Who defines 'good' customer service?

Our charity clients are some of the strongest people I've met. How they manage to persevere through the bureaucratic nightmare that is seeking asylum, deal with what has happened to them in their home country and then battle through applications through family reunion visas is beyond me.

In theory our part in the process is the easy one. Once all the hard fought for documents are in place we simply book the flights and they travel to be reunited as a family.

We don't provide emotional support (we are neither trained or experienced in this area) but from our communication with clients we understand how the flight is the pinnacle of what, for some, amounts to years of separation.

Imagine then that you have come to the airport. You are scared of authority in a country where you do not feel safe. You have been through years of trauma. You have a small child with you and are leaving behind another who, having turned 18, does not meet the criteria to travel to the UK.*

It is late at night. The check in staff refuse to accept the travel visa you have spent so long jumping through hoops to acquire. They tell you to go back to the issuing embassy and sort it out but you cannot travel tonight.

If this was you or me we'd make a fuss. We'd be confident in our documents and in our rights as their customer. We'd be asking to see a manager, for them to phone head office, making something happen. How many times will this be all that's needed to resolve the situation?

But if you're scared and worn down and unable to properly communicate you can't do this.  Should the airline staff recognise this and make sure they've tried all the channels that they would have done if the customer had made a fuss?

For example look at this story in Inside Housing about asylum seekers who are scared to complain about sub standard housing in case they are deported.

Is it our responsibility as a customer to make sure we get the level of service we expect? In some cases, such as our clients, expectations will be that the situation will go against them as it has done so many times before. For us, and especially those who care about delivering high levels of customer service, we will expect and demand much more.

Having previously worked with wealthy customers who felt entitled to the world I have been used to meeting and aiming to exceed these demands and expectations. It is a concern that when customers are less confident and empowered might be settling for second best as companies lower their standards to meet expectations.

It is important that when we're considering how we provide customer service we not only meet our customers expectations but look at what we'd expect in their position.

* All case studies referenced from any clients, of Bolton at Home or the Refugee Welcome Trust are amended to be representative of the situation but not true to any one case or client. Details are either general descriptions or an amalgamation of different client's stories.