Be Our Guest!

Thomas Peterson is quoted as saying ““The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.”

Think about how we treat our guest. We make sure the house is clean. We stock the bathroom with amenities and make sure we have good food on hand. We plan activities for them. And we do all of that before they arrive. When we finally get that knock on the door, we welcome them with open arms and a smile. If they have a request we didn’t anticipate, we do what we can to accommodate it. We do these things even when we aren’t crazy about the person visiting!

So what does this look like one the job. Well, the anticipation phase would require us anticipating the questions and requests that come in most often and preparing ourselves to answer them. This could mean everything from having the right software open and/or directions for how to complete a task to rehearsing what you’ll say when the system is down or running poorly. It may even involve finding other ways to complete a task.

We also want to be prepared to answer that ringing phone with the same enthusiasm we would answer the door for a guest. Okay, we are humans not robots so maybe we aren’t quite THAT enthusiastic. However, we always want to be professional and courteous. And for goodness sake, we never want to answer the phone as if we are dreading that visit!

The second half of his statement involves treating employees like people. People are people and not machines. This means, from a management perspective, expecting bad days … they happen. People get sick, the have emergencies and sometimes they just get up on the wrong side of the bed. This doesn’t excuse poor treatment of customers, but in these cases a little bit of understanding can go a long way.

Also when it comes to improving production remember the horse. There is a carrot as well as a stick. Constantly cracking the whip and making all sorts of demands will only go so far. Use the carrot sometimes. This doesn’t always mean a monetary reward. It could mean stopping by and asking someone how things are going or sending an email to let people know how well someone is doing or of a particularly great customer service experience they created.

For co-workers, it means that you don’t have to love or even like all of your co-workers but that you treat them with the respect you would like to be treated with. Keep gossip about co-workers to a minimum as well as complaints. Likewise, give the kind of help to your teammates that you’d like to receive.

Retail Chains with the Best Customer Service

This article is a reprint of from Barbara Farfan of About.com. Click here for the entire article.

What make a good customer experience? According to the Temkin Group research and consulting firm, it's a combination of three aspects of a customer's interaction with a company - functional, accessible, and emotional. The annual Best Customer Experience ranking list is based on these three aspects of the customer experience. In 2013 customer rating and rankings reveal that in 2013 they viewed their experiences with retail grocery store chains Publix, Trader Joe's, Aldi, and fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A to be better than their experiences with Amazon.com. This is significant since Amazon.com and its leader Jeff Bezos are well known for an almost fanaticalcustomer satisfaction commitment. 

When consumers are asked just three questions about their latest interaction with a company, it can be determined how they rate their experience with that company for functional (completely failed to completely successful), accessibility (very difficult to very easy), and emotional impact (upset to delighted). Individual opinions are averaged and a customer experience ranking is obtained based on the average customer scores. 

Even though the 2013 Temkin Customer Experience rankings included ratings of companies from 19 different industries, it is clear that the masters of customer experience in U.S. business is the retail industry (which includes restaurants, automobiles dealers, and companies with significant retail operations). Of the top 20 companies that consumers rated as having the best customer experience, 19 of them are retail companies. Banks, insurance companies, financial services, wireless providers, TV services, computer manufacturers, and car rental companies crowd the bottom end of the customer experience rankings. As in 2012, of the companies that are strictly retailing companies, RadioShack received the lowest customer experience ratings from retail customers. 

What follows is a list of the retail companies that were rated by consumers for customer experience in the 2013 ranking report. The list is arranged according to the customer experience ranking each company received, when compared to all companies rated. The number in the left column is the ranking number, out of a total of 246 companies. (The companies sharing ranking numbers received the same average ratings from the customers surveyed.) 

Which retail chains provide the best experience to their customers? The ones that can best answer that question are the customers themselves, which they do each year in a customer experience survey conducted by Temkin Group research and consulting firm. Customers have rated and ranked Aldi, Amazon, Publix, San’s and HEB as multi-year customer experience bests and Dell, AT&T, Ford, and RadioShack as multi-year customer experience worsts. 

By comparing customer experience rankings from 2011, 2012, and 2013, it’s possible to see the trends of individual retailers as viewed by the customers they serve. What follows is a multi-year customer experience comparison of all retail chains that were included in the annual Temkin research from 2011 to 2013. The numbers to the right of the dates are the ranking numbers that each retail company was given based on the ratings of emotion, function and accessibility provided by their customers compared to all other retail companies, as well as companies from other industries. 

1       Publix 
2      Trader Joe's 
3      Aldi 
3      Chick-fil-A 
5      Amazon.com 
5      Sam's Club 
7      H.E.B. 
7      Dunkin' Donuts 
5      Save-a-Lot 
7      Sonic Drive-In 

The Internet: Customer Service Friend AND Foe

It used to be that customers relied on word-of-mouth to share their customer service experiences (good and bad). If it was really good or bad, a small segment of the population would sit down and write a letter. Nowadays it’s easy for customers to share their experiences and they are sharing!

