Would you expect a story about the poor customer service of a small cab firm to make the third page of a national newspaper? I certainly wouldn’t. That’s why I was surprised to find exactly that in the evening standard the other day.
I read on… The story told how a woman had booked a cab with the company ‘Computer Cabs’ or ‘ComCabs’ from her suburban home into central London for a meeting. The cab driver, who had allegedly been texting, drove into the back of a stationary car in traffic ahead. The passenger was thrown into the dividing screen of the cab and had to go to hospital with concussion.
The crux of the story was that, despite the accident, the passenger was still billed £70 for the journey; a fee which included the time in which the cab had waited for the ambulance to arrive. Quite rightly, it seems, she’s making a stand.
Although you might agree with me that this is hardly a groundbreaking story; it is well worth considering exactly why it made third page news. It seems that it is simply the ridiculous nature of the dispute which makes it interesting- surely anyone in their right mind would have cancelled the fare of the injured passenger?!
It highlights a regular weakness of customer service- it has a tendency to be lost behind layers of rules and precedent. An objective viewer needs little more than a dose of common sense to know how comcabs should have reacted in this particular case. A failure to put themselves in the shoes of their customer has cost them dearly.
Taking a step back and really considering things from the customer’s perspective makes all the difference. Challenge yourself, what service would I expect? How would I feel in this particular situation? Great customer service may cost; but a good repute is priceless! Over a mere £70, ComCabs have seriously damaged their reputation. Customer service is not rocket science; it’s the business of common sense!
