Customer Service as Markieting

How much is it worth to satisfy an unhappy customer?  How far would you go to make that unhappy customer not just satisfied, but to make them an ambassador for you and your business?  Here's an example of a company going above and beyond.

First, some background.  Neville Hobson is a Social Media guru, a sought-after speaker, a blogger, and a podcaster.  In fact, you often hear that someone "wrote the book" about something.  In Neville's case, he actually did write the book, along with Shel Holtz, on podcasting.  If you're thinking about getting into the podcast world, Neville and Shel's book, "How to Do Everything with Podcasting" is a must read.  While I don't agree that you can do everything with podcasting, you can do quite a bit and HTDEWP is the first book you should get your hands on before you do anything else.

Anyway, Neville recounts the long story of his problems with installing Microsoft Vista on his Dell computer on this post. To make a long story short, someone at Dell tech service told him there was nothing they could do for him.  Using the power of social media, Neville posted a video about his problems.  It wasn't long before he was contacted by Dell.  After much trial and error, Dell offered him a brand new computer.

Was this a fair offer?  The problem was with a two-year-old, out-of-warranty PC.  More than likely the culprit was MS Vista and not the computer itself.  I'd say it was more than fair.  Not only did they save a customer relationship, the positive buzz that Hobson has created by recounting his experience on his blog and podcast is certainly worth more than the cost of the new product.

Dell's past customer service problems are well known.  It's imperative that they overcome their negative reputation.  Each time they go above and beyond to take care of a customer, whether that customer is a prominent blogger and podcaster, or a typical consumer, they take a step in the right direction.

When you have a customer with a problem you have an opportunity to create some great positive word-of-mouth.  Don't let that opportunity slip away.