Tag: rants & raves

Categories
Customer service

What is Happening to Customer Service?

I’ve been reading a lot about customer frustration these days – due to decreasing customer service levels or decreasing customer tolerance. Probably both.

Here are two prime examples:

  1. A customer is put on hold indefinitely and unable to track down a living, breathing person to actually talk with. (“Your call is important to us” … yeah, right!)
  2. Based on a unsatisfactory training experience, a customer requests a refund. The training company denies and refutes the request in a series of back-and-forth emails with the customer.

As a marketer, here’s my take on these situations:

  1. Put on Hold: The customer eventually got through to the company after sending a copy of her blog post. The company explained the “long hold” situation to the customer as a result of increased call volume due to new industry regulation. Stuff happens, but does this excuse the company? One hopes the company learns from this experience so it can be better prepared (via better planning and agility) to respond the next time it has to deal with increased customer calls. That some companies don’t learn this lesson only adds to consumer cynicism. Consider this comment posted in response to the blogger’s question: “Does it sometimes seem they might be doing this on purpose, as if perhaps they just don’t want to provide customer service at all … ?” “It’s a carefully contrived conspiracy, formulated in strategy meetings at the highest level.”
  2. Refund Request: What’s puzzling in this case is the company spent a lot of time and energy defending its training program, ultimately creating greater customer alienation and negative word-of-mouse (i.e., the 21st century version of word-of-mouth that with a mouse click can be instantaneously shared with millions of people). I don’t understand why the company didn’t just refund the customer’s money to “recover” the situation and minimize brand damage. Most customer-focused training and professional development offer money-back guarantees as good business practice. Even some training firms who don’t promote guarantees will prudently refund part or all of a registration fee to a dissatisfied customer.

Note to all companies: You need not buy-into the “customer is always right” concept. Whether the customer is right or wrong is irrelevant. What matters – and the reality you ultimately need to deal with – is that the customer perceives s/he is always right!

On the bright side, I recently came across these examples of positive customer service: Shannon, a food server at Einstein Bagels in Dallas TX, who took care of her immediate customer and those that followed;. And Sharman, Verizon business tech support, who stayed on the line with her customer for several hours to resolve that customer’s issue.

What do you think?
For every customer service horror story, there is a positive one … and vice-versa. Although we tend to hear more of the negative experiences than the positive, what is your take on what’s happening to customer service these days?

 

Categories
Customer service Engagement

A Love Story about Customer Care & Employee Engagement

In time for Valentine’s Day, here’s a story about a love that is lost and recovered.

It’s quite an extraordinary story because it’s about a business: Zane’s Cycles – a business that’s truly passionate about customer service.

Act 1, some time before Valentine’s Day: A customer wants to surprise her husband with a bike from Zane’s Cycles as a Valentine’s gift. She makes a special request to place the bike in the store window – since she planned to take her husband by the store after a Valentine’s dinner when the store is normally closed. She gives the store balloons and a card to place on the bike for display and invites friends from work to see her husband’s reaction to the gift. However, before closing the store that day, an employee forgets to put the bike in the front window. Uh oh …

Act 2, February 15th: Chris Zane, owner of Zane’s Cycles, gets a voice mail from an extremely upset customer complaining that the store forget to display her husband’s gift as promised and ruined her Valentine’s Day surprise. Chris and his retail manager go into customer service “recovery” mode:

  • They apologize to the woman and deliver the bike to her home. Even though the bike was purchased on layaway and only partially paid for, Zane’s waives the remaining balance.
  • To make up for the disappointing Valentine’s Day, they give the woman and her husband a restaurant gift certificate for another dinner.
  • And to make up for disappointing her friends from work who took the time to witness the Valentine’s Day gift, Zane’s sends a catered lunch to the woman’s workplace.

Even though the situation didn’t turn out as initially expected, the customer is happy with Zane’s response.

Act 3, about a week later: Chris receives a letter of apology from the employee who forget to display the bike. The employee knows how much effort went into this customer’s recovery and includes a check for $400 to help cover the out-of-pocket recovery costs. As an hourly employee, the check represents about a week’s pay.

I love this story, and not just because of Zane’s Cycles’ extraordinary effort to recover from a negative customer service situation. What moved me most when I first heard Chris tell this story is how the employee acknowledged his role and tried to repay the company. It’s an incredible testament to the customer-focused and engaged culture that Chris Zane has built.

Note: Chris did not cash the check; he keeps it as a reminder of employees’ passion for service.

You can hear Chris tell this story in his own words on The CEO Show.

Categories
Marketing

Stop Fundraising!

Attention certain nonprofits:

You already have me as a friend & supporter/donor, and I’m happy to send you a contribution once a year.

In the meantime, PLEASE stop sending me continuous solicitations!

  • I don’t want/need frequent reminders to give to your cause.
  • I don’t want you to send me any more pins, note cards, mailing labels, decals, etc.
  • I don’t want you to waste any more paper and postage.
  • Most of all, I don’t want you to waste precious time (mine and yours) – especially when you can take whatever time and expense you’re spending on these unnecessary mailings and reallocate them to  furthering your mission.

