You may think that watching movies and television shows is something you do
for sheer amusement – providing little educational value. Well, think
again! I know I recently spoke about the importance of reading vs. watching
television in my latest blog on the top customer experience books, but let’s not completely
underestimate the power of the tube.
You’ve likely learned some real-life lessons, long after the popcorn and
peanut M&M’s had been devoured. So to the customer service folks who are
ready to take more away from TV and movies than simply an entertainment fix –
this one is for you.
Below I’ve illustrated seven lessons about customer service we can all learn
from TV shows, movies, and even cartoons!
1. Failing to Be Empathetic
In this Seinfeld scene, Jerry is picking up the mid-size rental car that he
had previously reserved. The agent has confirmed that no car is available, even
though she acknowledges that the reservation was successfully processed. She
provides very little empathy to a seemingly reasonable request. The lesson here
is simple – put yourself in the customer’s shoes. How would you feel if you
took the time to make a reservation for, say, dinner, and upon arriving there
were no available tables? Surely, that’s no way to conduct business.
2. The Wrong Customer Service Response
I’m not being biased to car rental scenes – this is purely a coincidence.
If you thought Steve Martin had all of his moments of insane anger in Father
of the Bride, you were wrong. In this clip from Planes, Trains and Automobiles,
he is downright angry, but rightly so. Unfortunately, he is cursing quite a
bit, so to keep things professional we listed the censored version. The
customer service lesson here is quite obvious at the beginning.
The agent is clearly more concerned about her personal life, than with
handling a disgruntled customer. She is oblivious to the overextending line-up
of patrons as she continues to ramble on the phone about thanksgiving dinner.
When Steve Martin finally approaches the desk he explains why he is so angry,
and her response was clearly not in the training books.
3. Isn’t the Customer Always Right?
Michael Douglas is itching for a “ham and cheese wamlet” in this scene from
Falling Down. The customer service rep explains that breakfast is no longer
being served, and he can only order lunch. He asks for a manager who says, “We
stopped serving breakfast at 11:30 AM”. The customer looks at his watch and
it’s only a few minutes past. In fact, he likely placed the order in time, but
wasted time arguing, and by the time he asked for the manager he was too late.
Analysis: This article along with the movie clips was really fun to read/watch and reflect upon. In thinking about customer service, it is arguably one of the most important things to consider in any banking business model. As I have learned, what keeps customers coming back to a specific bank is the loyalty they feel toward that bank, as in how cared for they feel and how content they feel trusting that bank to manage their money. Some important lessons are taught in these movie clips that will be important to consider in any design solutions I come up with to reimagine day-to-day banking. I found the most valuable takeaways from these clips to be that it is important to be empathetic, create connections with the customer, and always be open to compromise. For instance, when it comes to compromise, banks need to learn to compromise with their customers on their services and products. Not everything should revolve around keeping costs low and making the bank the most profit. Customers don’t like fees, and although they make the bank tons of money, they might push customers away to find a cheaper alternative. In addition, when it comes to technology certain options lower operational costs, like virtual banking websites instead of in-person banking with tellers, but there needs to be a compromise for the sake of empathy and personability. Yes, banking websites are super convenient and efficient, but we need to make sure they also have ways to empathize and create connections with the customer. Overall, the movie and tv show clips about customer experience are giving me a lot to think about in terms of banking business models and their ability to empathize and compromise with customers.
Citation:
Lessons about customer service from movie clips. Fonolo. (2020, November 26). https://fonolo.com/blog/2018/04/incredible-lessons-about-customer-service-from-movie-clips/
