Last month, I visited Iceland for the fifth time. The landscape is majestic, and it feels like everything is raw and pure- clean air, clean water, and no McDonald’s (that I’m aware of). It’s a place where people can hike waterfalls, go whale watching, or just sit back and take it in. But on this trip, we left with another layer of appreciation – for the people and customer care.
Customer problems create customer experience opportunities
Our visit coincided with a geological event that ended up flooding the ring road (highway 1 – aptly named as the singular road around the country) between where were puffin watching for the afternoon and our Airbnb. Read all about it. Attempting to get back to our rental, we were told plainly by highway patrol that “the road flooded and it is closed”. That presented a puzzle since our belongings were at the unreachable and our flight home was the next day in the opposite direction.
Not knowing what to do, I messaged our rental hosts for advice. With a “let me look into it”, they validated the event and said to hang tight for more information. Within an hour- they said a family friend was going to attempt driving the mountain road to Reykjavík and offered to bring our things and meet him there. With a caution that the mountain road may also be closed… our host packed our things. I found accommodations near Reykjavík and later that night at a random gas station, our hero met us with our things. What was an unsolvable puzzle for me quickly became a resolution.
Customer care is not only about supporting the product you sell
When faced with “it happens” moments, you never know how people will react. (And in this case, I’m talking about me!) Some people might melt down, others not sweat it, and some go into problem solving mode. But we had no great answer. I didn’t have the information or tools to fix this. In these times, the willingness of strangers to help one another was overwhelmingly wonderful. Without our hosts and their friend, we would have gone home without most of our belongings (including my work laptop) after 3 weeks of travel making life very challenging until they could be shipped to the States. Instead, we hardly skipped a beat. That’s what exceptional customer care is.
Doing right is good for the customer and you
This was supposed to be our last night at that Airbnb. We were paid customers. They likely never expected us to return. Still, they went above and beyond to solve our problem because they could. And I will for sure go back. I will certainly recommend their property. And overall – I am more enamored with Iceland for their kindness and hospitality.
What customer experience takeaways does this leave with me and all of you?
- You never know when a customer becomes a customer for life.
- Going above and beyond in the eyes of your customer matters.
- Understanding your own environment helps you respond. What might seem like no big deal to you, may mean everything for a customer.
- Keep a customer first attitude no matter what kind or what size of business you have. It pays off in things like online reviews, word of mouth, and repeat business.