It's a Cooperative Effort

Because I've been involved in customer service and support for a good portion of my life, people I know tend to tell me their best and worst stories. The other day, I was having dinner with my friend and mentor—let's call her Barb. She is one of the smartest people I know, but not super-savvy when it comes to computers. It's not unusual to get an email from Barb with the subject "Help!" and I am always delighted to lend a hand or point her in the right direction to get the assistance she needs.

The other evening, Barb told me about an experience she'd had very recently at a hotel. She was having a devilish time getting her iPad to connect to the hotel's wireless Internet service. She tried getting help from the front desk, but they ran out of suggestions rapidly. They are paid to get customers into and out of the hotel quickly and easily, and take care of their needs as guests—not as technical support people. So Barb called the toll-free number listed on a card in her room for assistance with wireless.

Barb told me that the man who answered her call was polite and patient, and asked her a series of questions about where (exactly) she was, and of course what type of device she was using. Barb told me that he seemed to know more about how to navigate the settings of the iPad than she did, talking her into the exact panel he needed her to look at. While she maneuvered through the settings, she touched the wrong thing a couple of times, meaning that she had to get back to where she was before she could proceed. Her patient assistant stayed right with her. She, on the other hand, was feeling rather inadequate and, to put it the way she did, stupid.

At last, she got to where she needed to be, and the tech support person asked her to read him the device's  hardware address, a specific identifier for the network interface on any network-connected device. When she had read it to him, the tech said some very magic words:

"Thank you for helping me."

Barb told me that her whole mood changed at that exact moment. It was then that she realized that this was  a cooperative effort in problem solving. She didn't need to feel inadequate; she only needed to answer some question and describe the results to the tech. They were working as a team to accomplish a goal.

The iPad was quickly on the network, Barb's email was flowing, and the tech earned a big thank you from her.

In your interactions, whatever they are, can you think of a way to make it a cooperative effort?

Give it some thought.

Not Just a Button, Not Just a Number

As I read a recent post by John Custy about "buying" customer service ratings I also thought of how many companies make the mistake of looking only at some number without putting it in the proper context. "We need to get 9's for customer service" is not the same thing as "We need to offer excellent customer service." So many organizations make the mistake of thinking of Customer Service in the same way they think of, say, quarterly sales projections. Providing good service that keeps customers coming back is difficult to measure at best. Although customer surveys are mostly created carefully and analyzed by experts in the field, customers are basing their feedback largely on feelings. "It took longer than I expected" may not mean the same to me as it does to you. "The salesperson wasn't nice" may be based on a completely different set of expectations for two different customers. (I usually don't like a whole lot of extraneous chat while I'm making a purchase. Other people may perceive chat as being more personable.)

This past week, I spent a couple of days at a hotel that was smack in the middle of a Customer Service campaign. For whatever reason, their survey team chose 7 as their top rating, and all the employees had buttons with a star and the number 7 on them. (Every time I see employee buttons, I think of the famous "15 pieces of flair" scene in the movie Office Space.) I thought, "Oh boy, here we go. I'm going to be very sick of the number 7 before I get out of here." I was completely wrong.

Every single employee I passed in the hallways greeted me with a smile and a hello. Housekeeping was careful not to disturb me while I was working, but quickly made up my room while I was out of it briefly. Even though the hotel dates back to the 1920's, it was impeccably clean and comfortable.

My friend and I wanted to go to a top rated restaurant a short distance from the hotel, and I stopped at the front desk to have them call a taxi. "Oh, we'll take you, sir," the clerk cheerfully said. The hotel shuttle took us to the door of the restaurant, and the driver gave us his cell phone number, so that we could reach him to come back. When we called, he appeared within a few minutes and asked us how we enjoyed our meal. (It had been delicious, by the way, and never once were we interrupted by a waitperson asking how we were doing. Water glasses were refilled silently, and the waitstaff knew exactly when we were ready for a glass of wine or our coffee—because they were paying real attention.)

Throughout my stay, every indication was that all the employees were really attentive and focused on making sure my stay was pleasant and comfortable.

They weren't asking for 7's—they were delivering 10's.

Does your organization focus only on the numbers when you consider Customer Service, or do you create a culture of Customer Focus that shines through the actions of all the employees?

Give it some thought.

Disclaimer: I am employed by the company that published the post by John Custy.

Customer Focus, and Not

It was a fairly typical Saturday afternoon. My spouse and I usually do our grocery shopping on Saturday, and so plan whatever other errands "in town" for the same time. Yesterday, it was library book returns, three local stores, and getting batteries replaced in a couple of watches.

One of the jewelry stores in town is a completely local operation: One store only, and mostly custom made things. We've had a couple of repairs done there before, and they are always courteous and helpful. It's right down the street from the library, so as Spousal Unit (a she likes to be called) returned her books, I walked over to the jewelers. Now, we're not big on Valentine's Day, but a lot of people are, apparently. The store was mobbed. I waited, after being nicely acknowledged, for about two minutes, and one of the nice folks was assisting me. They looked at what I had, and said, "I can't promise them for you today, but we'll do our best. We are open tomorrow, too." I said I would call before we finished up our local errands, and would stop back, but there was no rush on my part. I went up to the library to catch up to SU.

