271: Take It To the Top – Tesla’s New Strategy

Jeannie and Adam discuss the pros and cons of Tesla’s new strategy for escalating customer service issues. Escalating customer service: Can Tesla’s new strategy work for you? Customers demanding that a service issue or complaint be escalated is often the worst nightmare both for front-line staff and their leaders. While service agents aren’t anxious to admit they couldn’t make the customer happy on their own, team leads and are typically not happy or prepared to take those calls! Now imagine if those calls went straight to the c-suite… “… things get escalated so that you don’t have that level of frustration again.” -Jeannie Walters Tesla has announced a new program where their automotive customers can bypass the front line and take their issues straight to an executive. While this sounds like a great move for customers, the prospect of willfully escalating customer service raises a lot of questions about accountability, perception, and allocation of resources. Could your organization benefit from a program like this? If so, then how would you know and how could you make it work? “Sometimes serving one customer makes you serve 20 other ones badly…” -Adam Toporek Adam and Jeannie have a lot to say about this, but they don’t agree on everything! In this short but powerful episode, they address the pros and cons of escalation, what messages it sends to customers and staff, and many other things to consider. You don’t want to miss this one! Related Content 360Connext® post, How to Unlock Your Outstanding Service Culture for Good Customers That Stick® post, Communication: The Most Important Skill in Customer Service Episode 133: Tesla and the Infrastructure of Innovation Episode 266: Chip Bell, Innovating Service We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message: Develop your customer experience mission Do you know how to deliver the superior customer experience you visualize? We can help your team become a force for positive change, starting with a customer-centric mission. The Customer Experience Investigators™ at 360Connext specialize in helping companies across industries and around the globe. Developing and internalizing unique and scalable customer-focused missions has been crucial to their success. Want to compete with the other 89% of companies staying afloat by providing better experiences? You need a compass for making astounding changes in the customer experience while breaking down the silos that are holding you back. We offer evaluations, workshops, and roadmaps to keep your wheels firmly planted on the road to a customer-centric future. Join us on our mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™ today. Visit us at 360Connext.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices