I’m on my third iPhone. It’s a great product and I love it. (Sometimes I even sleep with it.) Even better than my romance with the product is Apple’s “in it for the long-haul” commitment to the relationship. My second and third iPhone were free. They were on-site, instant replacements.

The Apple customer service experience was great because:

  1. Apple Geniuses listened to me.
  2. They fixed the problem.
  3. When it couldn’t be repaired on-site, they provided a replacement and sent the old phone to be studied for product improvements.

Surprisingly, my point isn’t about the extreme customer service. I’m just getting your attention with the “two iPhones free” shtick. The big idea is in Apple’s amazing reception to customer feedback:

  1. Listen
  2. Act
  3. Research to improve product

What strikes me about this experience is how often we let consumer feedback wash over us without acting on it. And it hit me hard twice:

Virgin Atlantic Airlines
The shiny white counters with exotic red flowers and rock-n-roll videos playing at Virgin Atlantic Airllines drew me in. I daydreamed about the voluptuously hip cabin, imagining myself flying in sophisticated luxury unknown to our generation. I knew right then I wanted my next trip to be on Virgin. That dream came to a screeching halt when the Seattle gate agent spoke to me without listening.

In Seattle, the home of Boeing, “Airbus” is a dirty word. When a consumer approaches your shiny new airline at SeaTac it’s best not to tout, “We only fly Airbus and that’s what makes us so special.” My eyes widened and I asked with hedging kindness, “You do realize that most people you talk to here at SeaTac have a friend or relative that has worked for Boeing?” He said, “It doesn’t matter to us. Our CEO is from Europe.”

I wonder if it matters to consumers in Seattle who’ve had a friend or relative laid-off at Boeing? I was surprised by his response. I was trying to be kind and provide insight. Did his marketing department give him these talking points to convince Seattleites to fly Virgin? I walked away bummed, realizing he wasn’t going to share my feedback with anyone.

Stinks of Gas
A friend of mine is one of the most talented chefs in Washington state. His family opened a restaurant to rave reviews. They were proud. No one can say for sure, but perhaps that pride prevented them from acting on customer comments that the restaurant smelled like gas. They did not look into it. Several wealthy patrons did not like dining there regularly due to the smell. A year later when the family needed investors to stay afloat, they finally listened to one of the wealthy customers. The chef lifted the hood of the industrial stove and realized in disbelief that one of the pilot lights was out. Gas had been freely flowing into the dining room for months. The smell was a constant to the family, like wearing cologne. If they would’ve listened to their customers and acted on the complaint, would the business have been more successful? Sadly, we will never know. It is now closed.

What are your members telling you?
I’m not asking about your big, annual member service report. What did your members say to your tellers today? Listening is the best research and is necessary – even when you have the hottest product.

I can hear my credit union marketing friends now, “But I’m in marketing – that’s not my job. The tellers deal with members.” Who deals with the research?