Personal Touch

Have you ever dreaded “talking to a computer” on the phone? Endlessly selecting “other options” from the menu till you get to speak to a real human being?

In this world of today, in which everything happens instantly with almost all things being automated and so much stuff is dealt with online, our experience as a customer can vary greatly, that is, from a feeling of despair and helplessness to a feeling of relief and satisfaction.

Obviously things like “a prompt delivery”, “the quality of the product” or any other advantage we perceive about this product or service will determine our satisfaction and likely our loyalty as customers.

But sooner or later we find ourselves having a “special requirement”; a “last minute change” or something comes up that requires a “personalised” attention.

What comes next needs to be approached with patience: selecting options from a menu either online or on the phone, keeping calm until we finally get to speak or “chat” to a real human being.

In situations where you seem to be hitting against a brick wall, it all comes down to the one person willing to lend ears to you.

And this is when the magic happens. Usually, a person will walk the extra mile for you in trying to meet your requirement. The results will largely depend on how flexible the organization is to adapt to customers’ requirements, but it will also depend by a great deal on how much concern and willingness to help the person at the other end of the line has.

I have found there are people willing to walk out of their way, willing to walk the extra mile for you, in order for you to get what you wanted.

I call this the personal contribution, the personal touch. In a world of competition and marketing, companies encourage “customer care” and implement procedures and systems to better communicate with their customers but at the end of the day, it all comes to the individual contribution, to the genuine concern of a person for making a difference.

It is really as simple as that. A given situation can have different outcomes depending on the integrity and commitment of the individual dealing with it. Those acting from their willingness to be of help, do the extra bit, get the job well done and walk that extra mile for somebody, stand out.

I give to this “human factor” the success of our daily endeavours through life.

Gratitude and appreciation goes out to those anonymous people who want to leave a positive contribution to this society, to all my colleagues at work whose daily commitment and disposition help to the success of this company, and a massively big “thank you” to our customer base that acknowledges and appreciates our commitment to service.

Because, what really counts and makes a difference is people taking an interest in people.

A1 Minibus & Coach Services, in business for 35 years, is a family run transport provider.

Contact us at: 01592 713443 or e-mail info@a1coaches.com or visit www.a1coaches.com