Why is a better deal so hard?

Over the last two weeks I have been able to reduce the cost of our telecoms bill by $50 by hunting around on the providers web site for better offers, and ringing up and threatening to leave unless I get a better deal.

Now I can understand why they just don't drop the price everyone pays for their services, it would cost them considerable revenue, but.... I am now conditioned to look for a better deal on a regular basis.

Rather then trust my provider, I now expect that they are not providing me the best deal that they can, and thus my level of loyalty to them is a lot, lot lower then it used to be. I actually don't feel better now they have given me better deals, I actually feel like they have been ripping me off in the past.

Rather then make me want to stay with them, all they have done is make me want to keep looking around for better deals, and eventually move. The new provider may be no better, but at least I wont have this feeling that I am being ripped of by them when I first move across.

So I am not sure if this was their intention when I rang up looking for a better deal, but it is how things have worked out, so why not just look after your customers all then time? Not just when they complain? and have they actually achieved anything other then making me an unhappy customer who is now ready to jump ship? I suppose I am at least still a customer, for now.

Never buy another Holden!

Our current car is due to be replaced in a few months time, which gets me thinking about what our next car will be. After having two Holden commodores, I know what the next car won't be at least!

The first car had issues, but they were a few years ago, so I will concentrate on the current (4 year old) cars experience as to why I will never purchase another Holden.

1. Poor pre sales service. Guys, I am still waiting for the brochure I requested online 3 and half years ago, and the "contact me" option on your web site seems to have gone no where are all.

2. Delayed delivery. You were happy to take my trade in, then delayed the delivery of my new car, twice!

3. Extremely poor service staff. At two different locations I encountered rude staff. The vehicle was not returned after servicing at the agreed time, with the agreed work done. There has not been one time I have had the car serviced that I was even satisfied, let alone, happy! Come on, when I tell you the break light is out, and on the report you tell me there is nothing wrong with is, yet I can show you (by pushing the break peddle down) that the break light does not work, I question your ability (and if you even care).

4. Recalls, recalls, recalls. Lost count on the recalls the car has had. But even more then the recalls I had to complain about about some aspects of the poor quality of the vehicle before it was repaired (even though Holden knows of the problems). They only seem to recall on safety issues, other issues (like not being able to start your car) don't seem to be a concern until the customer gets upset.

So lets see, that poor pre sales, poor post sales, poor customer service, and extremely poor quality, can't think of anything good about being a customer of Holden at all!

I did think I may by antother car from them if it was not built in Australia, but that may only solve the quality of the car issue, not the rest of the problems with the business!

So I am now thinking about a Japanese or European car, any ideas?

Community Managers

Got a web site? Got a community manager?

I must admit, the role of a community manager is one that I have only recently become aware of, and for large sites, trying to foster and develop a community it makes sense. I wonder if it makes sense for smaller sites?

A community manager in basic terms builds and nurtures the web sites community. They need to (I think) -

- Be well connected, and know who to connect with online
- Allow the community to act freely, to a point (maybe a very grey point)
- Put a human face to the company they are representing on the web
- Be an advocate for the community within the company

It sounds like a quite difficult job, you may need to support and protect the online community while they are beating up the company who's web site they are sitting on, or, via twitter etc.

This role to me sounds like the next logical step after listening to your customers online. Once you have started to listen and have been acting on what they say, a way of interacting and workign with them seems like a good idea!

Listen to your customers

Everyone is always talking about listening to your customers, and so you should, but actually doing something based on their feedback is not as common (generally only when they are upset do companies act , take the recent Vegemite iSnack 2.0 "scandal"or new coke).

Anyway, rather then going on about the virtues of listening to customers, here are a few ways that you can actually monitor what people are saying.

- Set up a facebook "fan" page for you product, monitor what people who take the time to link up to you, have to say about your offering.

- Ensure you have a corporate twitter account, and follow people who follow you. Also set up search profiles for your company (search on name, industry keywords, etc).