From choosing an apartment to finding a washing machine repair to investigating my mortgage company, there are a number of sites, message boards and forums, devoted to chronicling the customer experience. 

Human nature says that people will share a bad experience much more often than they will a good one and that fact is backed up when I look at many customer-fueled sites. However, when reviewing customer responses, I keep a few things in mind.

Many negative reviewers are unnecessarily harsh. They blow one aspect of an overall good experience way out of proportion. I’ve read 2-star restaurant reviews that complain about slow service even though later in the review they reveal that food was good and the meal was comped. The anger comes from the fact that the whole bill wasn’t comped!

I’m also looking for a little balance. I’m concerned when there are no good reviews or experiences at all. I’m also weary when out of a litany of bad reviews, there are sparkling five-star reviews that acknowledge no imperfections or even hint at the slightest problem. Those are usually written by staff!

I also look for balance within a review. When a bad review acknowledges that at least the staff was friendly or the room was clean, is more likely to be accurate. Normally, there is a little good with the bad.

Details help as well. I had a horrible experience attempting to refinance my mortgage. When I went on line, I was shocked at what I found. There were several sites devoted to the horror this company had caused others. What was shocking was their level of detail … and the fact that the details of their experience mirrored mine!

Blogs, message boards, Facebook fan pages, Twitter, bad service gets out now faster than ever … and it isn’t always fair or accurate but it’s out there. Every customer contact has the ability to live in perpetuity in the Internet. Keep that in mind as you engage your customer.

Winning Three Times Over!

This weekend, I attended the Southern Women’s Show for the first time. It was great! There were speakers, fashion shows, cooking demos and a ton of booths and deals to be had.

As my friends and I moved from booth to booth, we came across one that sold a steamer that worked better than an iron. As we watched the demo, it easily removed wrinkles from a variety of fabrics – but that wasn’t all! There was an attachment that allowed the steam iron to be used for a steaming facial. Beautifully wrinkle-free clothes and a beautiful face, who could ask for more?

One of my friends was sold. As she pulled out her credit card, another woman approached the demonstrator. She pulled out her steam iron and announced rather abruptly that it did not work. My friend kept her credit card in hand.

The demonstrator didn’t bat an eyelash. She didn’t get annoyed. She didn’t get flustered. She didn’t show any frustration or aggravation. She began removing the ‘defective’ iron from the box. She said with confidence that she’d been with the company for eight years and a defective iron was rare. However, if it was actually defective, she’d replace it immediately.

As she filled it with water, all of us stood there waiting to see what happened. After it was filled with water, we waited. She continued to talk about the product and why some people encounter problems. She also threw in a few more selling points in the process.

Finally, she brought out another wrinkled shirt and using the ‘defective’ iron, she easily removed the wrinkles.

It worked.

The woman with the problem was pleased. My friend handed over her credit card and made the purchase. At no time were there any elevated emotions, hurt feelings or bruised egos.

Here is what I noticed about the woman doing the demonstration:

1. She had confidence in her product. She was sure, right out of the gate, that the product was not defective.

2. She knew common complaints or issues with the product. As she spoke to us, she asked the dissatisfied customer if she had changed the type of water used or how much water she used. Finally, she asked how long she had waited for the product to warm up. It turns out that she had not waited the requisite period of time for the iron to heat up.

3. She remained upbeat. She did not allow the disgruntled customer to shake her demeanor.

4. She quickly gave two alternatives: either it would work or she would immediately replace it.

In the end, the dissatisfied customer was satisfied and the new customer (my friend) was even more excited about making her purchase.

I call that a win-win and win!

You Don’t Have to Take It!

Abusive customers are the ones who make a CSR’s job truly difficult. They’ve crossed the line from just angry to inappropriate and abusive. They may even curse, threaten or become crude, but wait a minute. You don’t have to take that.

Because many customers truly believe that they are always right, a few feel entitled to treat the CSR in a way that is demeaning and abusive. This is not the case and this is never acceptable.

If you come across a customer who refuses to calm down and listen and who insists on being rude, crude and disrespectful, you do have rights. Approach them as you would an angry customer, letting them vent, and then providing a solution in a calm and respectful manner. Most will respond favorably but some will continue to escalate their anger and cross the line.

If that happens, still being calm, tell them that you want to help them but only if they calm down and refrain from using abusive and threatening language. Let them know that you cannot continue a conversation with someone who insists on using that kind of language and tone. Many times, they start to calm down a bit … but if they don’t.

If they continue to rant and rage after you have asked them specifically not to, make a warm transfer to a supervisor. Don’t transfer blindly, but let the caller know you are transferring them to a supervisor then put them on hold, contact the supervisor and let them know exactly what is going on and the demeanor of the caller. Often, knowing that their call has been escalated is enough to make them take it down a notch.

If the supervisor is unavailable and the abusive caller shows no sign of stopping, let him know you are happy to help him when he’s calmed down but you cannot work with someone who insists on exhibiting that kind of behavior or using that kind of language. Let them know that you’ll be glad to help him when he’s willing to speak with you in a reasonable manner. Finally don’t just hang up, let him know that you are going to release the call.

