Gross National Happiness: Are You Adding To It?

In 1972, Bhutan’s leader, Dragon King Jigme Singye Wangchuck coined the term “gross national happiness.” He was trying to come up with a way to measure the quality of life in Bhutan. The concept caught on and the Centre for Bhutan Studies actually came up with a survey that could measure the population’s happiness using metrics.

While GNH is no longer in use, it is interesting to think of happiness as a measure of success – especially for business owners. Bad customer service experiences make customers unhappy. Does your company help to increase the “gross national happiness” of your customers?

When thinking about customer service and happiness, the first company that comes to mind is Zappos.com. Zappos is one of the largest online retailers in the world and was purchased by Amazon in 2009 for 1.2 billion dollars. Zappos makes its mark by focusing on customer service and customer happiness. They famously offer free shipping with a 365 day return policy and their tagline is “Powered by Service.” CEO Tony Hsieh even wrote a memoir called “Delivering Happiness,” which every small business owner or entrepreneur should read.

While most customer service call centers measure success by how quickly a representative handles calls, at Zappos, the focus is more about connecting with the customer and leaving the customer with a positive impression of the Zappos brand. There are many examples of Zappos customer service workers going above and beyond such as overnighting shipments, sending customers flowers, and going to a rival store to buy a pair of out-of-stock shoes.

Many times a telephone customer service experience is your company’s one and only chance to make a good impression. Excellent customer service can result in increase lifetime customer value and positive word-of-mouth. That’s why it’s important to take a page out of Zappo’s book and always provide top-notch, customer-centric service for your business.

Contribute to “gross national happiness” by offering 24/7 answering services, live chat services, appointment setting and more. Contact One Call Center can help your business to keep customers happy! Find out how by calling (800) 278-3347 today.