- Set up a google search for your company, and key industry terms. This way you will also pick up on what is being said about you on the web and in blogs. I run my google searches into my RSS feed reader, but you can also set them up to Email on a regular basis the information they find.

- Network online with people who are key to your industry, LinkedIn, myspace, linkMe, where ever key people in your industry may spend time, you need to spend some time there also.

Oh, and by the way, do something with the information you gather!

Customer Service Failure

Time for a post based on a personal experience of service failure! I recently attempted to purchase a item from a well know web site in Australia. After placing the order, and having the funds come out of my credit card I sat back and waited for the item to be delivered within the "generally" 2 days shipping time frame. After a week I contacted the company and after asking a number of times when my item would be shipped the only answer I could get was that it "should" be sent in the next week.
The second contact a few days later with the company I was told it "was probably already shipped and on its way". Further more if I waited 2 days I could track the delivery via the tracking facility. My questioning regarding waiting the 2 days should mean the item had already been delivered by the time I could track it did not seem to register with the customer service agent!

Now I am up to contact number 3, two and a half weeks after the order, asking where my item is, only to be told they have no stock! What, hang on, after 2 weeks and 2 contacts they finally work out they have no stock! Oh, and the item is still for sale on their web site, despite them having no stock, and no way of fulfilling the orders.

So, I ask for my money back. No problem I am told, please wait a week for a cheque (they wont refund to my credit card). A week later a cheque arrives, unsigned! A Email arrives on the same day telling me they forgot to sign the cheque (um, this is a real company apparently). At this point, after 6 weeks I am still waiting for a refund!

I dont think their was any intention by this company to just take my money and make it very hard to get back, I actually think it is just plain and simple incompetence from service staff (in fact, I have an Email from one staff member telling me that yes, it is incompetence!).

The whole situation could have been handled much better, with just some effort by the customer service agents to find out what was going on, and resolve the issue, rather then just providing a standard answer. A quick, early, actual refund would have been quite acceptable, and I would have tried to purchase from them again, but this complete service failure means I will never go near them again!

Customer experience framework

Here is a great article on the Harvard Business Review blog site that provides a framework for building the customer experience.

I like it as it looks at the entire customer experience within the enterprise, not just "what customer service does". It also provides a very simple to understand framework that helps you examine the interactions a customer may have with you, from the customers prospective. The way it breaks things down also makes it simple to look at what parts of your business may be not providing the level of service required.

Read, enjoy :)

Who does your customer service?

I know there are a number of companies today who outsource the care of their customers to 3rd parties. There can be some very good reasons for this -

- 3rd parties can provide service at a greater scale
- Reduced costs
- Tap into expertise in the customer service field
- Ability to scale

All very good reasons (and I am sure there are more) for getting someone else to look after your customers, while you focus on products, sales, whatever you are good at.

But it makes me think, who really should know your customers better, you or someone else? Who really has the desire to provide exceptional service to your customers? and, are you getting the feedback from your customers about service and products that you need, if someone else is looking after them?

I am sure that 3rd party arrangements can and do work, but they need to be managed carefully, and you should never loose touch with your customers, without them you wont have a business at all!

Thinking about customers?

This is a really good blog post from the Harvard Business blog that I wanted to share.

It sets out a framework for building on customer experience's within your organisation. What a like about the article is both the frame work it describes, and, the fact that it points out that not many organisations are developed with the end customer experience in mind.

Most frameworks within organisations are developed around either poor or legacy IT infrastructure, or, what works best for the organisation, not many actually think about what they want the customer to experience, then work back.

Well worth a quick read.

Where do you get support?

Is it just crowed sourcing being taken to the next level? Or a sad indictment on some companies ability to support their product? Web sites such as getsatisfaction.com and uservoice.com seem to be doing well, they have a lot of users and a lot of answers.

