrated and quit will dramatically improve your life. I have always been good at the not quitting part (perhaps to a fault). You don’t stay self employed for almost 15 years without that tenacity. On the frustration side, let’s just say there has been room for improvement in my life for a very long time.
Yesterday I wrote a post about having a breakthrough day earlier this week. Those days are easy, you have so much going on and are having so much fun they fly by. Yesterday morning I also sent out a tweet about smiling and putting my patience on. I was sitting on the tarmac at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport trying to get to New York’s LaGuardia Aiport which was shutdown for several hours during the morning due to weather issues.
I didn’t have to think about staying calm because I had brought along Chris Brogan’s new book Social Media 101 and sat quietly reading with my ear buds in listening to free XM Radio on my Air Tran flight. I also figured out I could access the administrative side of this blog and thumb typed a good portion of yesterday’s post on my Blackberry. Then, after an hour we went back to the gate. Sat in the airport for another hour. I took the opportunity to eat a late second breakfast so I could skip lunch and hopefully still see my client before the day ended.
Eventually I arrived safe and sound at LaGuardia about four hours behind schedule. I went to pick up my rental car and let’s just say it’s not quite what I am used to Avis providing. I will not be renting with Avis for a while as they no longer try harder, their cars are old and dirty, and their employees are mostly rude and dismissive of any issues you raise.
I reached my client’s facility about four hours behind schedule and had a productive 90 minute meeting. We were both able to adjust our schedules to spend more time together this afternoon. Oh wait, the day gets better. While I did get a wonderful upgrade to the club level upon checking in at the local Hilton it was the last room on the club level and across the hall from the ice machine. (A very noisy ice machine I might add.)
With the above story as a back drop I sat and ate my dinner thinking about all that had gone well during the day. First, a person I have a great deal of respect for took time out of their busy schedule to send me a personal email. Next, I was asked to speak about social media at an event next week (I really enjoy public speaking and talking about social media makes it that much better). Finally, I had pushed through the difficulties of the day and had myself in position to visit a very promising potential client in the morning.
Jump in the conversation, let’s see if we can all learn a little bit about pushing past our perceived limits. Have you realized when you get frustrated and want to quit or worse yet do quit? When this has happened do you feel like you missed achieving success by just a little bit had you pushed through?
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