Its How You Say It!

I recently had a bad customer service experience with a local restaurant. On their website it states they do breakfast to go orders, Monday - Friday. When we called to place our order, we were told her kitchen was to slammed, but we could come in if we wanted to. Two things bugged me about the call...

What difference does it make if I come in and sit, or order to go. Either way your moving a tabletop, and if you do honor the to go, moving me faster than your normal walk-in. But that's okay, I get it, your trying to provide quality service to the customers who are poised to purchase more while sitting in your restaurant. Telling a customer your Slammed, and cant handle their order presents a sense of incompetence, something no manager should do.

Now that you've heard me rant, how could it have been an improved customer experience? Simple, tell me there is a wait of 20-30 minutes. Most consumers do not wait past 10 minuets for food or beverage services that are not reservation based, or major "Dine in" chains. Needless to say I found a different breakfast joint packed to the edges with people, who still took my hefty to go order. :)

So the key point of this lesson

Its how you say it! 

Just some examples we cooked up at the customer experience today;

Bad: The system is down!

Good: The system is currently updating, what I can do is...

Bad: It doesn't work that way!

Good: While I can't do that, I can help you by doing .......

Bad: What? Huh? What did you say? I didn't hear you.

Good: Do you mind repeating that? I want to make sure I have all the information correct.

And My Favorite

Bad: What do you want me to do about it?

Good: Let me get someone who can help/Let me see what I can do for you.

Starting to see the trend of I can? Even with a negative outcome, you've improved that customers experience by showing them you are doing whatever you can to help them. And isn't Help all we really want?

The Return Phone Call

The return phone call

We've all left messages, we'e all expected a call back, and we've all experienced a situation where that call back didn't happen. A return phone call can be the best tool a manager or supervisor possess to return faith in the customer experience. 

I know what your saying right now... there are other forms of communication out there to handle this. Text, live chat, email. None of these reach the customer on a personal level like a return phone call. the effort to go above and beyond can solidify the customers belief in your brand.

there are a couple of return phones calls, as a customer service hero, that you can make;

1. Customer satisfaction calls
1. Often referred to as the "Warm Fuzzy" these calls are typically made by your line level employees to ensure customer satisfaction with a product or service. Knowing a company wants feedback on your satisfaction can build a positive relationship, even if the results are negative on the call. This call also allows you to resolve any issue the customer may be having preemptively
2. Supervisor/Manager Callback
1.  This normally occurs.We have a little motto here in my company "A Call back means their coming back". The idea is simple. The faster we help resolve a situation, the faster that customer is coming back for additional products or services. 
3. We see you have blah bah blah
1. while sounding like a sales pitch,  a call back on services, and additional services the customer may want can add a next level experience to your customer service 

Atmosphere

at·mos·phere

ˈatməsˌfir/

the pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or work of art.

Atmosphere in our case relates to the environment in which you can keep your employees motivated to server your customers and clients. 

Sooooooo the next question should be"How do I create this atmosphere?".  While art, lively office decor, and free food have an impact,there are a couple things I've implemented with my team that have shown great results. 

1. Focus groups 
1. bring a portion of your staff 15-30 minutes before the shift, and have them share there own customer experiences. People tend to excel when they know they can provide a better service, or better experience than what they themselves have experienced. 
2. "Give Them Your Day"
1. One of the best notions I'e been told is from a VP I work very closely with. He always tells me "give them your day, don't let them give you theirs". The concept is simple, if your kind eventually that angry customer that is yelling ranting and raving will come back down to earth and realize your there to help, and hopefully have a better day due to your agent/employee.
3. The Customers World
1. we try to get every employee to realize one concept. Just because it does not mean the world to you, does not necessarily mean the same for the customer. An example (of curse call center related) is a customer who cant leave there home and loves TV, this customer will be more upset when issues arise, and agents should be empathetic to it. 
4. Here is what I can do
1. To many customer service based employees today have the "Sorry can't do it attitude" mostly derived from fear of breaking company policy. Company policy should always be followed, but the break to the customer can always be positive. It may also mean going the extra mile for the customer. Example; A customer comes into a furniture store asking for a set thats not in. Now assuming the employee isn't commission based, most response go like this "We don't have that one in stock, but here is this one!" Most customers are set on the item they are asking for, and cringe when offered an off hand alternative. Instead something like" I can contact our manager to see when I can get that in for you". A little bit of effort goes a long way in a customers eyes.