Why is it that people are seeking assistance to their problems via a 3rd party site, and not directly with the product provider?

I think that it is a bit of both. People a seeking responses they can trust, and these sites (using a model very similar to the KCS model) provide quick answers, you can then determine if you trust the answer that someone has given you by looking at their profiles and making a determination if you trust the response or not.

The same principles of crowd sourcing seem to apply here as in other areas, people want to help, and do so with only the desire to help others in mind.

And people want to self serve, just as people will line up in the rain to use a ATM machine, rather then go into a bank branch, many people are happy to source their own answers (and want the ability to do it 24hrs a day).

I am sure there is also a bit of frustration for some involved, where they are unable to source answers from the company supplying the product, and as a last resort are heading to these websites looking for answers (I wonder what the proportion is?). I think however that the majority of users would be using these sites as their first point of contact, rather then as a last resort.

Given 3rd parties are able to provide this sort of a service, it makes me wonder why more companies are not publishing their knowledge to their customers, and facilitating these types of discussions themselves, why give up the customer relationship to a 3rd party?

And so to process

I first got caught up thinking about process Vs passion in customer service facing staff, that lead me to thinking about how do you get staff who are passionate about service delivery ? So next is to start thinking about process.

In a complex customer service enterprise I expect the best way to get staff to follow process is to sit them in front of a computer with a work flow program, and flow charts for questioning, and not allow anything else to happen on the system other then that process, I think that may kill a staff members passion for the job (its a balancing act) however.

You could remove the process all together, but how then would you deliver consistent experience and answers to customers?

You could end up somewhere in the middle, with staff giving consistent answers, and yet being given the freedom of not being locked into a ridged process allowing them to be passionate about how they service the customer. What would this look like? how would you ensure the consistent message is being delivered?

The best example of how this may work I have seen is the KCS methodology

KCS ensures consistant answers to problems \ questions as much as any other process can, yet it also allows the consultant to work with the customer in a manner that is not ridged, and allows the consultant the ability to look for answers to help resolve problems.

Anyone using KCS in a non technology support enviroment like to comment?

Where do passionate staff come from?

In my last post I asked about how to get the balance between process and passion right in a customer service team. That got me thinking about what a passionate staff member looked like, and how to get them in your team.

I came to the conclusion that people who are passionate about delivering service to customers are born to the role, not built or motivated.

Now I am sure that there will be some people who will want to argue that point! Yes you can motivate people with reward and recognition programs, you can train staff on service delivery, you can set goals and reward activity, and you should do all these things, they delivery great outcomes in a team.

My point is that the activities about don't make people passionate about service delivery, it may make them passionate about doing the activities that gets them the rewards, but that's not what a truly passionate customer service employee is about.

Someone who is truly passionate about service delivery is doing it because they have empathy for the customer, and want to help. Not because they will be rewarded for completing some activities.

I think you can help people understand how to be truly passionate about service delivery, and why it matters, but it takes time, as any personal change program does.

Rewarding activity, recognising staff for the right behaviour, etc, etc, are all imporatnt activites that will provided outcomes and better service, but hireing the right people to start with, who demonstrate a passion for what they do will deliver better, longer term cultutral change within a team.

Process Vs Passion

You need good processes in customer support.

Why? Because you have to be able to manage the cost in providing the service, and, replicate the experience as much as possible. Customers hate getting different support people giving them different answers, never knowing what might happen when they seek help. Think about McDonalds, and if the burger and the experience was different in every store, it just wont work!

But you don't want robots, people who will only do what the process allows them, who wont think for themselves, and who wont in still in the customer a sense of empathy or, that they are truly trying to assist.

Process Vs Passion

There needs to be a balance, you need to ensure that your people are empowered (and know what that means) to do their jobs, and they are enthusiastic at achieving sensational outcomes for the customer, but not at any price, and, whilst ensuring a consistent level of exceptional service is being offered.

