A terrific article was published in a recent issue of CRM Daily magazine. In “Poor Customer Service Paralyzing U.S. Companies,” customer service consultant Bobbi Paine stated, “Businesses are losing business they can’t afford to lose. . .as a result, poor customer service is paralyzing American companies.”The findings of a 2007 Harris Poll reported a full 80% of respondents indicated they would never do business with a company with which they have experienced a negative customer service experience. . .that number up from 68% the year before!
What on earth is going on here? According to Paine: “On-the-job rudeness, unhelpfulness and inattention to customers are becoming the norm. We’ve lost touch with the personal side of customer service, primarily because of technology.” Asked to explain this statement, Ms. Paine went on to say that online services are positives when they work, but frustrating to customers when they don’t, putting front line employees in difficult situations. She also cited that outsourced call centers in foreign settings have contributed to the problem.
Don’t business managers understand that these bad experiences are shared with family, friends and Internet connections loudly and often, to their detriment? Product and service companies need a real wake-up call here: it’s make or break time for organizations.
Even more telling, employers and employees “aren’t taking the time to get to know who their customers are.” Paine cites the fact that customers are likely to feel they have received outstanding customer service when employees are, in fact, just doing their jobs as they should be. Reason? Customers are making the comparison to the poor service they’ve received before having a satisfactory experience. . .
Surveys suggest that customers are taking more and more control of the situation and taking their business elsewhere in response to receiving poor customer service. They’ve also indicated they’re willing to pay an additional 10%–at least–in order to receive consistently better customer service.
Ms. Paine’s advice: “Let go of the idea of treating people the way you want to be treated. You need to treat people the way they want to be treated.” She advises employees to truly listen to what the customer is saying, to pay attention to their body language and tone of voice and then to ask questions to find out what they truly want/need.
The upshot?
* Employees should be hired based on real people skills. A nice or happy disposition, in and of itself, isn’t sufficient here.
* Customers what to know what can be done to help them–they don’t want to hear what can’t be done for them.
* Managers at every level need to have great people skills as role models within their organizations.
* If customer service is a problem within a company, an overall, cultural change must be put in place. Otherwise, no real change for the better can occur. Meaning: there has to be a commitment to making a real investment in front line employees.
“A lot of organizations feel like customer service isn’t brain surgery, but I feel it is. It’s life or death”, Ms. Paine said in conclusion.
Questions:
* Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services?
* Have you experienced such poor service that you’ve panned businesses to family and friends? Have you even blogged about bad service online?
* Conversely, have you praised great service and even blogged about it, recommending specific businesses at large?
I’d love to hear from you.
As always Ted, terrific post! Your question, “Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services?”, brings to mind an experience I had in a major department store at Xmas time. The store starts with “M”…
Their commercials depict big-name celebrities offering their branded merchandise, everyone is smiling and laughing and happy. The commercial ends with the tagline “That’s the magic of…” I laughed to myself as I looked up at a sign with the same slogan, this while standing on line for 35 minutes to purchase my mom’s designer handbag. I laughed to myself self..”it’s more like the MISERY of M.”
We’re seeing this more and more as businesses are forgetting they’re not only in the business of selling products, but service is part of the brand experience. The bag I bought my mom was a Coach. Nice bags, expensive. I worry that Coach is throwing their brand under the bus, so to speak, in favor of profits. When you spend a few hundred dollars on a handbag, have to wait 35 minutes to get serviced, don’t have an appropriate box to put it in ( I was told to go over to the Coach store (across town in NYC holiday traffic) to get a box! (HUH?) Trust me, your brand will suffer.
Not monitoring the touchpoints, especially at critical buying times is suicide. Did the brand manager at Coach ever try to buy a bag in one of M’s stores? Apparently not! If so, I would like to think he or she would have yanked them right out of M.
We have to look at service as part of the total brand package. When I deal with a client, I always start out as a customer. Never announcing who I am, just observing every touch point to see where the problems lie. We as marketers and business owners have to take every experience customers have as a learning experience, good or bad…
“Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services?”
1. Because it is much easier to “be creative” and make “funny ads” then to work with people and change their behavior.
2. Because there is way too much distance between HRM and marketing departments. And marketing departments are “not supposed” to do HRM.
Once upon a time… I’ve had a presentation at HRM congress about bringing together HRM and marketing function to develop “employees marketing behavior”. People were inspired. Yet they had to go back to their jobs and found out that the marketing department doors were closed.
