By Shep Hyken

These are the kind of people—and the kind of company—you want to do business with.

First, a little background. I was having a conversation with a colleague and came up with the idea that you shouldn’t have to fight with a company to get your problem resolved or for them to make you happy. They should want to make you happy.

Just a couple days later I saw this idea in action, but with a twist. I was on a customer support call with a software company and their rep said, “I’ll need to talk to my manager. I’m on your side, and I’ll fight to make you happy.”

Did he just say he would fight his manager to make me happy? This is the customer service rep I want to talk to every time I call the company. This is the person I want on my side. This is my “new best friend” at the software company. He doesn’t just want to make me happy. He will fight to make me happy.

This is exactly the kind of person—in any company—I want to talk to whenever I call for help, have a question or even a complaint.

The word “fight” is an interesting one. The official definition—actually, there are two of them, according to Merriam-Webster—is to contend in battle or physical combat, and to put forth a determined effort. When it comes to customer service, I’m in alignment with the second definition. I want it to be the company that fights or makes “a determined effort”—to take care of me!

If I have a problem or a complaint, I shouldn’t have to fight—or make a “determined effort”—with the company to resolve it for me. It’s actually the other way around. They should fight and make that “determined effort” to keep me happy. After all, I represent not just that one sale, but potential future sales. I might also share my experiences with others, which could turn into more sales for them.

If we look at the first definition of fight, which uses the words battle and physical combat, I can see a company stating, “Let’s fight against poor customer service.” That second definition should sum it up for everyone. Bad service has no place in any company. It’s everyone’s responsibility to fight for their customer and make a determined effort to give them the best experience, one that makes them happy and gets them to come back—again and again!