Sounds easy, right? Its very, very difficult in large organisations with large numbers of staff. I have always found it to be a balancing act, sometimes you go to far one way and need to bring things back a little, but that's OK, as long as you remain focused on the goal of delivering service to your customers then the outcomes are always positive (and sometimes a learning experience!).

Process Vs Passion, its a balancing act! Anyone got the secret?

Treat the customer experience as an investment

I cam across this great HBR blog article on treating the customer experience as an investment, not a cost, and thought I would share.

It explains how correctly identifying the business KPI's, and the customer behaviours that result in those KPI's, and integrating this knowledge into the design of say a web site, can lead to increased sales.

I would think that Apple have been doing something simular for years, by providing products that consulmers can use and enjoy, so they keep comming back. But this articvle is a little deeper then that, so have a look!

Fix it please help desk!

I was reading a twitter post this morning from someone lamenting the fact that the service desk they had just called did not fix their problem.

Now the service desk wont always be able to resolve the problem they are dealing with, however, it got me thinking about how many service desks are actually aiming to resolve problems at the first point (argue what the first point is amongst yourselves), and how many are just logging and passing to a resolver group. I also was wondering what a reasonable first point of resolution rate may be, and does it differ with different customer groups?

Help desks should always be trying to resolve the problem while the caller is still on the phone, for issues where the callers is unable to complete a task or do their job. This needs to be a focus for many reasons (financial being a strong one), but the main reason is for good customer service.

When the caller is on the phone, they need help, they don't want to be told that someone will call them back. This is the point that can make or break the desk, no matter what happens to that incident, the caller needs to feel like they are getting service, even if you don't fix the problem.

What do your customers experience?

I was just thinking about the IT department in large enterprises, and what an end users actual experience would be of them.

When the network connections are working, no one cares
When all the services are operating, no one cares
When I get Email delivered efficiently, no one cares

But when any service actually has an interruption everyone is on the phone immediately to your service desk.

Its the interaction with the service desk that will make or break the relationship, its the service desk team response to a situation that will be remembered, not that fact that things were working in the past. Its important to well staff, train, and look after the service desk team, they are the ones that the customers actually interact with and talk about after the event is resolved.

I dont like Email #2

I still dont like Email, and here is another reason.

97% of all Email is nothing more then spam according to this recent report . Yes, Email is a critical business application nowdays, it is indeed a necessary evil, however if I can get my messages to customer delivered in other ways (Web, RSS, Twitter?) then that is going to be a better option I think.

Why would I want my critical business communication caught up in all that rubbish in the Email world? Most spam is caught by very good spam filters today I agree, however, so is some legitimate Email. And why would I want my business Email sitting in between an ad for prescription drugs and one for penis enlargement?

Even if your inbox is spam free, I am sure it is not Email free, so how do i get my Email the recognition it needs in a full inbox?

Maybe some marketing types know the answer!

The service desk process

Its really important that the service desk provides a consistent level of amazing service to its customers.

I think the important word in that sentence is consistent. To that end we build flow charts for the teams, when a customer asks for X, we do Y. But this is a problem. Customers don't always have the same problem (we try and remove known problems from the production environment), so flow charts are not the answer to providing consistent service.

There are two approaches that need to be taken in providing a consistent service, and I don't think either of them involves a flow chart!

1. Hire good people, professional support consultants. Get people who enjoy solving problems, and are smart about it. People who want to provide a service to customers, and get a real kick out of fixing a problem. The consistent service you will deliver will be an enthusiastic response, and a concerted effort to resolve problems, customers will love it.

2. We still don't want to re-invent the wheel, and all the best intentions wont mean that the customer does not get different answers from different staff, or, sometime some staff wont be able to resolve a problem. For consistent answers you need to implement the Knowledge CentricKCS) Support (model (many other benefits also!).

With good, smart, enthusiastic people, backed with the knowledge to do their job, and consistently answer the customers questions, how can you loose :)

Marketing the service desk

Yes! You do need to market the service desk.