I think that in long-term no SEO, social marketing tools, advertising, CRM or whatever can bring you such competitive advantage as human resources. Because everything can be coppied, employees can’t be.
Thank you for the kind words, Dawn. I appreciate it. You outline a typical problem customers experience in retail stores every day. Your statement is right on the money: “We’re seeing this more and more as businesses are forgetting they’re not only in the business of selling products, but service is part of the brand experience.”
In future, if you want to purchase a Coach bag, which is a high-end product, what will you do? I’m betting you will go right to the Coach company’s own store and get the service you want and expect before plunking down several hundred dollars to purchase a handbag. In the end, all of the celebrity-studded advertising M is doing will land with a thud unless the retailer’s front-line personnel handle the customer with respect and dignity, and give them real service. Thanks for making some excellent points, Dawn.
Ted, I have always maintained, and it’s a point not shared by many in marketing- that marketing is co-responsible for the customer experience. Are we fully responsible and accountable – no, but we do have a stake and the CMO should be driving an improved customer experience across all touchpoints.
If everyone, – across the organization is on the same page and firing on all cylinders – usually the customer experience is consistent and positive.
I think the key- as you have pointed out –is that it starts at the top and this means the CEO. If customers are important to the CEO and more than just lipservice is paid to the customer experience, our brands will start to fulfill their promises made to the marketplace.
Great points, Dusan. While it isn’t the business of the marketing department to work directly with employees as Human Resource departments do as a rule, it’s still important to work with employees on internal branding initiatives and training. If employees don’t understand the company they work for, or its position in the marketplace, how can they embody it to the company’s customers? When customer service is miserable, it’s easy to say it’s due to employee turn-over, especially in the retail sector. However, there is often a real disconnect due to a lack of employee training that comes back to haunt many businesses. Showing a new person how to operate a cash register is sometimes the only training new retail employees get, for example. Giving new employees handbooks filled with policies and procedures. . .that doesn’t cut it either. Many service companies do that, and what does that do to instill company core values in their employees? Nothing.
Articles like the one that I cited in this post should serve as a wake-up call to every company, B2B and B2C, that their customers are the life blood of their businesses. They should be treated like royalty. Thanks for weighing in, Dusan. I appreciate it.
The points you’ve made are so well-articulated, Paul, I simply can’t add anything to what you’ve written. I do believe marketing departments have a stake in developing and implementing internal branding training for employees, as I stated to Dusan. And this does start at the top, otherwise all of the marketing and customer oriented service programs fail miserably. Thanks for adding your valuable insights, as always, Paul.
I totally agree with both. When CEO has the customer in the mind, it works. I see too many cases when CEO’s are for example financial people that work only on cutting costs. The time to escape out of the company.
Thx for the usefull post and responses!
Ted, most certainly it is obvious you’re taking care of the customers here.
Hi Ted, I’m definitely shopping in the Coach store from now on. My mom happened to tell me recently that Coach is seeing a slump in sales. Hmmmm, I wonder why. Someone needs to get with it and tighten up the brand. Again, as the brand manager, go right to the source, find out what’s going on with the buying experience along with the merchandising.
The fashion buying public is fickle. As Heidi Klum so aptly puts it on “Project Runway,” …”one day you’re in, the next day you’re out!” Don’t wait till you’re on the way out to stop the “bleeding.”
Good post Ted. I quote that research in “Lead With Your Heart,” and also use it in many of my presentations. There are always at least two or three folks in my audiences that don’t believe it. Guess they make up part of the other 20 percent.
Dusan, if more company CEOs and presidents led by example, and had the policy of “Do as I do”, and not “Do as I say, not as I do”, their businessses would flourish, as Paul pointed out. There would be cohesiveness all the way through their companies. Any business that has a customer service problem can fix it, and had better, before it’s too late. Consumers have too many choices today and competition is keen. Not to fix customer facing problems eventually leads to total business failure.
You’re right, Dawn. Coach sales have been slumping and you’ve probably put a finger on a major problem for the company. They have a pretty strong management team, I hear. Let’s hope they fix their problems in the retail distribution chain. Great quote from Heidi Klum. Loved it. Thanks, Dawn.
Hi Ted,
Here’s my short-handed two-cents on what is happening and why:
#1: Technology has become a silver bullet and proxy for humanity in customer service. Industry became so enamored with the tools of self-service, the web and other technology implementation to replace human kindness at key touchpoints. Add to that there were compelling cost/benefit analysis done when implementing the new systems to show how cost could be cut. It seemed a good idea when sold that way…get the customer what they need, faster. Problem was that in the building of the solutions, the customer experience wasn’t completely thought through. You cannot for one minute replace the importance of an empathetic voice on the other line with a set of FAQ’s. And when the number to reach the empathetic voice is buried…the customer seething begins.
