Bad customer service experiences burn into our brains, creating permanent recall. And although we rightfully expect good customer service across the board, truly exceptional customer care is also unforgettable.
This month, I featured an interview with SAS Publishing sales representative Sharon Brandon in the new issue of SAS Publishing News. I looked forward to interviewing Sharon as she’s such a pleasant, caring, and effective professional who has twelve years of experience selling SAS books and documentation. Whether SAS users are connecting with Sharon on the phone, email, LiveChat, fax, or at conferences, I bet their experiences are extremely positive.
Here’s one of my favorite parts of the interview with Sharon. I was particularly interested in finding out whether she had a favorite customer interaction:
Shelly Goodin: Can you share a story of one of your favorite customer calls?
Sharon Brandon: I received a call from a lady who was 87-years-young. She said that she’d made a couple of calls about her order, but was not getting the assistance needed. When I asked for her order number, I realized it wasn’t one of our SAS Publishing orders. I asked for the phone number and the company she was trying to reach. She was trying to reach a company with a name similar to ours. While she was on the phone, I searched and found the phone number for the company she needed. I recorded her information and then gave the company a call. I explained to them that she’d been trying to reach them and provided them with her order number.
The customer service rep was very polite and retrieved her information immediately. I emailed the 87-years-young woman the correct company and contact information and let her know that someone should be in touch with her shortly. She replied back to me with such a sweet note.
If there were more people like you in this technical world we live in, growing old would be a pleasure instead of making us "youngsters" feel inept and stupid. You were so kind and patient with me when actually, my problem was not your concern. How nice to have someone care. I hope your help heaps rewards and even if (company X) is unable to assist me, I want you to know how much I appreciated your trouble. I may have made your day, but you made a great-grandmother believe that there are still good people in this world a reality. With deepest appreciation.
She really made my day. To be 87 and so computer savvy!
This is just one story, but that’s what we do here. Each customer’s call and contact is important. Our customers are the reason why we’re here!
Shelly Goodin: That’s a wonderful story, Sharon. Thanks for sharing that.
You can read the interview with Sharon in its entirety here. Also, we’d love to hear if you, too, have experienced excellent customer service with any of SAS Publishing’s book sales representatives!
