Is Your Customer Service a Game Changer or Just Keeping You in the Game?

All companies would love to be able to say they are a game changer. Whether it is
with their service, brand or innovation, few companies really can claim such a grand
statement. Some of the few can, include Ritz Carlton, Southwest Airlines, Target,
Starbucks and Apple. My experience tells me more companies are just trying to stay
in the game because for them to change does not seem to be a reality.

Do this to keep up with the best:

1. Be easy to find. Is your 800 number visible on the front page of your website?
Stop hiding the number. Forrester Research shows customers still want to talk to
you. In a recent study customers were asked, “Which method do you prefer to use
when interacting with customer service?” The response showed 79% preferred
the phone and email came in at 33%. Customers still want a real person in a call
center.

2. Let your people be “real”. Give them power to build a relationship. Scripts
are old school. Hire and train well so you can trust your team to talk
to the customer.

3. Appear seamless. Customers do not want to repeat themselves. Have data
systems that allow the next employee or department to be aware of the customer’s
situation and conversation. I am amazed at how many organizations have not
cleaned up their act on this issue.

4. Create access at the customer’s preferred contact point. Social media,
email, live chat, call center, web self serve, automated phone system, video –
all options must be available and you must be able to track their usage history
to win their loyalty. All these interaction points have a great chance to frustrate
the customer. Make certain you create a winning experience instead.

5. Deliver on your promise. Is it that difficult to callback and follow through as
promised? Your brand is at risk when you do not deliver. It is too easy for
customers to broadcast their dissatisfaction quickly. The negative comments gain
traction fast as others start to pile on their input. Don’t let your lack of reliability
and responsiveness allow this to happen.

What will you do today to make certain your customer service is keeping you in the
game? Be better, think differently, innovate your service delivery and you might have
a chance at changing the game.
#custserv

For a technology company, XM Radio is really behind the customer service curve.

My husband is a subscriber of XM Radio. Recently it was time to renew his subscription. He got notification that his account would "Automatically" renew at a much higher rate than he had last year. The year before, he had called in and was offered a rate at HALF the automatic renewal figure. It was clearly in his renewal records, and as is the case with many companies, this “deal” was never offered for this renewal and he had to threaten to leave the service entirely before being offered a rate that should have been "automatic" to a current loyal customer.

He called this year and got a pleasant employee who took all of his account information. She was quite thorough, however could not renew at this same rate. She admitted that she “cannot do anything” and would have to transfer him to another department. He was routed to the retention group. His information was not transferred, another mistake. This always ups the hassle factor when the customer must repeat the reason for the call. Once my husband stated the reason for his call, the representative was quick to say, “No problem and happy to do this”. The rate remained the same and it turned into a very short interaction. Which is the way is should have been to start with.

So what is the story here? XM Radio, does not have the software or desire to "automatically" keep a loyal customer at a rate THEY offered in the first place. Then, one employee has her hands tied when it comes to serving customers and another is given authority to take care of customer’s reasonable requests. This company is living in the dark ages compared to service leaders. I bet employees are frustrated with their lack of ability to serve customers. These policies do not lead or help create engaged employees. And worse, the customers are frustrated with the customer experience.

Look at your systems and processes. Are you giving enough power to team members and putting more relevant information at their fingertips? The customer focus starts at the top. Hire well to start, train thoroughly, coach, empower appropriately and lead - it is an everyday job.

#custserv

The Four Strategies for Customer Service Leadership

The best customer service organizations have many things in common. I believe the most important is that leadership focuses on customer service and the customer experience. Check yourself and your leadership against these 4 strategies.

1. Leaders dedicate dollars, time and creativity to training. They know employees must have “state of the art” skills as well as a desire and motivation to serve. How creative is your training? Is it “just in time” for customer initiatives and needs? Is enough time spent in the new hire employee orientation?

2. Leaders have a focus on people and processes. They realize the best employees can’t adequately serve if the processes are not customer friendly. Customer needs and company processes are often in conflict. What bureaucracy issues can you deal with and eliminate? Ask your employees what processes need to be fixed. Look across departments and determine how to create a seamless experience for the customer. I know most of you have done this already. It is time to do it again.