#2. The art of delivering a reliable customer experience is hard work – and work counter to natural corporate DNA. It needs all of the silos working together to identify the touchpoints and understand where the hand-offs are. This is simply not being done with vigor, despite all of the noise in the marketplace about ‘experience.’ Marketing’s traditional role has been to identify the brand positioning, and then everyone on their own translates that to their own operation. But it is in the lack of coordinating that translation that the experience falls apart. My belief is that Marketing has a huge opportunity to step up and create a broader role as the “Unifyer” of the organization – to bring the separate parts together to build and deliver the whole experience the brand is meant to stand for.
#3. The art of being a “merchant”…the joy of serving a customer and fulfilling their needs has been lost in the shuffle. You mention HR hiring and developing the right folks. I agree they have a role in this…but what is lost is much deeper than that. The higher purpose of the frontline salesperson has been minimilized…left in the dust of the technology spend and hoopla. As you know, a warm and caring person who helps you in a moment of your harried day to pick out a pair of socks or a purse for your mother can actually make a real difference in that day. This is a leadership responsibility issue, sure…but it’s also about the light behind their eyes and how much they can envision those moments and then create a culture where the right people are hired who can deliver them.
Forgive my rambling…hope this helps!
Lewis,
They’d better believe it, is all I can say. . .before it’s too late. Guess you’re right: they make up the other 20%. Thanks for adding your comments, Lewis.
I found myself nodding as I read through your comments, Jeanne. You are so right.
1. Technology should help us service the customer better. It does not replace front line employees who interface with customers. In fact, that human interface is a key factor that cannot be replaced wtih automated services.
2. As Paul pointed out, marketing can and should be a unifier in any organization, and it really and truly has to start at the top. The idea of every department within companies operating in a separate, autonomous manner doesn’t help to create that all-important great customer experience, as you stated. That’s a huge problem.
3. Unfortunately, investment groups and accountants purchased many large retail groups and consolidated them in the past couple of decades; they are not merchants, and it shows. Still, the front line employees who interface with the customer have to be truly trained and they could be in spite of this fact. Your example of how one thoughtful retail clerk can make someone’s day is an important one. Let’s hope retailers respond to their modern day challenges and focus on what is truly important to their business: excelling in customer service. Talk about a loyalty builder among customers or act and do something to make it happen. Great stuff. Thanks, Jeanne.
Ted,
I just want to add how impressed I am with your replies to commentors. Excellent example of great customer service!
I think many of these companies operate in a space where the competition is also rubbish!
In the UK I recently experienced the most appalling service from virginmedia, i was lied to, made to feel inferior, that my expensive laptop was useless, and i’m paying them every month to treat me like that!
I usually say to people, vote with your feet, however for the product I want (combined TV, phone and net access) there is really only one other operator and that’s sky, and I don’t reckon they woudl be much better either.
what does the customer do, when they cant really vote with their feet?
As for foreign call centres, i do not know how they can square off the idea that “my call matters” when they have externalised costs so much that the person on the other end of the phone cannot comprehend me, and in some instances I had to dial an expensive non geographic number to be treated like this!
I think the problems stem from the many functions of a company e.g. sales, marketing, finance, customer service… often operating completely independently of each other, sometimes with conflicting goals too.
when they eventually work out that they need to re-organise, have a layer which cuts across all functions and is about conversations with customers, then they might just get it.
If I matter to them perhaps they dould also pay call centre staff substanitally more than minimum wage. sure theym ight have to put the cost of their product up, however if i get great service, all the time, i might just be prepared to pay for it, not rhetoric about great service, but real and proven great service.
Mike Ashworth,
Business Coaching and Consultancy,
Brighton and Hove, Sussex, UK
Lewis — Agreed! Ted rocks on “customer service”!
You’re a hoot, Lewis, and so are you, Ann. I do take your comments as a compliment, though. I do try to respond to the comments my posts receive as best I can. With running a small business and wearing a few hats, it isn’t always easy, but it is always rewarding.
Good customer service does rock for the recipients of it though, doesn’t it? Thanks, guys. Now all I have: live up to your kudos!