Why?

If you have external customers, then the answer is clear, increasing customer numbers is your business, and you want to stay in business.

If you have internal customers, then you need to get a clear message out there about the value you are adding to the business, so you are not just seen as a "cost centre" (and I truly do think service desks can add great value!).

Who?

External customers are easy to identify, who to market to for internal customers may be a little harder. You need to ensure end users are aware of the service you offer, and the value you provide, as they are the ones who will call, and they will tell their managers if you are doing a good job or not. You need to especially market to senior management, they guys who actually pay the bills. They are the ones who mostly need to understand what they are getting for their money, and the value you are providing, make it clear!

When?

Always. Why stop? Make sure you get your message out, and it is targeted at the right groups, and do it often (but please no spam).

Outbound Email from the service desk

Don't get me wrong, I don't like Email! (see previous post), but it is a necessary evil in some cases. There are two types of Email that need to come out of the service desk to customers

- Pre-canned "status update" type Emails
- Ad-hoc communication from service desk consultants to customers, other staff, etc.

The focus of this post is on the content of these Emails, not on recording and reporting, should you use email, etc, etc, just on the content.

The reason why I want to focus on the content is because generally it is not very good. Quite often it is poorly written, with hard to follow instructions, or ambiguous information, the tone of these emails are also in most cases not very customer focused.

So what to do? Firstly, we need to use Email, customers have Email, they want to use it in communicating with us, so moving off Email all together is not an option. The service desk needs Email in order to communicate efficiently with customers, and reduce phone call volumes, so lets get it right and make it work for us.

Get your marketing department or customer communications people involved in drafting your pre-canned Email. Make sure it makes sense, is easy to follow, is written for the customer, and is not going to generate another call to the service desk asking what your Email means. Oh, and make sure when you are using a pre-canned response, you use it for the right question asked! No point in using one that "kind of" suites the situation.

Where your team are writing ad-hoc responses, have them trained in business communication or work with the client communication people, after all, this is client facing communication and we need to get it right. Where possible send screen shots, or recorded screen sessions to show the customer what is happening, a picture tells a thousand words!

Dont forget, we are using Email to get a message across to our customers, we need to ensure that the message is clear and that they can understand what is happening, otherwise we are wasting our own time and out customers, and increasing our workloads.

Implementing online meetings - Tip 2

Why do it at all?

Sure, it all sounds very exciting to be able to share your screen with your fellow co-workers on the other side of the partition, or, other side of the globe, but really, why would you want to do it?

After taking into account the corporate culture of your enterprise, and determining that hey,everyone is going to love this idea and take to it like a duck to water, you may actually need to put together a business plan, or at least, try and work out what a successful implementation might look like. Some ideas to look at

Costs

Reduction in travel costs is an easy first win, and in many cases can secure the funding to pay for the remote service without much extra thought. Airline travel, accommodation, taxi and incidentals can all be reduced very quickly.

You may also be able to either remove FTE costs, freeze additional hires, or better use staff based in geographical locations where they are either under utilised, or, their skills are in demand and can be better utilised.

Service improvement

With a reduction in travel times for your staff, more frequent training \ promotion \ sales calls can be made using online technology. You can now also provide a better level of service to customers who are not in easy to reach metro areas, the customers who generally miss out on face time due to the travel times to get to them, or, them to you. Even metro customers will appreciate not having their day disrupted to much with your people being in their office, or, them having to leave the office to travel to a central location for training or updates.

Better collaboration

Everyone is used to the voice conference call now, and the endless "what page are we one" questions, or, having to explain to the people on the other end of the line what changes are being made to a document you are collaborating on. Online meetings make collaboration a much more simple and efficient undertaking, with everyone being able to see what is happening and being able to comment or assist in making changes. It means you are able to bring together the people you need, no matter their location, to collaborate quickly and efficiently on a project.