Service Untitled

Elizabeth’s online business is selling merchandise on eBay. She started her company a few years ago when she decided she no longer wanted to be a banker, and in the back room of her home and a two-car garage to warehouse merchandise, her business has grown by leaps and bounds. Elizabeth used to spend countless hours replying to customers and answering questions by email; so much time that she didn’t have time for her own family, so what did she do?

Elizabeth has become streamlined and innovative, but still strives to reply to customers, improve customer support, and reduce time. Her first strategy was to refer customers and contacts to a website, and there she  introduced  her knowledge base. Up went an obvious link stating, Frequently Asked Questions. She started with the very basic questions and answers customers would repeatedly ask her and has been adding more ever since.

Next came the forum that Elizabeth set up. With nearly a one-click installation, different categories were organized giving people the opportunity to discuss pre-sale questions, member questions, customer support, while creating a personal touch. Since Elizabeth has chosen at this time not to participate on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, her forum still gives her the opportunity to participate and answer questions or give suggestions. When Elizabeth is not able to participate on her forum, frequently there are other members who are more than happy to supply information to new members. She does use a moderator, but has rarely had to intervene. It’s interesting to add that her forum has a search function for customers and members to find related posts, which in turn brings more knowledge to readers, participants and interested prospects.

When the FAQ and forums are not enough to help her customers, Elizabeth also has a Help Desk. A customer logs in and sets up a user account. The software program has pre-written responses for repetitive questions. If a customer still needs further assistance, she can set up an online ticket, attach files, and credit card information, and feel confident all information has been sent confidentially and securely.

Consequently there are fewer emails now to answer and a lot more time to devote to her family. Customer service has improved, and Elizabeth’s thriving enterprise continues to expand.

photo credit: muddanudo

There’s no one immune from receiving lousy customer service. I cringe at rudeness, robotic phone systems, and general incompetence, but I have learned the business world still marches on, and great customer service does exist. Companies that have figured out exemplary customer service aren’t just about direct business to customer interactions, but instead have made CEOs approachable while creating innovative procedures and actions to benefit customers, and have pulled away from the mediocrity most of us try to avoid. Here are some of the lessons I have learned:

1. A certain amount of automation is enough. There always has to be a way to opt out of the robotic phone answering systems. Aren’t there days when we just need to speak with a human?
2. Be prompt answering me when I have a problem with your company. Email is very convenient, but if I am annoyed by a product or service, I really want an answer before 24 hours. That’s why I have to use the phone, but if I get caught up in a robotic system with no way out, I get even more frustrated.
3. I am the customer, and you keep the records because I pay you. When I call with a question about a product that you know I already own or a service you provide, I don’t want to have to remember passwords. I forget them as quickly as I create them. I expect you to know the identification number on the equipment I lease from you. Why do I have to climb around dark cabinets to repeat it? You should have my customer account number already.
4. Work with me, and develop my trust. If you want me to spend a lot of money, I need to have fostered a relationship with you first. For instance, buying a home is the most expensive purchase I will ever make, and it’s not just about writing a contract to buy a home. I want all the information you can show me to make me feel this is the right decision to make. For instance, tell me about the schools in the area, tell me about taxes and industry in the area; tell me everything about this new community I need to know.
5. Be enthusiastic about your product. I want you to make me feel you believe in the product or your company, and you’re just not answering the phone or talking to me because you are just treading water waiting for payday.
6. Provide guidance and assistance for me when I ask you, but don’t hover over me. I find salespeople following me around in a store to be really annoying, especially if I tell them up front that I am just browsing. If I need help, then I want to know someone is nearby. It’s a fine line, but I think sales people should know the difference.
7. Sometimes I need online support. I really appreciate when I can find a telephone number predominantly displayed on a website. When I purchase a product or service online, and the phone number is convenient, it makes me think the company is completely transparent, and they want me to call if I have a question or problem.
8. Train your employees to be part of the company culture. I know it costs more money to train employees, but when I see employees living the philosophy of great customer service as if they were born with the talent, I am inspired and grateful to be doing business with such a stellar company.
9. Be aware of your competition, and ask my opinion. If your competition does it better, maybe it’s time for a change. Ask your customers how you can deliver a better product, be more innovative, or provide better service. We know because your competition is knocking at our doors every day.

I want to be loyal to you if you deliver innovative products at competitive prices and deliver services to me with respect and proficiency.

photo credit: Orin Zebest

The best way to become customer-centric is to prioritize the value of your customer. It’s not just about what you sell, your marketing strategies or even the value of your products or services. To be profitable and successful, the focus goes beyond the obvious, and filters down to the manufacturers, the product designs, how the merchandise is supplied, and eventually down to the cost of manufacturing.