It might interest you to know that we’re experiencing the same problems on this side of the pond, Mike. Your example and the point you make is an excellent one. With only Virginmedia and Skye to choose from, and poor customer service, you have a real dilemma. I predict one of two things will happen, if not both: either company will improve, especially if sold or taken over by another company; and/or, new competitors will crop up, eager to woo customers away from current service providers. New service companies may find out, by doing surveys, that consumers are not enchanted with their current choices and strive to make service the centerpiece of their businesses. Wouldn’t that be nice? So for now, Mike, you can’t vote with your feet. Just wait a bit and something good will happen.
As to companies’ decisions to move their service departments overseas, we could also fill a book with the problems that causes for American consumers. We empathize with you. As Jeanne Bliss pointed out in her comments, this would fall under a short-sighted attempt to save money at the expense of losing customers. Not wise in the long run, is it?
You’re right, Mike. If companies wanted to show their customers they value them and their business, they might consider hiring whoever comes through the door, willing to work for minimum wage. You get what you pay for, don’t you?
Thanks for sharing your well-founded grievances with Daily Fix readers, Mike. Most if not all of us, have experienced the same problems. Let’s hope, as I said before, the offending parties take note that consumers are getting more and more upset with inferior service and insulting treatment before it’s too late for them. Thanks for weighing in, Mike. I appreciate it.
Q: “Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services?”
A: I suspect it has to do with short-sightedness. A lot of managers are so focused on
short-term performance that they fail to see the long-term value of building a consistently reliable and endearing brand.
Q: “Have you experienced such poor service that you’ve panned businesses to family and friends? Have you even blogged about bad service online?”
A: Yes and yes, though I generally try to abstain from naming companies I pan on my blog, except under certain guidelines. In this industry, everyone is a potential client. I can usually get the point across without naming a specific company.
Q: “Conversely, have you praised great service and even blogged about it, recommending specific businesses at large?”
A: Yes and yes. I’m usually more generous in naming companies with my praise. It’s important that we be mere critics, but hold up and encourage companies that do it well.
Ted,
I’m late on the thread but Dawn’s comments can also provide insight into how Coach is trying to address their image.
Do you think she has been contacted by Coach, or that they have anybody protecting their online reputation? Starbucks just implemented some online conversation space however it appears to be solely focused on their site, not going out into the community to interact with people.
Coach should be more progressive on that point. For “M”; well the weekly sales/discounts come at a price and that appears to be service. Don’t see too many discounts at “N”, which has made exemplary service their cornerstone.
Thanks for the great post!
As consumers we have more options when choosing where/how to buy a product or service. The realities of working with utilities like Virgin/Skye or their American counterparts notwithstanding, most industries operate with more competition than ever before. Consumers know this which might add to the frustration of a bad customer service experience. “Why should I put up with these guys when so and so can do the same thing?”
Two elements I feel feed these symptoms are: (1) Lack of understanding what competitors offer, and (2) poor in-house communication. That is, customer service reps don’t always understand the variety of alternatives to their offerings and are thus less able to communicate to their customers in a meaningful way. Lack of competitor awareness erodes any natural empathy that call center employee might have. I think this is especially relevant in service businesses. But as unfortunate as that is, what has really baffled me is how poorly information can be shared. If you call in to complain or ask for assistance on an issue, have you ever had to offer your purchase order number or billing address more than once? Or to more than one person? To how many people do I have to repeat my story before someone can help me?
To me, the first problem stems from the training/hiring side of a business and can be addressed with more focused HR strategies. The second issue touches on internal information systems and processes which may require more technical solutions. The current business landscape is more competitive than ever before. Consumer touch points are increasingly varied the more that technology and outsourcing become embedded in our businesses. So while advertising, branding and messaging continue to be very important tasks for marketing teams, perhaps we can divert some of those focus groups to help us gain greater insight into our customer experiences, AFTER the sale.
Cam,
I love your answers. They are spot on. The thing is, WOM (word of mouth) and bloggers can do much to help build or undermine brands. When customer service is poor, or conversely, it’s excellent, word can and does spread very quickly. This isn’t a slow process anymore since the world is very connected thanks to the Internet. You obviously handle bad customer service experiences with class and grace, Cam, as well as thought. Some people don’t. They’re so irritated and frustrated, they name names and really bad mouth the offenders. The ramifications of this can really hurt companies in a big way. Then, as you put it, Cam: “It’s important that we be mere critics, but hold up and encourage companies that do it well.” Your latter point is a good one. In citing great service, we hope it encourages companies to do well. Thanks for weighing in, Cam. I appreciate it.
