We all know and love it, IVR HELL! Going through the prompts and finding our way to a place where we can finally talk to a live body. Some companies do IVR's well and most don't, but a lesson to all those companies comes from an insightful conversation I had recently.
I was talking to a colleague that runs a call center in the midwest. He said that when he joined, the IVR tree took customers on average 1 min and 45 seconds to get where they needed to go. With no surprise, the agents spent the first 30 seconds of every call apologizing to customers and calming the customers down. The companies satisfaction scores were quite low overall from the reports of the third party survey company that did customer surveys. They asked questions like, "Were you satisfied with the length of time it took you to get to an agent?", "Did you find your agent knowledgeable?", "Would you buy again from X company?" etc... Again, really poor scores.
My colleague went to work in changing the IVR structure and set up a simple tree that took no more than 20 seconds for someone to get in line to talk with an agent if they wanted. They went live with this structure and within days, customer satisfaction scores started going straight up. But the funny thing about this story is that not only did peoples satisfaction with their wait time go way up, but suddenly agents became much more knowledgeable. Customers were also saying that they would be more likely to buy from company X again. Hmmm. Did the agents become more knowledgeable in that short time? Did the company's products get that much better in that short time to want to buy again?
So what does this mean for us all in the customer service world? It means that we are dealing with complex individuals, that's right, INDIVIDUALS that have needs and wants that differ based on any number of factors. There are general rules that can sometimes be applied to people that help solve issues for customers, but more often than not, we don't see that customers just want to be treated as if they are your only customer. They want to feel as if the bond they have with you is authentic, even if it is just for a few minutes on the phone. We can plan all we want for technology to take people on a whirl wind journey of self service. But more often than not, people just want an authentic, empathetic voice on the other side that may not have the answer, but will listen and do their best to treat you the same way they would want to be treated!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hotels and Cars
Something has been on my mind lately and it has been bothering me to some degree. For years as I have worked in customer service I have been talking with people about loyalty and what creates an experience that fosters this loyalty. Then I had a moment in a conversation that caused me to pause completely and re-evaluate my thinking.
So, I was recently at a Frost and Sullivan Customer Service Conference in Florida and I was talking to a great thinker that I respect quite a bit in the industry. His name is Jim Nagle and he is the VP of customer service at Kohl's, the retail store. We were just chatting about random thoughts and we happend upon similar experiences recently in the world that caused us both to stop and think. Jim told me a story about how 2 years ago he had been having some car trouble, so he took his car to the dealership where he bought it. Long story short, it was a miserable experience for him and he swore that he would never go back to this place again. He went down the street and got his car fixed at another dealer. The thought provoking part of the conversation was when he said that 2 years went by and he was ready to buy a new car. Where do you think he bought his car? Yep, the place where he swore he would never again step foot in. But wait, based on all we know and all the consultants tell us, wasn't his loyalty supposed to be firmly entrenched with the second dealer that fixed his problem?
My story was similar, but instead of negative, mine was incredibly positive. The similarity was that my loyalty was not locked in, even after this incredible experience. Long story short, my family was staying in a Westin Hotel and we needed a microwave in our room for our daughters food. The hotel had given out all the microwaves they had in house, but they still managed to find one for us. Only later did we find out that the manager of the hotel had gone to her home to get the microwave and bring it back for us to use. Truly amazing customer experience! But, the next time I was looking to stay at a hotel out of town, my first stop was not the Westin or even a Starwood property. Why?
That is the point of this post. Why did Jim and I both react to our situations in similar ways, in essence breaking the paradigm of customer service that we have heard for years? Why did Jim go back to a place that he swore he would not to buy his car? Why did my next search for a hotel not start at the Westin?
I don't have the full answer to this quite yet and am interested in anyones perspective. I think the answer has something to do with the incredibly complex nature of buying and not only the quantitative needs of a customer but also the qualitative needs of the customer along with deep emotional reactions that one can have with a product or service. But, I have this nagging pull in my head that says that it is more than this. And if it is, does this mean that we need to change the paradigm in customer service to match the change in the customers behaviors?
What do you think?