There’s a plethora of “buzz” words out here to describe true customer engagement; some prefer the use of customer-centric, customer experience management, customer profitability or even customer value, but the bottom line, no matter what your description, is to place the customer needs in front.

Some companies believe that customer-centric only applies to service industries and only for those service representatives who directly have contact with consumers. Some companies are even convinced that high scores on customer service surveys are true evaluators of a customer-centric organization, but that is not necessarily true. Actually a successful customer-centric organization has figured out how to prioritize cost and quality to a customer, but also works with every other aspect of the seemingly endless process of manufacturing and delivery to assure the maximum service to someone with the least amount of disappointment.

Let’s use the example of Zappos since few of us can argue that this customer-centric organization doesn’t present an exemplary experience for their customers. This high volume organization uses customer service agents who have had extensive training and can inform, delight, and deliver that “wow” experience both online or by telephone. The price of their merchandise meets the competition, and customers know they are receiving value, and the latest trends, all of which are carefully monitored. Customers can track the quick and reliable delivery. In today’s world of social media and especially Twitter, delivery woes can play havoc on a branded image. Even the condition how merchandise arrives makes a profound influence on customer satisfaction, which again filters down to the high standards of the distribution chain of Zappos.

At Zappos the customer is always the focal point, and their technology creates convenient online ordering, and there are few contingencies to preclude any customer from returning, for free, merchandise that doesn’t fulfill their expectation. Combine that with a social web of team members who filter complaints, questions, and compliments, the company provides a stellar example of prioritizing the value of their customers.

photo credit: Torley

Competition among pharmacy retailers and the need to create more efficient business plans are  a sign of the times. Ten years ago, everyone still had a local pharmacist who would fill prescriptions, give a little professional advice and while mother was at the store, she would buy mascara, shampoo,  a sun visor and aspirin.

Mega-stores such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens have pushed pharmacies to new heights in innovative ideas to keep their customers and attract new ones, hence the age of new conceptions as the  Rite Aid  “Customer World Store.”

Rite Aid’s slogan, “With us, it’s personal” had executives redesigning existing stores and planning to remodel, relocate and build between 800 and 1000 stores in a five-year plan starting back  in 2005. The stores were all designed and recreated using the feedback of customers and customer focus groups that had been developed. So what did customers say they wanted? Solutions were derived from the two most important questions:

• How did customers rate the various services?
• How important are each of these services?

Customers overwhelmingly asked for easy ways to find what they were looking for at any visit. Everyone has had the experience of walking into a store with a list of what they wanted to purchase, and upon entering the store had been so overwhelmed by confusing layouts and designs of the store, they quickly got discouraged. Using the customer focus groups, the company was  able to concentrate on targeted problems consumers faced, and with that in mind was able to expand merchandise selection, easier store navigation and create a professional feel at the pharmacy that made customers feel more comfortable and secure.

The customer focus group wanted wide and clutter free aisles. In the waiting areas for the pharmacy, they wanted the experience to be more personal and intimate; thus the new design of the section with lowered ceilings, comfortable chairs, televisions and a consultation section for private meetings with a pharmacist. Online shopping has been partnered with drugstore.com to provide more pharmacy service at all different times. Other improvements suggested by the groups included a separate vitamin department, picture center with digital user-friendly equipment, self-service kiosks and stools, and a drive through pharmacy.

The latest store which opened in Edison, New Jersey yesterday has followed the suggestions of the latest focus group. With more than 14,000 square feet, the new store features direct views to each department, more visible department signs and at center stage, a brightly displayed presentation of cosmetics designed to appeal to female customers.

Listening to the customer, adjusting to the needs of the customer and following through on a practical plan to show the customer that they do indeed matter reflects the importance of something more than just a corporate mission statement. The implementation and the fresh approach to enhancing customer satisfaction goes a long way.

photo credit: Rite Aid

This is my second year participating in the Age of Conversation project/book. Here’s how the website describes the project:

With over 300 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators contributing chapters, this collaborative work investigates the roles that community, conversation, experimentation, engagement, and collaboration play in shaping the 21st century’s economy of ideas. As businesses, public and private organizations, and individuals realize that there’s much more to social media and its impacts than first meets the eye, Age of Conversation III shows which platforms, tools, and approaches truly work.

The result is a cool book with a lot of different opinions and ideas from the great people listed below. What’s also nice is that all profits from the sale of the book are donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Check out the website to learn more and to order a copy.

