Service Untitled

Tax season is finally over, and those economic gray hairs have been remanded back to the colorists at our hair salons, but budget cuts continue to show a significant decline in the Internal Revenue Service to the American public. When Ben Franklin said, “The only certain things in life are death and taxes,” perhaps we are all entitled to a better level of public service; at least while we’re alive.

The Government Accountability Office reports $900 million in costs have been cut from the IRS since 2010. Those budget adjustments have resulted in less personnel, less training, and as a consequence of course, less service. While many taxpayers are silently grinning about the decrease in audits, the overall lack of customer service ultimately results in longer lines at assisted help centers, longer wait lines on telephone inquiries regarding policies and the ever thickening IRS new rules and regulations, and a complete breakdown of interoffice departments in the IRS obviously unable to communicate with each other. Tragically the consequences result in taxpayers having to hire outside help to do their taxes, or often wind up with mistakes, penalties, fines, or liens.

According to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate, an organization taking the side of the taxpayer, the IRS continues to fail us because of tight budgets. Few pay raises have resulted in good employees finding higher paying positions in the private sector as well as more angry taxpayers who can’t get an answer because the employees haven’t been properly trained.

In the “intolerable level of public service,” there were 15.4 million calls unanswered by the IRS. The average wait time to speak with an agent is 14 minutes, and statistically only 67% of callers ever received telephone assistance. What happened to the other 33% of the population who couldn’t get their questions answered? Are they still on hold?

The problem of what can be done to improve customer service at the IRS doesn’t seem to ever be open for discussion. Even the Affordable Care Act, didn’t get any funding from Congress. Realistically, the IRS is a business dedicated to running the government and the government may need to invest more into it to ensure that the money keeps coming in.

I’ve often thought that customer loyalty was all about making the customer the king by maintaining transparent ethical practices, sound policies, and impressive customer service. Technology, however and the busy retail world of the Internet brings more competition, more inventory, convenience, and cheaper prices. Shopaholics notoriously are in the constant search for the best prices and the best choices, so what is any retailer to do? After all, a business can’t survive on one visit per customer; then comes that uphill battle to gain repeat business.

As we finally morph into the Spring, after a long winter and look forward to the outdoors, farmer markets bring local merchants an opportunity to woo their existing customers and new ones by offering local products and services. What could beat hands on shopping during a warm Saturday afternoon; the kids eating ice-cream, the neighbors coming together planning their own social events, and merchants creating their own social media as a community effort? For instance, hardly a mega supermarket could ever compete with the quality of a juicy homegrown Jersey tomato produced by a local farmer who doesn’t use unknown chemicals to keep away the bugs. And what about the romantic watercolor paintings or photographs of nearby landmarks that make our own communities something special to be treasured as part of our family traditions and memories?

But as it’s not all about just home grown goods, the push to make the customer feel like the ultimate winner when shopping continues to push forward. Although not an original idea by far when introducing something free for buying something else, it’s that inherent satisfaction we all get when we feel as if we have scored something more than what we expect. I remember the thrill of opening the Cocoa Puffs cereal box for the free plastic spinning toys. I remember my parents and grandparents gluing trading stamps into little books and letting us pick out something from the catalog when it was time to redeem them. Now it’s the digital age of trading stamps; it’s the instant gratification we all look for when we present that little plastic card at the cash register, and the clerk tells us we saved $3.20 on our Epson ink cartridge. It’s the loyalty programs we sign up for and receive free samples, offers to experience new services, or enjoy some high priced privileges for free after we have spent enough money.

Sadly however, technology does drive away some of our treasured private information. Now QR codes can track our demographics including how many visits we have had, what we purchased, and even our methods of shopping. They have our names, our addresses, our ages, what we do for a living, and how much we make every year. Some companies even send us wedding anniversary cards; that’s the price we pay for technology, but at the end of the day, isn’t retail sales loyalty still the same as when my parents and my grandparents shopped?

Successful businesses stay successful when their sustaining philosophies are about quality products, quality services, and attentive post purchase experiences.

Centralized call centers receive and transmit an enormous volume of telephone requests daily, with the purpose of collecting and handling information, ranging from product inquiries, questions about transactions, and customer service. Although emails and social media networks provide more outlets for complaints regarding a particular organization or service, statistics show calling is still the most popular method of communication when a customer or client has a problem.