We went on our rounds, including a local liquidation store where we often find great bargains. She found a very inexpensive wooden gift box of postcards, but it had no price. We headed over to the Customer Service desk to see if we could find out how much they cost. (The store doesn't use barcode prices, believe it or not, and there was no little red tag on the box.) As we waited, I looked at the signs posted in the Customer Service alcove. They all began, "Our policy..." or "Store policy..." and there was invariably a "not allow" somewhere. The woman behind the counter was nice enough, and we found the price and purchased the item. But I kept thinking about those signs, and how they reminded me of "Keep Out" and "No Tresspassing." It all sounded like "Stay away, you customers! Don't ask us to help you!"

After our other errands were completed, I called the jeweler back, and he was just finishing up the watch batteries. We went back to the store and I picked them up. It was all personal. I could not find a "store policy" sign anywhere.

Nice job, I thought on the way home. That's Customer Focus.

What messages are you sending your customers?

Give it some thought.

I'll be speaking about a framework for Customer Service Excellence in Las Vegas on April 1.

3 Characteristics of Great Customer Service Companies

In January 2010, I posted about my sense that Customer Service become increasingly important as a differentiator—separating your business from the rest of the pack—especially with regard to customer loyalty and retention.

This January, I'm going to make a quick review of some of the characteristics that companies with great Customer Service appear to have in common.

First, a Culture of Customer Service. By that I mean a company culture infused with the thought that serving customers is a primary mission of the organization and its employees. This culture is not restricted to the Customer Service department (if there is one), but rather that each employee understands her/his contribution to the providing of good products or services as well as backing up the delivery of those products or services with excellent support. This culture recognizes the business fact that it is less expensive to retain customers than to gain customers, and encourages loyalty by focusing on getting customers what they need to have a long, happy and mutually beneficial relationship with the company.

Second, Empowered Employees. This doesn't mean that employees can act unilaterally and impose their will on the company. It does mean that employees have a clear understanding of what they can do to help customers, and that they have been given the mission to provide great service. The employees' course of action is not defined by instructions telling them what they can't and shouldn't do, but rather what they can and should. Employees feel valued and respected, and make customers fell the same way.

Third, that there are Clear Feedback Channels. This means that customers have unobstructed ways to give the company their opinions, complaints and praise. There is little more frustrating than trying to give a company a compliment and having to jump through labyrinthine websites or phone trees to do so.

What do you think makes some companies—local, national, brick or click—real standouts on Customer Service? Drop me a comment.

Give it some thought.

Empowerment Doesn't Mean Safety

A story published by the New York Times tells the disturbing story of a business so unscrupulous that its owner views threats and abuse of customers as a revenue-generating tool. A comment about the story on Twitter prompted me to do some thinking about the Internet and what it does and does not do for consumers.

• The Internet empowers shoppers
• Check competitors' prices right from the store
• Check online reviews of both product and seller
• Find rebates or discounts the salesperson may not even know about
• The Internet empowers businesses
• Watch what your competition is doing
• Listen to what your customers are saying
• "Level the playing field" so small business can play big

So, what went wrong in the Times story? Shouldn't the Internet have protected the victim of the abuse? Short answer: Empowerment is not safety. Having tools only works if you use the tools provided to you. The Internet does not countermand the wise saying caveat emptor (buyer beware), but allows the buyer to access information on a scale unimaginable a generation ago. But the customer in the New York Times story did not use the tools. Now, don't get me wrong--there is absolutely no excuse for the greed-driven horror which a despicable person thinks of as "business." It was absolutely not the victim's fault that she was treated badly.  According to the story, however, she took a top Google ranking as a testimonial and never looked beyond it. This is the same as taking one salesperson's word for it when making a purchase—unless the salesperson is known and trusted.

Does the Internet empower? Yes, beyond a doubt. Does empowerment mean that you are protected from harm? No. It means that you have been given power. Whether you use that power or not is up to you.

Give it some thought.

Update: 12/1/2010


Google has implemented what they term "an algorithmic solution" to this problem. You can read the story on TechCrunch. Thanks to Jeffrey J. Kingman for bringing this to my attention.

Update 12/6/2010
The owner of the business described in the New York Times article linked at the beginning of this post has been arrested and charged with fraud and threatening, according to internet Retailer. Thanks to "hestika" @AngelosTzelepis on Twitter for the update.

The Power of Twitter for Customer Service

Twitter, smartphones, connectivity, flight delays, and Customer Service via Social Media.


Back in June, Sabine McElrath wrote about our rediscovery of each other via Twitter—after 35 years—in a post she titled "The Incredible Power of Twitter." This week, I used one of Twitter's other amazing powers to save a trip from becoming wasteful in time and money, and to gain peace of mind. (Yes, really.)