You’re not late at all, NW Guy. Thanks for joining the conversation. You’ve made some excellent points. Coach really ought to contact any customers that have had negative experiences when purchasing its products. . .and they might, if they knew who these customers are. But then they expect their retail partners to exemplify their brands to consumers when distributing to the Ms and Ns of the world, don’t they? If that isn’t happening, as Dawn suggested, maybe Coach ought to consider NOT distributing its products through certain retail chains.
You’re right, NW Guy, N has made its reputation by offering exemplary customer service, not by continuously discounting its merchandise. Thanks for adding to the discussion, and for your kind comments. Much appreciated.
Terrific observations and questions, Peder. Thanks for adding more important points to this conversation.
The issue of “after the sale” is just as important to customers as the experiences they have when purchasing products or services.
You’re right. It’s irritating and time consuming when customers have to speak to numerous customer service people, relating the same information and story over and over again about their problem. . .all the while hoping for a quick, easy resolution to it, I might add.
Question: wouldn’t you think with so much technology in place now, it would streamline and simplify this process? Why isn’t information readily available and shared by company personnel in different departments? You’re right: companies must train personnel but they must also emphasize the need for good internal communications.
I like this observation of yours best of all, Peder: “So while advertising, branding and messaging continue to be very important tasks for marketing teams, perhaps we can divert some of those focus groups to help us gain greater insight into our customer experiences, AFTER the sale.”
Companies need to examine and survey customer experiences from beginning to end, and that includes their interchanges after the sale. Information in and of itself means nothing unless it is acted on. The next step is to fix the problems at the specific points where the customer experience falls down. Then we will have accomplished something important. Thanks again, Peder.
After 23 comments, I don’t know how much this will add, but here goes:
* Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services?
I think most businesses are more worried about bringing in new clients, as opposed to keeping the current ones happy. The marketing brings people in, but the frontline employees are the difference between a single interaction and a lifetime relationship.
* Have you experienced such poor service that you’ve panned businesses to family and friends? Have you even blogged about bad service online?
I have certainly told others about bad experiences, though I admit, I don’t remember if I’ve blogged about it or not. I don’t pull the “oh I hate those guys” stuff. I’ll just say something like, “man, I had a horrible experience with them, make sure you do x,y,z to cover yourself.”
* Conversely, have you praised great service and even blogged about it, recommending specific businesses at large?
Yes, while I believe positive enforcement is important, I don’t think companies are reading my posts. So I tell others to encourage them to seek out service that will make them happy.
At least 9 times out of 10 when I go up to the register, order at a restaurant, etc. I’m the one who asks how the employee is doing today. I don’t EXPECT great service, because it’s so rare to find, but I GIVE the best I can–whether or not I’m the employee.
Michael,
I appreciate your answers and they kind of mirror what Cam said earlier. Customers tend to talk about/blog about their experiences good and bad. While you’re right that companies aren’t going to read or care about one blog, I think they will sit up and take notice when other bloggers pick up on comments made and start discussing them.
“At least 9 times out of 10 when I go up to the register, order at a restaurant, etc. I’m the one who asks how the employee is doing today. I don’t EXPECT great service, because it’s so rare to find, but I GIVE the best I can–whether or not I’m the employee.” Two things about your statements here, Michael. First: you’re obviously a nice guy in reaching out to the people you interact with in the places where you do business. Second: the fact you don’t expect good service but are probably pleasantly surprised when you do, is a sad commentary about what passes as the norm these days. If enough people talk about this issue, and blog about it, maybe companies will sit up, take notice and do something about it.
Thanks for your great insights, Michael. I appreciate your input very much.
One other thing that I should have commented on, Michael, and just remembered: “I think most businesses are more worried about bringing in new clients, as opposed to keeping the current ones happy. The marketing brings people in, but the frontline employees are the difference between a single interaction and a lifetime relationship.”
These are very true statements. It costs more to bring in new customers than it does to retain current ones. If only businesses realized this! Secondly, marketing does bring customers in to businesses, but strong, positive experiences keep bringing them back. Excellent, Michael. Thanks.
Wow, this article and the comments have hit everything right on point.
Customer service is absolutely positively part of the entire brand and people SHOULD blog about it when service is bad. Our hard earned dollars should absolutely deserve that kind of entitlement!
When service is extremely good, companies should get recognized too but with everything, usually the bad only gets emphasized as opposed to the good in this crazy world.
“Customer service is absolutely positively part of the entire brand and people SHOULD blog about it when service is bad. Our hard earned dollars should absolutely deserve that kind of entitlement!”
I absolutely agree with your two statements here, Brick Marketing. Thanks for saying it so well and so succinctly.
* Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services? Because everyone is focused on volume and not quality.
* Have you experienced such poor service that you’ve panned businesses to family and friends? Have you even blogged about bad service online? Yes I have, and I warn my readers about poor customer relations.
* Conversely, have you praised great service and even blogged about it, recommending specific businesses at large? Well, I have not blogged about it yet, but I have written to the few establishments that I felt deserved written recognition of impeccable customer service.
With the proliferation of WOM, via social media, big business will soon realize the value of good customer service.
It goes beyond customer service. It starts at the top. Another CRM magazine article says most execs feel they don’t deserve their customers business. They know its broke but don’t fix it. I recently had a “discussion” with a client who told me it doesn’t matter cause the client will “swallow it”. Sad isn’t it. If anyone wants to see the poll, here it is. http://www.crm2day.com/news/crm/EpZZpElFlAKjwJZIGS.php
Stacey,
Thanks for posting honest, insightful answers to the questions posed in my post. You’re right: if companies worried about the quality of their products and services, as well as delivering great service to their customers rather than volume, we might have a different scenario in the marketplace.
As a blogger, though, you might very well want to post about the good customer service you get, Stacey. Commending the good service providers encourages them to continue to do so, and hopefully makes their competitors wake up at some point. Thanks for adding your voice to the post. I appreciate it.
Thanks for the link to the CRM article you cited, Carol. It is a sad commentary if CEOs themselves know they have a customer service problem and won’t address it. Your statement: “I recently had a “discussion” with a client who told me it doesn’t matter cause the client will ’swallow it’” shows a great deal of arrogance. With that kind of attitude coming from the top, believe me, it pervades the whole organization. It’s up to the customer to choose to say “I’m not going to take it anymore” and do something about it. As I’ve said numerous times, we vote with our feet, and our wallets. Thanks for adding a lot to this conversation, Carol. Much appreciated.
The best customer service I get is from companies that actually empower the people on the front line to fix situations themselves without having to ask a manager for every little thing. Often a company can hire someone who is a good person, but since they cannot get accessible help from a manager, they drop the ball so as to not get behind. I don’t think technology is the culprit.
Michelle,
You’ve just cited another cause of customer dissatisfaction. Armed with sufficient training, a bit of authority to make basic decisions and hopefully common sense, frontline people ought to be able to take care of customers on the spot. However, I disagree that technology doesn’t present problems if not used correctly with consumers. Many companies seem to hide behind it. For example: have you ever emailed a question, problem or complaint to a company and not heard back from them for a week? Or never? This happens more often than one might think, and it really upsets and angers customers to be ignored.
Thanks, Michelle, to pointing out another problem that if rectified, is very gratifying to consumers.
Have to agree with Michelle on her point as well. As an employee, I’ve been faced with what I see as an obvious solution (not obvious to a person with a college degree or x years of experience, but obvious to someone with common sense and a rough idea of business) and not had the authority to make the right call.
What ends up happening? The decision would go to my boss and that person would do whatever would result in the largest, immediate gain of money. For example, if it was knock 10% off an order and make the customer leave happy (and return) or charge full price with the very real possibility of losing that customer forever, the choice was always to charge full price.
I would imagine this is the same style of thinking that would cause that manager to choose $1 a day for a month rather than $.01 the first day and double that for every subsequent day for a month. Just a general misunderstanding of the way money and business work (despite that person’s advanced degree in business).
You’re so right, Michael. And so was Michelle.
How short-sighted is that kind of thinking? Again, regardless if a management person has an MBA or not, company policies and real training ought to be put in place to avoid this scenario. It takes work to make customers, and retain them, and precious few minutes to lose them. If only companies understood that it costs much more money and time to make new customers than to retain existing ones, they’d approach customers’ problems very differently. Thanks for adding more perspective to this issue. I appreciate it.
Two words: Phone Chain
Few things are as impersonal and infuriating to consumers as the old “Press 1 to report a technical issue. Press 2 for billing inquiries” – yet the # of companies using these systems seem to be growing, not shrinking.
NOthing says “we could care less about you” than one of these phone chains.
Especially since “Speak to a live person” is so rarely one of the options available.
Also- agree with Lewis and Ann: your willingness to quickly reply to every comment is great customers service. Very admirable.
Have you ever noticed that you’re sometimes in an endless loop on those phone chains, also, Toad? It is awful.
