Don't Be Like Coach - A Lesson in Customer Support

Coach is getting crushed on #TikTok right now.

Long story, short:

A customer talked about her negative experience with their customer support.

Her bag had a broken strap, so she brought it in for repair.

They charged her $108, then after several weeks, they sent the bag back without doing a thing. It was in the exact same state, and wasn’t even cleaned.

After an infuriating run around and hassle, she was denied a refund.

Now, here’s the lesson:

👉 Over 1,000,000 people have heard this story

👉 Over 133,000 people have liked the post

👉 Tens of thousands of people have commented on how they will never buy a bag from Coach again

And all it cost Coach for this terrible customer experience… $108.

Customer service is such an important job, and many companies overlook this. They hire junior people, pay them pennies, micromanage their breaktimes, enforce nonsensical policies, treat them like children. (I’ve worked many customer service jobs and they are all like this).

Start with hiring the right people (not everyone is suited for this role) – this includes management – train them well, review and amend bad policy, empower them to make exceptions to rules (or have an escalation process for edge cases), cherish those people, pay them well, treat them right… they are integral to the success of your business.

In the age of social media, businesses simply cannot afford to have any bad customer experience. Make it right. Do the right thing by the customer. Play the long game.