Drive Thru Service

It was one of those weeks. You know, the kind, that only half way through it, getting struck by lightning was clearly in the forecast. At every turn, people were letting me down, ticking me off, trying what little patience I possess.

And then I met Mark.

Working in sales for so many years has not conditioned me to keep my cool when a company messes up when serving me. However, it has conditioned me to recognize that great customer service shines brightest when there's been a mistake. Mark was a pleasant reminder of the latter.

Between running around to school, football, cub scouts, camping trips and Halloween Parades, not to mention my real job, I had let the "CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON" light on my car blink for two weeks. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I finally got around to dropping my car off at the dealership, Gerry Lane Enterprises. After all, part of why I bought my soccer-mom SUV from them is because they do free oil changes for life - that's great service from the get go.

Right on time, Mark from the service department called at 3:30 to let me know my car was ready to be picked up. I told him I'd be by after work and he said he would leave my keys at the front sales desk.

At 4:30 Mark called back. "Do you happen to have your extra set of car keys with you now?" he asked. No, I answered, they were at my house.

"Are you able to run by and get them before you come and pick up your vehicle?" he pursued. As I quickly did the math in my head, I told him there was no way for my husband to pick up my son from football, pick me up at work, go to my house and get the keys and make it to the dealership by 7pm, when they close for the night.

Turns out that one of the service technicians who worked on my car inadvertently left work with my car keys in his pocket. Worse, he was now in New Orleans in a training class.

Mark was not my friend any more. I was unhappy, and not very subtle about being so. This sucked. I had to have my car back. I had to be able to get Hunter to school and myself to work in the morning. How dare their mistake make my life anymore hectic this week? Why me Lord?

Mark stayed cool. He immediately came up with a plan B. Long story short, I was able to go straight from work to the dealership, pick up my car and go have a nice peaceful dinner with my boys. and, as I stated in the beginning, he put a positive spin on the rest of my week.

Here's what Mark did right to turn me into one of his biggest fans:

• He COMMUNICATED both the error and the solution. Mark didn't wait until I got to the dealership and make the sales manager on duty deal with me. He called me the minute he noticed my keys missing. And when he told me what we were up against, he also gave me more than one solution so I could choose the most convenient for me. He was determined to make this right.
• He REMAINED COOL under pressure. He knew they'd made a mistake. And by the tone of my voice when he informed me of it, he knew I was hot. But Mark wasn't going to let my displeasure keep him from his goal - fixing the problem and keeping me a happy Gerry Lane customer.
• He TOOK RESPONSIBILITY for his team's actions. Mark wasn't the one that headed to New Orleans with my keys. He probably wasn't the one who actually changed the oil in my car. Nor was he the person I turned my keys over to when I checked it in to begin with. What Mark did so gracefully was not pass the buck. In fact, I don't even know the name of the tech who had my keys. This was Mark's department, his responsibility, his customer and he was going to take full ownership of both the error and its answer.

Mark isn't a partner in Gerry Lane Enterprises. He doesn't own stock in the dealership to my knowledge. But it's clear to me, that every Gerry Lane Service Center customer is Mark's customer. He is not only a true professional, but he's a walking billboard of great service for his company.

So while it took a mix up and my losing my temper, just a little, to meet and appreciate Mark, I'm glad I did. His excellence is another reminder that HOW we serve our clients and customers matters. And when faced with an unhappy one, how we answer for our mistakes matters as much or more than all of the times we simply work to their expectations.