So, I was recently at a Frost and Sullivan Customer Service Conference in Florida and I was talking to a great thinker that I respect quite a bit in the industry. His name is Jim Nagle and he is the VP of customer service at Kohl's, the retail store. We were just chatting about random thoughts and we happend upon similar experiences recently in the world that caused us both to stop and think. Jim told me a story about how 2 years ago he had been having some car trouble, so he took his car to the dealership where he bought it. Long story short, it was a miserable experience for him and he swore that he would never go back to this place again. He went down the street and got his car fixed at another dealer. The thought provoking part of the conversation was when he said that 2 years went by and he was ready to buy a new car. Where do you think he bought his car? Yep, the place where he swore he would never again step foot in. But wait, based on all we know and all the consultants tell us, wasn't his loyalty supposed to be firmly entrenched with the second dealer that fixed his problem?
My story was similar, but instead of negative, mine was incredibly positive. The similarity was that my loyalty was not locked in, even after this incredible experience. Long story short, my family was staying in a Westin Hotel and we needed a microwave in our room for our daughters food. The hotel had given out all the microwaves they had in house, but they still managed to find one for us. Only later did we find out that the manager of the hotel had gone to her home to get the microwave and bring it back for us to use. Truly amazing customer experience! But, the next time I was looking to stay at a hotel out of town, my first stop was not the Westin or even a Starwood property. Why?
That is the point of this post. Why did Jim and I both react to our situations in similar ways, in essence breaking the paradigm of customer service that we have heard for years? Why did Jim go back to a place that he swore he would not to buy his car? Why did my next search for a hotel not start at the Westin?
I don't have the full answer to this quite yet and am interested in anyones perspective. I think the answer has something to do with the incredibly complex nature of buying and not only the quantitative needs of a customer but also the qualitative needs of the customer along with deep emotional reactions that one can have with a product or service. But, I have this nagging pull in my head that says that it is more than this. And if it is, does this mean that we need to change the paradigm in customer service to match the change in the customers behaviors?
What do you think?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Simple Things
Sometimes it truly astonishing to me how some businesses stay in business. My wife and I have just come back from a vacation/business trip in which we were over and over again astonished by the lack of attention to the basics of customer service. At one point, we were so overly frustrated and fed up with the people in the state we were in that we decided to just stay in the hotel for the entire day to avoid interacting with anyone that might have to actually provide a rudimentary level of service for my money.
My wife and I decided to pull off the road we were on to stop and get some lunch and also to feed our little girl. We stopped into a little Cuban place that looked nice and filled us with excitement as we LOVE Cuban food. As we were seated in our section, we were greeted by a nice woman that dropped off some water and our menus. We got to the business of feeding our little girl and forgot about the time until about 10 min later when we realized it had been 1o min since we saw a waiter. He walked up finally and bluntly asked if we were ready to order. My wife and I looked at each other puzzled but went ahead and ordered anyway. She started with her dish and then he looked at me. I proceeded to ask him many questions about two specific dishes. After about 1 min, to my shock and surprise, he just simply walked away from me while I was deciding. About 5-7 min later he showed up again and I asked him why he walked away. He did not understand my question and told me his English is not good. Ahhh Haaaah... Now I get it. Lack of attention to our needs was founded in not understanding the language I was speaking.
Here is the lesson. If I am the owner, even in a heavily Hispanic touristy area like we were in, is it not in his or her best interests to find me a table where someone does speak English? Where I can have the opportunity to enjoy my whole experience at the establishment and not just the food? Is it not the job of the owner to anticipate the needs of the customer to ensure this is the case?
Also, is it not incumbent on the waiter to find someone who can communicate with us in a way that is consistent with our needs? If he were truly looking out for the needs of my family and not for his own self interest, would he not have found a person that could take our table and serve us in a way that is effective for both us and the establishment? Or even better, is it not incumbent on the waiter to be honest and sincere with us up front and tell us that his english is poor and ask us if we speak spanish at all. We may not speak spanish, but at least it sets our expectations immediately for what our experience will be like and how we will interact in this experience.
There are so many details when it comes to customer service. Sometimes it is about speed of service. Sometimes it is about anticipating the needs of the customer. Sometimes it is about asking questions. Sometimes it is about how we are spoken to, etc etc.... Creating a great experience for anyone is about understanding the specific need of that person at that moment in time and finding a way to be authentic in delivering on what it is they are seeking from you.