Age of Conversation Authors:

Customer focus is more than just adding directions to your company’s mission statement or sending everyone to training. The training part is just one piece of the total package. Everyone has a customer they want to satisfy and therefore the focus has to address needs, expectations, and behaviors. Customer focus challenges a company to adjust certain aspects of an organization to align with customer values through new strategies, organizational design, business processes, performance measures, information and support.

Working as a group, customer service representatives can identify what they deem as important ways to satisfy customers. Here are some suggestions:

• Meeting Customer Requirements: What new processes have been implemented to validate customer needs? With current customers, is the company producing the products they want? Good ways to address these questions are by surveys; perhaps one every six months to stay on top of an ever-changing market. Setup customer focus groups and ask for feedback. If the company has group meetings or sponsored events, that would be a good time to get input from participants.
• Convenient Delivery of Product: A lot of people do their online ordering late at night. Is there an IT support group on call but not on site? That could be a money saver for the company, but not for the customer.
• Principles for Resolving Problems: If a customer places an order and the company is out of the product, how do you resolve the problem? Customers want to be treated fairly, and they don’t much care about excuses. If you resolve their conflicts and you think it is fair, but your customer doesn’t, you will lose your customer.
• Communication is the Key: This must happen actively and often.
• Meeting Customer Commitments: If a company has to make excuses why a commitment has not been met on time, the company has missed customer focus.
• Performance Measurements: Employees have to be held accountable for their actions. Many companies reward exemplary customer focused behaviors with bonuses; positive reinforcement trumps negative criticism.

Many times owners and managers take it for granted that their staff works towards the same objectives. Group sessions are positive methods to help staff understand the customer-focused vision which enables companies and employees to succeed in a very challenging market.

photo credit: Torley

Just check Terminal 5 at New York JFK airport for the state-of-the-art facility geared for efficiency and customer comfort. In 2009, JD Power & Associates, a global marketing information service which measures customer satisfaction based on millions of consumers annually, rated Jet Blue ” Highest in Customer Satisfaction” among low-cost carriers in North America.

Jet Blue serves 60 cities with 600 flights daily. All passengers have assigned seats; all fares are based on one way and an overnight stay is not required. They provide the most non-stop departures from JFK to Florida and rank as the 7th largest carrier in the US.

Jet Blue delivers service differently than most low-cost carriers. Where other companies have decided to cut back and charge passengers to use blankets and pillows while flying, Jet Blue, in the quest to become America’s Favorite Airlines, boasts their Customer Bill of Rights aimed at ” bringing humanity back to air travel.” On Valentine’s Day, 2007 an ice storm in the northeast set the venue for a customer service disaster when hundreds of passengers were held captive on the tarmac and thousands of travelers were stranded in airports. In order to regain their credibility,  instituting a Customer Bill of Rights now offers full refunds, re-accommodations due to Jet Blue cancellations within 4 hours and even refunds due to “controllable irregularities.” There is now compensation for departure delays,  overbookings  and on board ground delays. If a customer is involuntarily denied boarding because of a Jet Blue overbooking, the company claims to reimburse a passenger $1,000. The airline brags about “lots of legroom” and for a small additional fee promises to provide ” even more legroom.”

Attention getting promotions last week celebrating Jet Blue’s  ten years of service included $10 thank-you fares on all remaining seats between NY JFK and the airline’ s first ten destinations. Complimentary in-flight email and instant messaging known as “Beta Blue”,  first checked bag free, 36 channels of Directv, 100 channels of XM Radio, and unlimited named snacks are advertised on their website. On overnight flights, the airlines supplies a “snooze kit”  that contains an eye shade and earplugs.  Before arriving at the morning destination, airline attendants hand out hot towels, coffee, tea, orange juice or water.

Jet Blue’s promise of  “Happy Jetting” may indeed be a reality.

photo credit: albertopveiga

When I started Service Untitled back in April 2006, I was the only writer. I’d have occasional guest writers contribute to the blog, but for the most part, Service Untitled was me and me only. Nearly four years later (!), I’m happy to formally announce and introduce Service Untitled’s team of regular writers. The writers page features a listing of the regular contributors to Service Untitled, along with the photos and biographies of the people who bring you customer service advice and insight five days a week.

These people have been writing for Service Untitled for some time, but before today, there was not much information available about who they are or what they specialize in. The writers section is designed to provide that information. The writers section is released along with an entirely re-written and re-designed about section and revised contact and consulting pages.

In the new about section, you’ll also notice a new Service Untitled logo as well. This will be implemented into the main site’s design in the near future, but in the mean time, I want to show it off on the about page. A big thank you is owed to Bruce and his team at Logo Design Consultant for their hard work (and great customer service) in getting the logo designed.