I wanted to share with you a story of a great customer service experience I recently had with a man named Bill Moore of Softcomm Industries. I am a member of Civil Air Patrol, and as a aircrew member trainee, I wanted to stop using the aviation headsets that are in our planes and used by different people, and wanted to have a set of my own. (This thought came to me somewhere at 3,500 feet when I wondered “Who else has been using these? And did they clean them??”)
I found a headset, that was perfect for my situation, on eBay at a good price and was very excited when it arrived in the mail. My excitement was tempered a little when I realized that there were no cushion pads on the ear covers, just the covers themselves. After wearing them for a bit it was clear that they could really use the foam cushions! Wah-wah.
I looked online at my usual sources and couldn’t find an exact match for my headset…then I looked on the Softcomm website and saw that they head accessories (like the ear cushions) but the only indication on how to purchase them was verbiage that said, “Contact us to find the dealer near you.”
So, I contacted them to find where I could purchase the cushions and I received an email from Bill that simply asked for my mailing address. I gave him my address and I assumed that he was sending the ear cushions to me, and he didn’t ask me for payment.
A few days later I received the ear cushions in the mail-and while I assumed he’d be sending the “base model” ear cushions, after all, they were free … he sent a nice set of gel-filled cushions which feel great over my ears and make my headset feel like I could wear it for hours. I can’t wait to go on my next flight and try these out!
From a customer service standpoint, perhaps most importantly, I am now a huge fan of Softcomm and of Bill….and I will support them in whatever way I can in the future-which means if I am in the market for a new headset I’m going to Softcomm first. If I need additional accessories, I’m going to try to buy it from them first. (I now want more padding on my headband….so I may be reaching out to them here very soon to see how I can purchase one. )
I’ve already mentioned Softcomm on my squadron’s website and I am now writing this blog to tell you about it. I don’t get a dime for any purchases you make by the way, there is no motive for me to tell you about my experience, except to say “thanks” to Bill and to give you an example of great customer service.
Listen, I know you’re not always going to be able to give something away. (The next time I contact Softcomm, I don’t expect them to send me another item for free!) However, what you CAN do is to look for ways to create a powerful and impactful customer service experience every opportunity you get.
Sometimes that means you may spend money. You may spend more time with a customer than you’d normally like. You may give a refund you don’t think you need to give.
But, one day that act of customer service may pay off in ways you never anticipated! After all, while we all need to make money, it’s not always about the money!
*BTW: This post represents my opinions alone, and it not an endorsement of Softcomm headsets by PM Staffing or Civil Air Patrol.