hope you enjoyed this little article! more to come :D

The Role of Customer Service Heroes

One of the largest issues facing the contact center industry, and customer service industry in general, is the disgruntled employee on your front lines. This employee, now referred to as Hero (I'll explain customer service hero in just a minute) is the face of your organization to your clients, consumers, and end users. negativity can spread from your employees to your customers, ultimately causing distaste for your product.

The Role of a Customer Service Hero
What do you think when you say the word hero? Someone who saves the day? Performs impossible task? Feats of Strength? Exactly.

Your front line employees who deal with consumers or end users need to feel that they are doing something for the greater good. Here are a couple items to help your Customer Service Heroes;

1. Tool belt
1. Giving your Heroes the tool belt ( thinking of a certain bat themed hero) with all the needed items is a great place to start. A binder with your Standard Operating Procedures, a handout with contact numbers, FAQ's, Safety posters, and other printed items are a great place to start. Remember, that certain bat themed hero would not be a hero with out his gadgets. 
2. Leadership
1. A successful hero has successful leadership. All Managers, VPs, Executive team members and any other employee in a leadership role should be prepared and successful at motivating and aligning your heroes to your companies core values and beliefs. 
3. Atmosphere
1. Building a positive and customer eccentric atmosphere will drive your employees to provide better service to consumers. A 15 minuet meeting before opening allowing your employees to speak on the positives for your organization can boost morale and place them in the "Greater Good" Mindset.

That is all I have for today! Remember to keep your Heroes motivated! 

Introductions, Who Am I?

Good Morning Everyone!

      First and foremost I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come and read my little blog here. My idea is simple, as I continue my daily life, I will be posting my view of the customer experience business by business as well as my (of course opinion) thoughts on how to improve the customer experience through cost effective means.

 So you might be asking your self at this point.. what is customer experience? The customer experience (CX) is the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods and/or services, over the duration of their relationship with that supplier. This can include awareness, discovery, attraction, interaction, purchase, use, cultivation and advocacy.

    Not only will we be reviewing the business we use everyday, but post on improving the customer experience in general. We strive to help you provide a better experience for both your employee and consumer.

    Understanding my thought process is crucial, so my background will provide an insight into the way I deconstruct and analyze customer service models. I have 5 years experience creating and maintaining customer experience models for one of the fastest growing privately owned companies as titled by Inc 5000. We handle a range of customer service items through our strategically placed contact centers, all located in the US. Lat year alone we handled over 8,000,000 inbound phone calls.

    I ask and encourage you to leave reviews of your local business and your customer experience below. Its outrageous the way some business think they can treat a customer, They also expect to charge an unbelievable price for a sub par service. Lets show that today's consumer is an informed Customer.

The advice below is from the executive summary for Engagement 3.0 from thunderhead.com (link here!) and is something all business should heed. The whole study is awesome, but these three points really drive thinking as a top down view for customer service, given today's informed consumer.

1. Customers are more easily disappointed. Despite the
fact that companies have access to ever more sophisticated
and powerful technologies and solutions to understand
their audiences, manage customer experiences and build
engagement, customers believe companies have failed to
improve their handling of customer relationships in the last
three years.

2. Customers are quicker to judge businesses critically 
and are less willing to forgive poor customer 
experiences that fail to meet their expectations. For
the majority of customers, three negative experiences
are the limit – at which point they consider switching
their business to another provider.

3. Customers are more prepared to act decisively when 
their relationship with a business takes a turn for the 
worse. With customers willing to broadcast openly to
contacts through social media channels to punish
poor service and experiences.