3. Leaders keep the customer focus upfront in team meetings. The agenda includes the latest customer data, the voice of the customer, create opportunities to discuss improvement, ideas and recognition of great service efforts. Keep the meetings short and relevant. What needs to be changed about your team meetings? How
much time is spent talking about real customer issues?

4. Leaders at the best organizations are visible, great cheerleaders and story tellers. Employees need to be inspired and included. Do you spend enough time with the customer facing team? What stories do you need to tell when in front of the
employees? How are you inspiring the team to deliver a great experience?

Customer focus is an everyday activity. Leaders make certain that their time and actions are consistent with the expectations of great service and experience delivery. What must you do today to make a difference?
#custserv

Do Happy Employees Create Happy Customers?

Could it be so simple? I define a happy customer as one who is loyal and willing to refer you to others. Happy customers tells me, their problems were solved and their needs met. Statistics tell us that the service experience has a big impact on the companies bottom line. The delivery of superior experience depends on processes, technology and people. Even with social media and innovative technology, customers still need and want to deal with real voices and real people.

In a recent study, American Express reported that US customers will spend 9% more with companies that provide great customer service. Research by RightNow says 85% of customers are willing to spend more over the standard price to ensure a superior customer experience.

Your team members make the difference. A 2009 Gallup report looked at the impact of customer and employee engagement. Companies in the upper half of both customer and employee engagement get a 240% boost in bottom line results. With these powerful numbers, employee engagement has become a major goal for many organizations. Employee engagement means feeling involved, motivated, and enthusiastic to the job, organization and associates. The Gallup survey proved engaged employees find creative ways to solve customer problems and even involve customers in creating innovations and solutions. These same employees feel open to suggesting ideas to improve the company. So it does seem that happy engaged employees may be the answer to happy engaged customers.

The real question is how to create an engaged team member. The best organizations have visible leadership working to improve the customer experience with their processes, products, service and people. The leaders inspire employees to feel connected. Try these tips to develop an engagement connection :

- Talk real purpose. People need to feel connected to the meaning of the work.
Help them understand how their cubicles,“their 17 square feet”, affect the
customer experience. Employees want to be a part of something exciting,
purposeful and big.

- Communicate realistic goals. Let people know what is expected of them.
Create service standards. Without service standards and goals, everything is
left to chance.

- Celebrate when goals are met.

- Keep employees informed and updated. Share the latest voice of customer data,
discuss challenges and create excitement around opportunities. Employees
want to help improve the organization if shown their input is appreciated.

- Make managers approachable. Managers need to reward publicly as well as coach and be the cheerleader for exceptional customer service.

There are many great companies that seem to have these tips right, three of my favorites are – Zappos, Enterprise and Ritz Carlton. Zappos has embedded engagement into their culture via the core values, hiring practices, orientation and training. Enterprise’s culture focuses on “hiring and training good people from the ground up”. The Ritz is known for their credo and clear expectations. Employees are engaged to serve the customer and empowered to do the right thing.

So, do happy employees create happy customers? If the statistics aren’t enough proof, then act as if it is true and work to improve your employee engagement anyway. I am certain an engaged employee is a good thing for your organization and especially your customers. Make certain your customers have their problems solved and needs met with responsiveness, thoroughness and speed. Take a leap of faith and believe that happy employees do create happy customers.

Thinking Is Required for Customer Service of ANY type!

I am amazed at how little common sense is used in the delivery of customer service. Recently a group was eating in the fine dining restaurant of a national hotel chain. One of the diners asked Ava, our server, about the lasagna. After a pause, she responded with, “It’s just OK. Personally, I like Stouffer’s better”. Not quite a ringing endorsement and not an appropriate one in this restaurant. She even paused which should have given her time to edit her thoughts and chosen a different response.

An audience member in Bakersfield California came up and told me this tale. Her husband needed to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles, he traveled to a smaller office outside of the city and arrived at opening hours. He was pleased to see when entering the offices that he was first in line. His plan of going to a smaller office had worked. He went straight to the clerk and the empty counter. Her response was, “Sir, you’ll have to take a number and we will call you”. He did as was told and about a minute later, the same person paged him to come up to the counter. His wife reported that he found it amazing and laughable.

What has happened to common sense and thinking before talking? Where is the leadership? It is time to hire, train and expect better from your team.