Abstract
The purpose of this paper is discuss the importance and relevance of customer service. Customer service is considered a key aspect of organizational success. For this reason, companies place a significant emphasis on ensuring that each individual within their organization treats every consumer with the utmost respect. This is done so that a positive reputation is built and subsequently, the organization remains viable within the particular industry that it operates in. This paper explores two experiences with different companies - Morton's Steakhouse and American Airlines. For the former, the paper explains how the customer service was exceptional from start to finish and reasons as to why it was this way. Moreover, the paper highlights the concept of competitive advantage as it relates to Morton's and rationalizes that the steakhouse understands its relevance and importance in the industry that it operates in. With respect to the latter company, American Airlines, the paper discusses a negative experience that the writer encountered while trying to book a flight and the unnecessary treatment that was provided. The paper relays how airlines have been under pressure in recent years given the numerous amount of companies within the aviation industry that vie for consumer monies. The paper additionally conceives to express how American Airlines can correct its current course of action as far as customer service so that it can remain viable to consumers particularly given the assortment of other airlines that the marketplace offers.
Good Customer Service
Morton's Steakhouse is a quality restaurant that provides cutting edge meat cuts and has an enthusiasm in ensuring that its customers receive a pleasant and fulfilling experience each and every time. According to Morton's The Steakhouse (2016), it is committed to providing community service, assisting neighborhoods both nationally and locally - and offering respect to staff, managers and customers. The company notes that it has been executing a high level of dedication for more than 30 years (p.1). Recently, the writer had the opportunity to visit a Morton's Steakhouse for a graduation dinner. From the moment the writer and his guests attended the particular location, the customer service was exceptional. The hostess greeted each one of us with a smile and informed us that this would be one of the best meals that we would receive. The meal consisted of two appetizers: baked escargot and prosciutto wrapped mozzarella. Each was exquisitely prepared and thoroughly explained by our waiter, David. The former was and is a dish that the writer had tried before, but Morton's added their own proverbial spin on the dish making it all the more delectable and the writer is not fond of snails. The latter was and is a dish that the writer has also tried before. It was tasty. Throughout the meal, David would check in to see if our party needed anything, which was expected - however, he went above and beyond in attempting to persuade each one of us about the types of steak that there was a need for us to order. It was quite interesting and fascinating to hear him relay his beef knowledge. From the veal chop to the ribeye steak, there was not a question he could not answer.
Hassan (2013) highlights that customer service is important and essential to organizational success. Businesses simply cannot effectively grow without providing customer service that takes it up a notch in terms of satisfying consumers with its operation. The perception of consumers is swayed and influenced each and every time they frequent a business. Thus, it is crucial for the organizational operations that everything run as smoothly as possible. Consumers understand that issues/problems do arise every now and then, but the staff and employees should be properly trained to still function at their utmost as to avoid bad operations leading to unhappy customers. "Customer service is an important means for organizations to gain a competitive advantage in today's service economy" (p.81). This is arguably why David along with the rest of the Morton’s Steakhouse staff was not only pleasant, but very keen on making sure that all of the I’s were dotted and t’s were crossed when servicing the graduation dinner that evening.
Bad Customer Service
Most recently, the writer needed to book a flight to New York City and had the unfortunate experience of using and flying American Airlines because of a cheaper price. The customer service agent was very pleasant, but at the conclusion of the flight, American Airlines misplaced the writer's luggage. The writer was not the only one to experience this problem as the line at the airport was extremely long and none of the people there at the desk seemed to understand or know what was happening. American Airlines seemed uninterested in truly helping its passengers gain any type of insight into the problem. Zoglin (2009) comments that while airlines are under pressure to compete economically amidst several competitors, this does not mean that efforts on behalf of their staff to provide consumers with information necessary is unwarranted. Companies, specifically airline companies, should have the decency to not be counterproductive to the providing quality customer service when the opportunity presents itself (p.1). Ultimately, the luggage was returned to the writer several days after landing in New York. Luckily, the trip was an extensive one and the writer did not have to return to their daily duties for a few days. The experience was horrible, and only further highlighted why the writer has preferred other airlines in recent years.
References
Hassan, I. A. (2013, October). CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH OF SERVICE ENTERPRISE IN SOMALIA. Educational Research International, 2(2), 79-88. Retrieved from http://www.erint.savap.org.pk/PDF/Vol.2(2)/ERInt.2013(2.2-10).pdf
Morton's The Steakhouse. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.mortons.com/index.php
Zoglin, R. (2009, September 3). The Airlines' Customer-Complaint Lines: No Answer. Time, Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1920121,00.html
