--- description: Quick and effective problem-solving can yield more loyalty title: Richard Branson on the Importance of Customer Service image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbf219d14e1a724e/6988666d0a4a22eb6c9c65c7/richard-branson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Careers & Workplace](/tag/careers-workplace/) ## Careers & Workplace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Richard Branson on the Importance of Customer Service by [Richard Feloni / Business Insider](/author/business-insider/) ## Richard Feloni / Business Insider Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 1, 2015 5:33 PM CUT  Richard Branson at the Talent Unleashed Awards 2015 in Sydney on Sept. 11, 2015. Richard Branson at the Talent Unleashed Awards 2015 in Sydney on Sept. 11, 2015.Lisa Maree Williams—Getty Images by [Richard Feloni / Business Insider](/author/business-insider/) ## Richard Feloni / Business Insider Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 1, 2015 5:33 PM CUT As chair of the massive [Virgin Group](http://www.virgin.com/ "undefined"), Richard Branson can’t possibly stay on top of everything going on at each of his companies, which include airlines, a mobile service provider, and an upcoming hotel chain. But to ensure that his customer service employees are maintaining his vision for the company, he’ll sometimes reach out to customers or pretend to be a customer himself, he says in his book, [_The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Virgin-Way-Everything-Leadership/dp/1591847370/ref=tmm%5Fhrd%5Ftitle%5F0?tag=bisafetynet-20 "undefined"). One time, he writes, he even tried masking his voice on a customer service call to one of his companies, demanding to be put in touch with — who else? — Richard Branson. He writes: --- > “” --- While he tells the story for a laugh, Branson makes a valuable point. Whether you’re an executive at a major corporation or the founder of a startup, you should never get so caught up in management and business strategy that you forget that you’re providing a product or service for the benefit of customers. To that end, it’s not a bad idea to occasionally check up on your customer service staff by giving them a call and seeing how they handle your questions. Start by going to your company’s website, Branson says: --- > “” --- If they handle your problem well, consider identifying yourself as the boss, he says, and praise them for their efforts. And if the experience is a nightmare, consider contacting their supervisor and explaining that they’ll need to address the issue with their team. Branson says he used to regularly cold call Virgin Atlantic business-class customers to ask about their experience. He also [writes down observations about his own experiences as a Virgin customer](http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-productivity-hack-2014-9 "undefined"), such as when he noted that he and fellow Virgin America passengers didn’t want a hot towel offered to them on a scorching Las Vegas day. He took that bit to management and had the policy changed to having cold towels offered on hot days. Branson writes that in his many years of business experience, he has found that unhappy customers who have a problem handled quickly and effectively end up being more loyal than if they never had a problem at all. _This_ [_article_](http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-on-customer-service-2014-9 "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com "undefined") _More from Business Insider:_ * [Jack Welch explains the 2 traits that will get you promoted](http://www.businessinsider.com/jack-welch-explains-how-to-get-a-promotion-2015-6 "undefined") * [Uber exec shares the best advice he received while at Stanford business school](http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-exec-shares-the-best-advice-he-received-while-at-stanford-business-school-2015-9 "undefined") * [Of the 6 types of CFO personalities, this is the worst performer](http://www.businessinsider.com/this-cfo-personality-type-is-bad-for-tech-decisions-2015-9 "undefined") * [What 21 highly successful people were doing at age 25](http://www.businessinsider.com/what-highly-successful-people-were-doing-at-25-2015-9 "undefined") * [8 TED talks that can help you become insanely productive](http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-talks-that-teach-you-about-productivity-2015-9 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4057852/richard-branson-customer-service/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4057852/richard-branson-customer-service/"},"headline":"Richard Branson on the Importance of Customer Service","datePublished":"2015-10-01T17:33:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:27:02.411Z","description":"Quick and effective problem-solving can yield more loyalty","url":"https://time.com/4057852/richard-branson-customer-service/","keywords":["Careers & Workplace","Management","Customer Service","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbf219d14e1a724e/6988666d0a4a22eb6c9c65c7/richard-branson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Feloni / Business Insider"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbf219d14e1a724e/6988666d0a4a22eb6c9c65c7/richard-branson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Richard Branson at the Talent Unleashed Awards 2015 in Sydney on Sept. 11, 2015.","caption":"Richard Branson at the Talent Unleashed Awards 2015 in Sydney on Sept. 11, 2015.","creditText":"Lisa Maree Williams—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/careers-workplace/","name":"Careers & Workplace"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4057852/richard-branson-customer-service/","name":"Richard Branson on the Importance of Customer Service"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Complaining at Work Hurts Your Career","description":"The Science of Motivation: Rick Tamlyn on Complaining at Work","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/BiVS6RWX/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-10T17:52:49.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BiVS6RWX.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4057852/richard-branson-customer-service/","duration":"PT2M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4057852/richard-branson-customer-service/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```