Thank you for the kind words. I do respond as quickly as I can to comments made on my posts. Of course, I’m sometimes traveling or in and out of meetings making it harder to respond quickly. But I do believe every person’s comments, which are mostly very thoughtful and well-articulated, should receive a response from me. And I truly do appreciate it when my posts get a good conversation going. Thanks, Toad.
Wow, these posts have been so insightful, educational, inspiring and thought provoking. We all understand the importance of giving excellent customer service and the term cost is not just a monetary value. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” still rings true in all areas of sales. I didn’t notice any mention of filing a complaint with “M” and the fact the service was so poor. Did I miss that? We all know the root cause and effect that service has on a businesses success but if a business isn’t aware there is a problem, how can they resolve it? In the past, if we received poor service, we would tell people in our immediate circle about our experience and they would determine if whether they wanted to try it for themselves and now through advancements in technology, we have the capability of telling countless people which could result in loss of revenue along with a reputation of the business with the future risk of losing their business altogether.
We’ve toyed with the idea of starting a blog for our business and are constantly facing the challenge of differentiating ourselves from other insurance companies that have made insurance a commodity cheapening the industry and making the customer focus solely on saving $. We understand people work with budgets but just like I said above, “you get what you pay for”, is it worth saving $, putting your property, business or family in jeopardy and not getting the service that you deserve? We look at insurance products in a way that is totally different than what seems to have become the industry standard and companies that offer to save you % if you call them have been doing disservice to their customer and to the insurance industry. Our philosophy is to offer our clients insurance solutions for their business, personal and health insurance needs giving them choices with competitive rates and backing up them with the service they require at their time of need. We know how much something cost is a contributing factor when it comes to making a decision to buy but we don’t place our customers in jeopardy just to make a sale and count them as a number. We have over a 90% retention rate and over 50% of our new business comes from our existing client referrals so we know we are getting the word out there but we always have room for growth.
I would welcome any suggestions or advice anyone would like to offer with how they recommend we market to customers taking into consideration we need to differentiate ourselves from the mass marketing insurance companies.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your post and any replies that are sent.
Q: “Why do you think companies invest so much in marketing and advertising and then fall down when the customer does come to them to purchase products or services?”
A: I see a lot of inconsistency in the way customer service is handled. Too many times, it is “random acts of kindness” by great customer service reps, but it is not part of the company strategy. As a result, customers have inconsistent experiences – or keep asking for the same rep, who ends up quitting when they can’t respond to everyone.
Q: “Have you experienced such poor service that you’ve panned businesses to family and friends? Have you even blogged about bad service online?”
A: As most others, I have experienced horrible customer service (and being in the business, I think I am perhaps harder to please), but I really make an effort not to blog about it with names and places. There is already plenty of ranting taking place out there in the blogosphere!
Q: “Conversely, have you praised great service and even blogged about it, recommending specific businesses at large?”
A: Yes, it is the whole focus of my blog, Customers Rock! As often as possible, I try to show who is doing it well (not just customer service, but customer experience) so others have good examples to follow. And I am always thanking customer service reps whenever I can – many of them have their hands tied by poor corporate policies or efficiency-based measures.
Great post, Ted! You rock!
Thanks for adding your comments to this post, Sheila. Dawn, who had the bad experience at Retailer M, decided to vote with her wallet. She intends to make future Coach purchases at Coach company stores. Perhaps she will also write the manufacturer about her bad experience. Unfortunately, many consumers who have bad experiences in retail stores, choose not to complain. For one thing, they probably think it will fall on deaf ears. For another, there is so much employee turnover at retail, consumers probably think the situation just won’t change. Sometimes people just find it easier to shop elsewhere.
Now that we have had several months of poor retail sales, it would be an ideal time for retailers to put more emphasis and time into employee training. If every customer coming through the door was treated with respect, courtesy and real service, perceptions would improve dramatically.
As to your business, I would urge you to market your positioning on your web site, brochures or marketing materials and advertising. Word of mouth will help your business dramatically as long as your service is consistently good. Don’t underestimate what WOM can do for you.
DF readers, how about it? How about helping Sheila with some other concrete ideas to help her succeed in her customer-centric business?
Thanks, Sheila, and good luck to you and your insurance business.
Becky,
Thanks for taking the time to give such thoughtful, well-articulated answers to the questions posed in this post.
1. “Random acts of kindness” rather than institutional strategy. . .therefore, consumers continue to have inconsistent experiences. How right you are!
2. It’s nice of you not to “pile on” with negative comments. Some of the stuff posted in the blogosphere is justified, and some of it is overblown, I’m sure.