I’m not saying that you should stop all your fundraising efforts – just the multiple ones to me … unless you no longer want my contribution.

So I urge you to stop.

Consider this fair warning: donor alienation is just one mailing away.

Categories
Engagement

How to Re-Engage Employees

“It’s sad, really, how a negative workplace can impact our lives and the way we feel about ourselves. The situation is reaching pandemic heights – most people go to work at jobs they dislike, supervised by people who don’t care about them, and directed by senior leaders who are often clueless about where to take the company.”  – Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld

But there is hope! And you can find it in Branham & Hirschfeld’s new book, Re-Engage: How America’s Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times. The authors analyzed millions of surveys from more than 10,000 employers in Quantum Workplace’s massive database used to identify the “Best Paces to Work.” They share the critical clues and insights they found that distinguish what some companies are doing to create and maintain a winning workplace despite a chaotic business climate.

Their analysis revealed six universal drivers of employee engagement:

  • Caring, competent and engaging senior leaders
  • Effective managers who keep employees aligned and engaged
  • Effective teamwork at all levels
  • Job enrichment and professional growth
  • Valuing employee contributions
  • Concern for employee well-being.

Each driver is described in depth and illustrated by winning companies that exemplify these drivers. The authors also share the “voice” of employees working in positive and negative situations with quotes about what employees like and what frustrates them on the job.

What makes Re-Engage particularly relevant is that the authors also provide guidance in the wake of major challenges to workplace engagement, particularly:

  • when a company grows in size (“diseconomies of scale”)
  • increasing workforce age diversity (“generational diversity”)
  • the continuing economic crisis (“turbulent times”).

Recognizing that workplace engagement is not the sole responsibility of managers, Branham & Hirschfeld also devote a chapter to what employees can do for their own self-engagement.

Every once in a while, you find a business book that’s truly rich in insight and guidance – Re-Engage is one such book, and I highly recommend it.

 

Categories
Engagement

I Love My Job! (Yeah, right)

Referred to as the “Lost Dr. Seuss Poem,” this has been floating on the web for several years, and it’s the perfect complement to my last post on declining job satisfaction.

Not exactly a workplace Valentine, but it’s worth another look for a chuckle – especially for those who can relate to it (better to laugh than cry … ).

“I love my job, I love the pay!
I love it more and more each day.
I love my boss he is the best!
I love his boss and all the rest.

“I love my office and its location, I hate to have to go on vacation.
I love my furniture, drab and gray, and piles of paper that grow each day.
I think my job is really swell, there’s nothing else I love so well.
I love to work among my peers, I love their leers and jeers and sneers.
I love my computer and its software,
I hug it often though it won’t care.
I love each program and every file
I’d love them more if they worked a while.

“I am happy to be here. I am. I am.
I’m the happiest slave of the firm, I am.
I love this work, I love these chores.
I love the meetings with deadly bores.
I love my job – I’ll say it again – I even love those friendly men.
Those friendly men who’ve come today,
In clean white coats to take me away!!!”

– Anonymous

 

 

Categories
Customer service

Corporate Insensitivity Adds to Customer Grief

This is a plea for companies to be more sensitive to their customers’ situations. It’s about a frustrating and emotionally-laden personal experience resulting from a lack of corporate sensitivity that may not be deliberate, but nonetheless, there’s no excuse for it.

My beloved mother passed away a few months ago, and I’ve been handling her mail and bills until her estate is settled. What’s unbelievable is the direct mail I continue to get in my mother’s name from companies who have been contacted about the situation. Here’s what happened recently (within the span of one week) that sent me over the edge:

  • Even though we closed out my mother’s checking and savings accounts after her funeral (just over four months ago) to transfer the funds to an estate account, she continues to receive promotional offers from her credit union.
  • My family recently received an insurance check after submitting lengthy documentation about my mother’s illness and death. Get this: a few days later, we also got a notice from the same insurance company stating that her annual policy renewal would be cancelled for lack of payment.
  • Then there was the personal invitation to my mother to attend a financial education seminar from the financial services firm where we opened her estate account!

I thought ‘Relationship’ was CRM’s middle name

I just don’t understand – companies have customer data bases that they presumably update with new and closed account information. How long does it take to remove a customer name from the marketing list?

Companies have invested millions of dollars in CRM (customer relationship management) technology, so what’s the problem? Is it a bureaucratic issue based on organizations that are so complex and silo’d that the left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand or even know what it’s doing?

Regardless, the result is inefficient and wasteful. Sadly, it’s also perceived as a lack of sensitivity to consumers who are emotionally fragile.

I was so upset about this that I vented to my new blogging buddy, Becky Carroll, of CustomersRock! fame. Here’s her response:

It is more than unfortunate that the thoughtlessness of these businesses has thrown salt into the wound. Obviously, no one would do this intentionally.  However, in delicate situations, it is critical that a business flag the situation and make it work out with as little stress on the customer as possible.