My wife and I decided to pull off the road we were on to stop and get some lunch and also to feed our little girl. We stopped into a little Cuban place that looked nice and filled us with excitement as we LOVE Cuban food. As we were seated in our section, we were greeted by a nice woman that dropped off some water and our menus. We got to the business of feeding our little girl and forgot about the time until about 10 min later when we realized it had been 1o min since we saw a waiter. He walked up finally and bluntly asked if we were ready to order. My wife and I looked at each other puzzled but went ahead and ordered anyway. She started with her dish and then he looked at me. I proceeded to ask him many questions about two specific dishes. After about 1 min, to my shock and surprise, he just simply walked away from me while I was deciding. About 5-7 min later he showed up again and I asked him why he walked away. He did not understand my question and told me his English is not good. Ahhh Haaaah... Now I get it. Lack of attention to our needs was founded in not understanding the language I was speaking.
Here is the lesson. If I am the owner, even in a heavily Hispanic touristy area like we were in, is it not in his or her best interests to find me a table where someone does speak English? Where I can have the opportunity to enjoy my whole experience at the establishment and not just the food? Is it not the job of the owner to anticipate the needs of the customer to ensure this is the case?
Also, is it not incumbent on the waiter to find someone who can communicate with us in a way that is consistent with our needs? If he were truly looking out for the needs of my family and not for his own self interest, would he not have found a person that could take our table and serve us in a way that is effective for both us and the establishment? Or even better, is it not incumbent on the waiter to be honest and sincere with us up front and tell us that his english is poor and ask us if we speak spanish at all. We may not speak spanish, but at least it sets our expectations immediately for what our experience will be like and how we will interact in this experience.
There are so many details when it comes to customer service. Sometimes it is about speed of service. Sometimes it is about anticipating the needs of the customer. Sometimes it is about asking questions. Sometimes it is about how we are spoken to, etc etc.... Creating a great experience for anyone is about understanding the specific need of that person at that moment in time and finding a way to be authentic in delivering on what it is they are seeking from you.
Monday, April 21, 2008
First Day on the Job
Hello to you all!
I am excited to be starting my first blog. I have been thinking about it for some time, but just recently got the extra nudge I needed to push me into the blogshpere with all my opinions open for the world to see. The biggest reason I didn't want to get into blogging was because I wanted to keep at least part of my life off line, in a secret hiding spot where no Google, yahoo, baidu, or ask search engine could find me. Not because I have something dark to hide in my closet. But simply because I wanted to have some time in my life that was true and authentic still, real relationships between humans that were based on looking someone in the eye.
But then I started thinking about all the changes that have happened in the world and started to rethink what Authentic really means. Is it something that is personal? Something that is human? Something that you need to see or touch or hear to know it is true? Is it digital or analog? Is it in a voice or in a smile or in a laugh?
That is what I hope to tackle as often as possible on this blog. What does it mean to strive for an authentic customer experience? What is authentic to customers? How do you know when you have it? Does authenticity mean better service? Does it mean better customer satisfaction scores or higher first call resolution? I am not sure. But I am going to explore these issues and hopefully ask some questions that will make people think and talk back to me.
I am looking forward to a long ride on the never ending Ferris Wheel that is customer service!
I am excited to be starting my first blog. I have been thinking about it for some time, but just recently got the extra nudge I needed to push me into the blogshpere with all my opinions open for the world to see. The biggest reason I didn't want to get into blogging was because I wanted to keep at least part of my life off line, in a secret hiding spot where no Google, yahoo, baidu, or ask search engine could find me. Not because I have something dark to hide in my closet. But simply because I wanted to have some time in my life that was true and authentic still, real relationships between humans that were based on looking someone in the eye.
But then I started thinking about all the changes that have happened in the world and started to rethink what Authentic really means. Is it something that is personal? Something that is human? Something that you need to see or touch or hear to know it is true? Is it digital or analog? Is it in a voice or in a smile or in a laugh?
That is what I hope to tackle as often as possible on this blog. What does it mean to strive for an authentic customer experience? What is authentic to customers? How do you know when you have it? Does authenticity mean better service? Does it mean better customer satisfaction scores or higher first call resolution? I am not sure. But I am going to explore these issues and hopefully ask some questions that will make people think and talk back to me.
I am looking forward to a long ride on the never ending Ferris Wheel that is customer service!
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