Customer Service: Write It To Get It Right

Rule #1 in Customer Service: If it's not in writing it doesn't exist.

Sometimes people have a difficult time with this lesson and too often the learning comes with a hard dollar price tag.

Whether its a Cost Estimate, a Conference Report, a Schedule Change and an Approval to Proceed, Customer Service events need to be in writing.

And with the ease of electronic communications, there's no excuse for failure.

Make it a practice and habit:

• Each time a new commitment to a customer is made ask, "Did we put that into writing?"


• Each time a customer approves a critical step ask, "Did we get it in writing?"


• Each time there is a problem or error of concern ask ,"What's in writing?"
  

You get the point: Documentation is critical -- both in agreeing on a course of action and in getting the job done correctly.

Even in the best relationships miscommunication can occur, but timely accurate documentation can great reduce the risks ... for everyone.

And if something does go wrong, what's in writing at least establishes the appropriate ethical ground for problem resolution or ultimate negotiation.

When it's in writing, you'll always have a better chance to DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!

Twitter Customer Feedback "Shocking"

In recent posts we:

1) pondered Twitter's viability as a Customer Service Tool ...

2) suggested to JUST ASK customers what annoys them ...

We now need to add: Be prepared for the feedback!

Case in Point:

"Michigan's largest telecommunications provider is turning to social networking tools such as Twitter to find out just what's bothering its subscribers, and offering to fix problems as they've broadcasted into cyberspace.

"'We were absolutely shocked to see how many things were being said about Comcast on Twitter and on blogs,' Rick Germano, Comcast's senior vice president of national customer operations, said in an interview with The Detroit News Tuesday."

He was "shocked"? Yes, apparently.

Would you be surprised? Perhaps.

Suggestion: A perform full Customer Service Operations Audits with Specific Recommendations can cost a fraction of the lifetime value of a lost customer.

Feedback may be the single most important tool to DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!

Customer Service Can Annoy Customers

Is your company doing things that annoy customers?

Chances are, with very little probing, you can identify several "little things" that annoy your customers.

Here are 10 Common Annoyances:

1. Billing -- are your individual customers happy with your billing process, procedures and invoices? And not the dollar amount, but the way you do it.

2. Communications -- do your communications match your customers' individual styles?

3. Process – are you inflicting unexplained and/or unneeded processes and procedures on customers?

4. Proactivity – do customers need to prod you to be more proactive?

5. Documentation – do customers ask questions about specifics that should have been documented?

6. Timeliness – do customers need to remind you when something is due?

7. Organization –department barriers exist (to some degree) in most companies. Are yours inflicted on customers?

8. Team shifting – are account or customer facing team members frequently shifted.

9. Errors – who finds the simple errors in everyday work, you or your customer?

10. Voice Mail Limbo - Can customer reach you directly by telephone quickly and easily without being relegated to voice mail.

Annoyance Indicators can be documented in Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

But there is an even simpler way to discover them: Just Ask.

Correcting even the smallest annoyances can DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!

Customer Serivce/Sales Divide Can Be Overcome

There's No "I" in Team But There Are Two In "CommIssIon"

That's the way a Senior Operations Executive I know half jokingly describes the sales/operations ballet.

The balance between sales and operations often is a delicate dance, but as we see weekly on "Dancing with the Stars", it's the partnership that wins the prize.

The following are three observations that usually provoke angst:

1. There are many salespeople who know more about operations than many operators.

2. There are many operators who are better at selling than many salespeople.

3. Both will go broke very quickly without the other.

So what is it that creates the divide?

Some say "compensation" and that often is a fair assessment. There certainly are better ways than others to align compensation toward common goals.

Some point to "customer advocacy." The sales role as the "voice of the customer" inside the service organization is a valid and needed role, but I know of no successful operation that doesn't quickly adapt to what the customer wants and needs

Some say "line of sight" to the customer. This has validity as well and today's economy may well lead to postivge and productive organizational restructuring.

In my experience, the best way to enhance sales/operation interaction is old fashioned Face Time: meaningful time together building relationships, respect, common interests, freindships and support. Face Time can be structred learning, opportunity analysis, process enhancement ... or maybe just fun.

So spend more time together. You might just be surprise by how much you really have in common.

The important thing is bring people together on an equal footing to commit to a single goal to DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!

90% In Favor of Twitter As Customer Facing Tool

Quick Update:

90% of respondents in our recent poll said they 1. NOW use, 2. PLAN to use, or 3. WANT to use TWITTER in Customer Facing Communications.

Do you use TWITTER?

Comment now!

Customer Satisfaction Increasingly A Matter of Time

"We never have time to do it right, but we always have time to do it over."

If you are in the service business, you've no doubt heard this statement - or a similar one - as a project has veered off course.

Time pressures today are tremendous. The commandment is to "do it immediately". Business are turning projects today in time frames that would have been laughable a scant few years ago. Did we get better ... or just desperate? Perhaps a bit of both.

This accelerated pace, and the inevitable consequences, can seriously impact customer service and customer satisfaction. So what is to be done? Some suggestions:

• Establish realistic expectations. There are many mechanical processes which require a predetermined period of time. The cylinders on a press, for instance, can only turn so fast.
• Don't fudge. If a process requires a day ... don't say two. It all adds up and often takes needed time away from your internal service partners. Customer also have a tendency to "sniff out" arbitrarily extended schedules.
• Communicate progress. Keep the customer informed. Deliver bad news with the same promptness as good news
• Check the numbers -- whatever they are. The numbers tell the truth.
• Interject a human voice int he process. Don't rely on email alone
• If you think (or worse say) "It's not my job" ... plan on looking for a new one.
• Check, double check and recheck. People do what you Inspect, not what you Expect
• Blame is never as important as solutions.
• As the very least, learn from delays, mistakes and problems.
• Keep a "goodwill" bank with customer that can be drawn upon when absolutely needed

Accept that we live in a fast paced environment and plan for a successful, accelerated response. When we do, we DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!

Director of First Impressions in Customer Service

Last week, I visited the new offices of my local accounting firm, LBA in Jacksonville.

I was greeted by a lovely lady at the front desk ... and her nameplate immediately caught my attention:

"Director of First Impressions"

What a great start to any visit!

The very first title a customer or visitor sees underscores the firm's intention to make a positive impression.

I've been to a great many reception desks in my career. I've been greeted by armed guards, people engaged in personal telephone conversations while I stood waiting, empty desks and others staffed by individuals so ill informed they had no clue how to assist me. But I do not recall any other place where the stated (and displayed) intention was to make a positive first impression.

Moreover, the impression was followed up by LBA staff with prompt, courteous and competent Customer Service.

So here are five questions about your receptions area:

1. Are customers greeted in a warm and friendly atmosphere?

2. In there focused one to one attention?

3. Is the goal of reception to create a positive first impression?

4. Is training sufficient to meet customers' and visitors' needs?

5. Do you have a bowl on candy on the front desk? (Okay, not essential, but a simple and warm gesture.)

Answer these five questions in the affirmative and your first impression will DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!