I think these things happen due to silo thinking, and it happens too often!

 

(Thanks for listening, Becky).

Is it realistic for companies to know what their customers’ families are going through? Of course not. But in these situations – when company policy requires a death certificate to change a customer account – someone should have a clue!

Categories
Musings

Don’t Call Us, Unless We Need You

I ranted in my last post about organizations that don’t communicate with job applicants. Wait till you hear this shabby treatment of an internal job candidate.

A friend of mine provided freelance PR services for a number of years to an organization that decided to bring the position in-house. And she applied for the position.

How did she learn she didn’t get it? When she received an invitation to meet the new PR person. She called the office where she was contracted as a freelancer and was told that her rejection letter would be sent shortly. (That it should have been sent before the invitation is a moot point as my friend never received any letter.) She was also told she wasn’t hired for the position because she wasn’t a good fit with the organization’s culture and strategic plan. (Huh? Up to this point, she had never gotten any negative feedback about her work.)

The bottom line was that after all her years of service, she was treated rudely and without any professional courtesy. And get this – the office then called my friend because it wanted her to spend some time orienting the new person to the PR job!

Guess that was one task they had to tackle themselves …  : )

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You

Seems almost everybody I talk to who’s in the current job market has stories on how they’re ignored by prospective employers when they apply for jobs. Only a few organizations extend the courtesy of a postcard or letter confirming receipt of an applicant’s resume.

Doesn’t matter whether it’s an entry-level or executive job search … new job or job-change … for-profit or nonprofit … too many organizations do not acknowledge their job applicants.

I’ve heard the excuses before: HR & other departments doing the hiring are short-staffed and/or there are too many applications flooding into the system. But there’s enough technology out there to automate the acknowledgment process.

At the very least, firms can better manage applicants’ expectations by putting a disclaimer in their want ads that tell people “You won’t hear from us at all unless we’re interested in you.” Don’t assume every applicant takes “no news is no news” as a given.

The smart organization can actually create a favorable brand impression by extending the courtesy of communication to its job applicants. Consumers, including prospective employees, judge an organization by how well they’re treated by everyone in the organization they come in contact with. In other words, EVERYONE in the organization impacts the brand. So ignoring job applicants doesn’t do much if you want to be known as an employer-of-choice.

To those involved in the hiring process, listen up: someday YOU may be the one looking for a job who is ignored.

Categories
Engagement

Search Committees Need a Clue

A friend who works in a university told me about her school’s search for a new administrative department head. In passing she said she was surprised that the search committee hadn’t bothered to include input from the department’s current staff.

Perhaps the search committee wanted to change that department’s culture by bringing in a new leader, and they didn’t think it worthwhile to hear what the staff had to say? That was my initial (and feeble) attempt to explain their rationale. But it’s still no reason to overlook the people who have a major stake in the search’s outcome – after all, they’re the ones who have to live with the new boss.

Don’t Mind Us, We Just Work Here

The more my friend and I discussed this, the more upset we got … especially since we also recalled similar instances from our experience in nonprofit and corporate organizations. In many cases it seemed the search committees showed a blatant disregard and disrespect for the staff. Their message was loud & clear: “Why should we bother with the employees’ two cents when they’re not in positions of authority to determine who their boss should be?”

I’m not saying the staff should make the hiring decision. But they should be given the opportunity to offer feedback on the nature of their work and the type of person who might best lead their department.

I just don’t understand why the folks most invested in the department – those closest to the work – are the least likely to be asked for their input. Go figure …

Categories
Customer service Marketing Musings

Whatever Happened to the Friendly Skies?

I know the past few months have been bad on air travel weather-wise, but something else is happening. And it doesn’t bode well for the airline industry.

Check out these horror stories from Jill Stover (with comments, including mine) and Bob Hastings. Customer service continues to wane, while passengers are experiencing increasing hassles.

Jet Blue’s passenger bill of rights notwithstanding, customers are continually subject to poor customer service, not to mention the hassles of getting through airport security. Security issues continue to alter our air travel habits, resulting in changing carry-on policies and new fees.

I remember back around 1999-2000 when air traffic was at a peak and passengers were up in arms about poor service. The airlines responded by improving their customer service and the situation began improving … and then there was 9/11. Airport security changed, and little by little the “frills” (such as on-board meals, pillows, etc.) began to disappear.

It’s not too much to ask, is it?

Even with the changes, I wonder why airlines aren’t doing a better job with customer service. Yes, it’s becoming more of a hassle to travel these days, but there’s an opportunity for airline brands to stand out by recognizing these challenges and being more (not less) empathetic to customers:

This isn’t rocket surgery.

Summer vacation time is rapidly approaching. I’ve already heard from many friends & colleagues that they’re considering “drive-able” destinations to avoid flying anywhere. That works for leisure travel, but us business travelers don’t have that same flexibility.

The question is: will the skies ever be friendly again?