3. Let’s hope the willingness of some bloggers, like you, to praise the efforts of the businesses who “get it right” when it comes to providing great customer service, helps reinforce this with those businesses, and provides a guide to others who aren’t “getting it”. Word of mouth has great power, and consumers need to use their power to improve things. . .and not just complain about “what is” and “what could be”.
Thanks for the kind words, too, Becky. I sincerely appreciate them.
I spent several years in the food service industry where I feel I developed an understanding of service and how to best provide assistance even if I couldn’t “solve the problem.” Unfortunately I feel this now influences most interactions I have where I feel customer service has been less than stellar and even poor.
I think companies spend on marketing because it’s soooo easy to sell to us as consumers. I’m disappointed to see convenience outweigh quality. I’m very sad to see products engineered with a limited life span so that I have to upgrade or purchase a new piece. This is not sustainable for our ONE world.
Some days I feel like grumpy D, but I tell you, it’s not rocket science to offer good customer service and yes I’m willing to patronize a company that gives that to me even if it costs a bit more.
My New Year’s resolution in the making is trying to give thanks to companies that provide great service–I have two letters I’m writing now. Thanks Ted.
Great observations, D, and I thank you for weighing in on this. You make some very valid points. And coming from the fast-paced food industry, I’m sure you’ve had the opportunity to observe and learn an awful lot.
This also caught my eye: “I’m very sad to see products engineered with a limited life span so that I have to upgrade or purchase a new piece. This is not sustainable for our ONE world.” Another excellent observation, but I wonder in this world of rapidly changing technology, and faster and faster product obsolescence, what the cure is for this one?
Many consumers feel as you do, D. We’d rather pay a bit more for superior service. All of the great marketing initiatives in the world fall flat if customer service is poor. I appreciate your comments, D.
Hi Ted, Thanks for your kind words and empathy.
Your comments are spot on with regard to employment of staff.
I have a view which is that a firm should employ people who have a passion for what you do and will be your advocates and evangelists.
Most people i know are actually quite disparaging about their employers.
I think Seth Godin once wrote about the idea that you make the person on reception well renumerated as they are responsible for the first customer touchpoints when they visit the physical locality or perhaps ring-in. Great concept, I’d like to find a firm that actually does this and study them.
On a separate note I recently conducted a small survey amongst friends who ran businesses to gauge their reactions/feeling towards a provider of services (B2B) using different phone numbers (geographic, non geographic, freephone).
It was an insight as I would have thought that a company that wanted people to use their services and gave them a freephone number to do so were actually viewed with suspicion by some. Whereas a number that actually cost them a reasonable sum of money to ring was actually OK.
I’m just about to conduct the same survey amongst people I know for B2C transactions, i’ll post back.
Mike Ashworth
Business Coaching and Consultancy,
Brighton and Hove, Sussex, UK
Thanks very much, Mike, for your observations and your kind comments. You’ve hit on something important: when employees are well remunerated for their work, they feel that their contributions are important to the whole, don’t they? In many businesses, especially retailing, customer service people are paid minimum wage or slightly better. Not exactly the best way to show frontline people their worth. . .However, for most employees, remuneration has been proven to be a small part of their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs. I think if employers took the time to really train their people, give them verbal approval when they perform well, and reward them, that would go far to improving customer service. It would also significantly cut down on endless, costly employee turnover. Who doesn’t want to be appreciated?
On another note: interesting survey, Mike. Your results are striking. Please do keep us updated on your future surveys, as well. We’d love to know what you find out. Thanks for adding a lot to this post, Mike. Much appreciated.
Ted, I love your blog. Thanks for your thoughtful, pragmatic approach. I lead marketing and customer service for our company. Reading the comments on pay…Our customer service pros so appreciate (and well deserve) recognition for their hard work. We’ve learned that this is every bit as impt as competitive pay…and that even well paid employees will not feel appreciated without recognition within the co. This serves us on so many levels, not just in highlighting star performers but also in building the co-wide culture needed to serve our customers well.
Thanks, Janet, for the nice comments. It sounds as though you and your company have your act together. By paying your employees well, and by recognizing them for a job well done, you’ve hit on two very important components to job satisfaction. I’m sure that they, and your customers, all benefit.
Just one question: how much and what kind of training do you do to teach your incoming employees about the company, its policies and its “brand” before they start taking care of your customers? I do think this issue of training and internal branding has a direct impact on customer service, as well as a decent salary and recognition do.
Thanks for weighing in, Janet, and keep on doing what you’re doing. It’s working.