Handling complaint calls successfully from customers, require customer service representatives to recognize the problem and respond to it in a satisfying and efficient manner. Although the theory of complaining is universal and understood by all of us since our own “pre-toddler” days, the different presentations of “unhappiness” with a product or service often manifests itself in different ways.

For instance, some customers call up and preface their conversation with words like, “I don’t like to complain,” or “I really like  (company name inserted here) but this happened (identified the problem in a cursory manner), and I wanted to bring your attention to it”. Whereas a customer service representative may not have picked up that the consumer is having an issue, it is therefore imperative that front line personnel are trained and taught to be able to recognize a complaint, respond to the problem, and thank the customer for bringing the company’s attention to the particular issue.

A glimpse of more statistics reveal 95% of customers will give an organization a second chance if the problem is resolved, and 70% of customers will continue their business relationship with a particular organization if the resolution is in their favor.

So who are the most successful customer service representatives and how is that achieved? These are the men and women who can think on their feet after, and only after, having been provided with the best education and training in the company’s culture, as well as with their products and services. When someone calls, the best representatives can assess through customer interaction whether the person is meek, aggressive, or just an ornery character trying to get something they truly don’t deserve and a person no one will ever make happy. Of course, in those situations, customer representatives still must maintain the ultimate in professionalism while making every attempt to be patient and objective.

Customer service representatives – either at  the front of the call center or in a specialized section of the company, need to be able to provide solutions and have the authority to do so. They are friendly, non-confrontational, and patient. Although not every customer is always right, their information shouldn’t be discounted, since they might be giving a company some insight into future problems and what should be avoided. An important aspect to efficient service is therefore the ability to manage customers and avoid unpleasant experiences. We lose customers when expectations and solutions don’t jive.

Good business sense dictates we recognize the complex problems, and give the customer the  opportunity to suggest how he would handle the problem. You never know; our customers often help us find new solutions and help to pave the way to success.

Customers aren’t always right, but outstanding customer service representatives who can say yes to correct service issues are more likely to garner support and help an organization recover from mistakes. No matter how hard we try, at some time or at some location, there is bound to be a service breakdown and that impact on how the experience is resolved can ultimately affect future business.

Some companies repeatedly fail at customer service, because of inconsistencies. Use the catchphrase “customer-focused culture” as often as looks good in training manuals or on websites, but unless the training and support is consistent, too often the product or service failures leave that negative customer perception and off that customer goes to the competition. Studies reflect that those customers who have had positive experiences with customer service resolutions are more apt to recommend a company to their friends, family, and coworkers than those consumers who have never had any issues. Maybe you’re shaking your head at that, but isn’t it always the “drama” we remember and therefore relate to others in conversations when we’re out to dinner or at a social event?

So how do those “WOW” companies create the best experiences when recovering from a product breakdown? In a recent experience, I purchased a pair of expensive evening shoes at the Nordstrom department store in Palm Beach Gardens. As the heels were much higher than I normally wear, it was a training experience one hour prior to the social event I was to attend, learning how to walk in them. Just as I was beginning to feel comfortable with them, the stiletto heel of one of the bejeweled shoes broke. As I fell, I sprained my ankle, and of course, I missed the opportunity to attend a prestigious, charitable evening event at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter.

Two days later, with my ankle wrapped in a bandage, I went to Nordstrom to return the shoes. Not only did I get a refund, which was expected, but then the “WOW” part came. Besides the apologies, the company picked up my tab at the emergency medical facility for my injury, and gave me a full refund for the original price of the shoes although I purchased them on sale.

The recovery process is what separates the good service from the best service. It doesn’t end with a refund or an apology. The best resolutions are acted upon quickly, blame is graciously taken, customers are compensated fairly, and something extra is done for the customer’s inconvenience. Service representatives have the training and knowledge to use their discretion for each and every failure, and as the problem is resolved, just the “extra extra” attention is what sets it all apart.

Would I return and purchase new shoes at Nordstrom? Of course I will, and why not tell my friends about this experience?

And what did I take away from this experience? Even after a major blunder like this one, customer service “stepped in” with the apologies needed and showed an actual interest in my needs. The representative who helped me had already written to the Italian manufacturer informing them of the product failure; a problem very rarely encountered with the high end designer. A representative from the shoe company contacted me after the product had been returned, and have since sent a credit slip for another pair of shoes directly through their showroom.

It’s leaving you with the positive that keeps us coming back.