Starting a customer service improvement initiative is challenging for most organizations. I’ve seen countless leaders so frustrated over where to begin that they don’t begin at all. The question of how to get things started freezes some initiatives in their tracks, and what could’ve been a successful improvement initiative never gets out of the gate.

Here are three ideas for getting started:

1. Decide what metrics you want to affect with the initiative – A bank might focus on “share of wallet” metrics, or customer retention. A hospital can focus on patient satisfaction scores or market share. A restaurant might look at average ticket numbers or customer referrals.The point is to decide what business results you’re trying to achieve with the service initiative. The metrics provide you with a North Star for decisions you make, and they keep you on course when things get rough (which they will).
2. Define the desired customer experience – Without defining what the customer experience is supposed to be, you are left at the mercy of each individual employee’s opinion of what it should be. There would likely be significant differences in those opinions.A good place to begin crafting a definition is to determine what you would want customers to say to a friend or family member after any experience with your organization. “They were so efficient;” “They made me feel safe;” “Everyone was so knowledgeable” are all potential statements that would indicate you’re creating the experience you want to create.Then (and this is vital), determine what behaviors need to occur in order for customers to say those things. If a healthcare organization wants patients to talk about how efficient the organization is, then employees had better keep patients informed, manage expectations, and show respect for the patient’s time.
   
3. Review the success factors of previous successful initiatives – Most organizations have had success in implementing new processes, standards, or approaches. Your company might have created and sustained a safety culture in response to problems that had plagued the organization in the past. How was that initiative successfully executed? What were the steps? Follow the same path with your customer service improvement plans. Reviewing past successes can at least get you started with creating a plan.Some might say, however, that an issue like safety is easily measurable, whereas customer service is a bit (or a lot) more subjective. While this is true to a certain extent, the organization still had to take certain actions to improve its safety record and, therefore, change the culture. While the initiative may be different, the process can be the same.

Certainly there are other actions that can help with launching a successful service initiative, but these three are a good starting point. Looking at these three elements help you to define what you’re trying to accomplish and to determine what can be done to increase the likelihood of success.

And, most importantly, these three elements can unfreeze you and get things moving forward.

Tags: Service Analysis, When Bad Service Happens To Good People by Dennis Snow
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A few weeks back, I posted an article titled, Customer Service and Twitter, in which I focused on how our customers can instantly let people know about their experience with us.

A recent example of the power of social media is the popular YouTube video, “United Breaks Guitars.” If you don’t know the back story, here’s the condensed version:

Musician Dave Carroll was on a United flight and he, along with other passengers, watched as baggage handlers manhandled bags and threw Carroll’s $3,500 Taylor guitar on the ground causing about $1,200 in damage. United initially refused to pay for the repair, inspiring Carroll to compose a song about the experiece.

The video went viral and to date has been viewed 3,691,735 times.

United eventually handled Carroll’s claim, but look at the cost in bad press, mistrust, embarrassment, and increased scrutiny from passengers. What could’ve been handled quickly and professionally turned into a PR nightmare for United. For more on the story, check out an early article on the situation as it appeared in the Orlando Sentinel.

Similar to the way I ended the post about Twitter, it’s worth reflecting on this question in every contact we have with every customer: “How would I feel and how would my company feel if this interaction ended up on YouTube?”

By the way, United Airlines is now using the video in their customer service training!

Tags: Commentary, Service Analysis, Uncategorized, When Bad Service Happens To Good People by Dennis Snow
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As we come into the weekend, try giving your team this informal assignment. As they go about their weekend activities, ask them to to consciously notice the level of service they receive as they interact with companies and their employees. Ask them to look at the physical environment, observe employees as they serve them as well as other customers, and pay attention to the processes they experience during the interaction. What was good? What was not so good? What what was dismal? Ask them to mentally note as many details as possible.

At your next team meeting, request that members of your team share their observations and how the experiences make them feel. Did the experience make them definitely want to come back? definitely not want to come back? or just leave them neutral? Then ask the group how their observations relate to your organization and to their own jobs. This is a quick benchmarking experience that can pay great dividends.

When Walt Disney was planning Disneyland, he sent his “Imagineers” to visit amusement parks and carnivals, and to observe what customers liked and didn’t like. He used this knowledge (particularly the dislikes) in the design of Disneyland. Rather than a haphazard layout, everything would be organized and themed. Rather that surly “ride operators,” Disneyland would have “hosts and hostesses” who treated customers as “guests.” Much of what makes the Disney parks what they are today came from this simple strategy of observing competitors and putting the knowledge to work.

Why not send an email to your team today? Simply ask them to pay attention to their experiences over the weekend, note how those experiences made them feel, and be prepared to discuss it at your next team meeting. I’m convinced it will be an eye-opening and beneficial exercise for the entire team.

Tags: Tips for Better Customer Service, Uncategorized, When Bad Service Happens To Good People, When Great Service Happens To Good People by Dennis Snow
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I’m constantly amazed at the lengths to which some companies will go in order to alienate their customers. They may have clunky processes, poorly trained employees, or any of a multitude of customer-alienating practices.

But the one that really fries me most is when a company distrusts their customers. Sure, there are those customers who take advantage by doing such things as returning clothes after they’ve attended the prom, returning furniture after the party, etc. But those abusive customers are in the minority. Some companies, however, build rigid policies to protect themselves against the advantage-takers and end up alienating the majority of customers who would never dream of trying to rip off the company.

This all leads to a story a colleague shared regarding a damaged cake. When she contacted the company, it’s clear that the owner of the company didn’t trust the customer’s story, even though she offered to send a photo of the damaged cake. After reading her description of the event, click on the icon to see a photo of what she received (read the narrative first).

Today in the office a customer service nightmare unfolded. A bakery shipped a cake that arrived in such a mess the recipients couldn’t tell what it was. They called the company to kindly let them know; the owner was angry that she’d done so and denied there was even a problem even though the recipient offered to send a photo of what she’d been delivered. It was a strange kind of denial and she got very defensive. What is happening now though is that the photo is circulating and the story is getting around, which will obviously hurt business.

Click HERE to see the photo!

Imagine how different this customer would’ve felt if the owner had sincerely expressed her dismay at the condition of the cake, apologized profusely, and immediately sent a replacement – which the customer didn’t even ask for. My guess is that the next time this customer wanted to send a cake as a gift she would’ve immediately chosen this company because there would’ve been a high level of trust that things would turn out fine.

Instead, this customer is circulating the story, along with the photo and the company’s name, to everyone she knows. Remember, it costs five times as much to attract a new customer as it costs to keep a current one. I hope this cake company has a big advertising budget.

Do your company policies ever penalize and alienate your honest, loyal customers because of the actions of the small fraction of customers who try to take advantage?

Want to share your story? You can submit it here.

Tags: Commentary, Service Analysis, When Bad Service Happens To Good People by Dennis Snow
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