I was ready to fly home after a few days of business. In the airport, the info boards told me my flight would be delayed for about an hour. I connected to the airport's free wireless network and downloaded the Delta Airlines iPhone app, Fly Delta. I checked my connecting flight in New York, and it was scheduled to get off the ground about three minutes after my delayed flight landed. I checked repeatedly as I waited in the airport, and my outbound flight was drifting a few minutes later each time. Not good. It was evident that I would be stuck in New York after my arrival. I used an app called Direct Line to call Delta without  going through their phone tree manually. I spoke with a friendly representative who confirmed that yes, I was going to miss my connecting flight, and was puzzled when I laughed at the thought that she could find another flight later in the evening to my destination—Bangor, Maine. She found me a flight to Bangor from New York, leaving late the next morning. So, I would be hoteling it in NYC, or spending many hours in the airport. Downhearted, I switched the flight. I would not make it home Thursday night. We got off the ground about one and a quarter hours past our originally scheduled time, headed for my New York connection.

Thanks to my gogoinflight Internet connection, I was able to communicate with home and elsewhere via email from the plane in flight, and I checked into the Delta app to keep updated on the flights. Late in my flight, I decided to take one more look at my original flight, after an email from home suggesting that it, too, might be delayed. Sure enough, it was running about one hour late. So, my mission was to get back on that flight as rapidly as possible. Using the Birdbrain app, I found Delta's Twitter account and sent them a tweet asking how I could switch:

A few minutes later, I received a tweet from @DeltaAssist asking for my confirmation number and my desired change via Direct Message, which I sent (number removed):

And then, after about 5 minutes, I got the good news:

I deplaned in NYC, walked up to the gate for my departing flight, got my seat assignment, and was on my way home.

Now, let's not forget that the best Customer Service would have been to get me off the ground on time in the first place, and have neither flight delayed. But, Delta did a great job of responding quickly to my request and getting it done. Thanks JD, whoever you are, for understanding the urgency, for being empowered with the right tools to make the change happen, and for getting me home. I had peace of mind because I didn't have to run around talking to gate agents to make the switch in NYC, and a good, productive day the next day, instead of losing time, effort and money for extra travel.

Does your company have a good Social media strategy for Customer Service?

Give it some thought.

Note: I have no affiliation whatsoever with Delta, gogoinflight, Birdbrain, or Direct Line. They just happen to be the tools I used to accomplish these tasks.

Give It To Me Now, Give It To Me Straight

In this post, I'm going to talk about service from the customer perspective, stepping out of my role as a service provider. Let me state for the record that when I say Customer Service, I am not talking only about a Customer Service "department," or the handling of complaints or returns or problems, although all of these are all parts of the Customer Service world. I'm talking about a philosophy of service that is relevant across the company, and which doesn't lose sight of the fact that a business will only continue to exist as long as it fulfills the needs and expectations of customers, whether those customers are end-users or other businesses. Great Customer Service is evident in every step of the customer's contact with the company. It's useful, I think, to do a quick review of what I consider to be the essential elements of excellent Customer Service from the customer's perspective:

• Timeliness - Service transactions and information are delivered quickly and appropriately
• Accessibility - Customers can easily get information or ask questions or report issues through any channel the company provides without "jumping through hoops."
• Directness - The Customer should always feel that they are getting correct information, and not just a tidbit or statement the company chooses to provide to make them "cool off."

Now for the examples.

Not So Good: A company well known for their Customer Service recently sent us an electronic coupon worth $10. The email stated that it could be used on their website, printed and brought to a retail store, or simply shown at the checkout on a smart phone. Armed with iPhone and coupon, we visited one of their outlets. We brought our purchases to the checkout. The cashier had never heard of or seen the promotion. The cashier's supervisor had never heard of or seen the promotion. They did not know how to handle the electronic coupon, and wound up turning it down because of their distinction between a retail store and an outlet store. This goes to Directness. We now understand  their distinction between one of their big, full-price stores (nearest one is 4 hours away) and their outlets. It should have been clear on the coupon, and the program should have been known to their employees. [Note: This was the first less-than-stellar interaction I've had with the company in 40 years of doing business with them. They explained why they could not take the coupon, but made no attempt to take any responsibility for the interaction.]

Excellent: One of the sites I use to post on the Web suffered a Denial of Service attack last week, and was effectively down. The company scrambled to get out from under the attack. As soon as possible, they sent out one of the best Customer Service communications I've ever seen. In this email, they

• Explained in plain language what happened, what they did to solve it and how they planned to prevent it from happening again (no excuses, just information)
• Apologized sincerely, indicating that they understood that the site was down, and what that meant for subscribers
• Applauded the technical team that had worked without rest to provide a solid, working solution

The information was Direct, Accessible, and Timely. It does not get much better than that.

Give it some thought.