Callers will exhibit a range of emotions from emotional and upset to angry to frustrated, and that is fine. As a customer service professional, you are trained to handle those difficult callers. But as a professional and as a human being in general, you do not have to be subjected to abusive and threatening behavior.

Favorite Customer Service Quotes

In order to ease you back into your work week after a long weekend, here are some of my favorite customer service quotes.

• “To my customer: I may not have the answer, but I'll find it. I may not have the time, but I'll make it. I may not be the biggest, but I'll be the most committed to your success.” ~ Unknown
• “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” ~ Sam Walton
• "It is not enough to give the customer excellent service. You must subtly make him aware of the great service he is getting.” – Unknown
• “Never underestimate the power of the irate customer.” – Unknown
• "The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” – Peter F. Drucker
• “When the customer comes first, the customer will last” ~ Robert Half
• “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” ~ Bill Gates
• “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.” ~ Henry Ford
• “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” ~ Micahel Leboeuf
• “If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.” ~ Ray Kroc
• “The golden rule for every business man is this: ''Put yourself in your customer's place.'' ~ Orison Swett Marden
• “The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.” ~ Thomas J. Peters

When the Customer is Wrong

Unfortunately, the mantra that the customer is always right has been ingrained into our subconscious. The truth of the matter is, for a variety of reasons, the customer is sometimes wrong. Customers might have somehow received the wrong information, overlooked the fine print, misinterpreted something, and the list goes on. For whatever reason, they are disappointed, frustrated and sometimes downright angry that things didn’t go the way they anticipated, so what do you do?

1. Don’t call them ‘wrong’

Even if they are, you don’t say, “You’re wrong.” It is too blatant and too harsh. Apologize for any misunderstanding and offer to clear up the situation.

2. Don’t Give In

It’s easy, especially when the caller is upset or frustrated, to get upset and frustrated right back, but try not to. Stay on an even keel and try not to let their emotions rub off on you. If you must, put them on hold and count to ten before returning to the call (that’s 10 not 100! LOL!). A lot of times, if you let them vent for a minute, they’ll calm down and become a little more rational.

3. Do Explain the Correct Policy or Procedure

If they have the information partially correct, start with the part that they got right and then move into correcting the wrong part. If they don’t have it right at all, offer them the correct information in a calm and pleasant tone (not at all sarcastic).

4. Escalate If Necessary

A lot of people once they understand will acquiesce. However, there are some people who will stick to their demands no matter what has been said. After you have done your best, escalate the call to a manager. Make sure you have covered all of your bases first and use this only as a last resort.

Putting the C-U-S-T-O-M-E-R in Customer Service

The customer service rep should strive to be...

Courteous – customer service representatives should be courteous, polite and otherwise pleasant to speak to. Courteous is a simple way to show respect.

Understanding – Listening and repeating back what was said is a simple way to show that you understand the customers concerns.

Satisfaction – Satisfaction should be the ultimate goal. The customer should hang up or walk away confident that their issues have been addressed and resolved. They should feel satisfied.

Time Sensitive – Time is of the essence. Address the customer’s concerns as quickly and completely as possible. Avoid long waits and hold times whenever possible.

Organization – Organization helps move the process along smoothly. Keep the items used most often closest to you. Keep any job aids or ‘cheat sheets’ close by so you can access them immediately.

Managing the situation – You are in control of the situation. You have the information the customer needs. You have the answer to the problem. You have the ability to control unruly customers.

Empathy – Acknowledge how the customer is feeling especially if they are emotional (angry, upset or annoyed). Don’t ignore their emotion and don’t give in to it either, but recognize their feelings.

Rapport – Connect and converse (briefly) with the customer. You are dealing with a real person, a little rapport goes a long way in creating excellent customer service.

Shuddering at Should

I have spent a lot of time volunteering at a local job readiness program. It has been an eye opening experience. So many people start the program without even having a proper interview outfit. When I talk to them, a lot of the behavior that keeps them from getting a job is justified with a should.

• It should not matter what I wear to an interview.
• It should not matter what my attitude is like if I can do the job.
• My speech should not matter.

The big bad truth of the matter is that those things matter and any good human resources professional or manager is looking at those behaviors and those very things will keep many people from landing a job ... especially a customer service job.

When putting together a strong customer service team, a manager is looking for people who carry themselves professionally, speak clearly, and who have a positive attitude. Anyone who lacks those three core attributes should not be working in customer service.

Professional demeanor: Looking people in the eye, showing up on time (or early), being prepared (with paper and pen), these are the signs employers are looking for. If someone cannot prepare for an interview, they won't be prepared on the job.

Speaking clearly: Imagine calling a doctor's office for test results or a bank to straighten out an issue and speaking with a representative who mumbled, talked too fast, and/or used a lot of slang. How confident would you be with that person on the other end of the line? Diction  makes a difference!

Positive Attitude: This is critical for a customer service representative. It goes beyond a smile. Does this person have a positive approach to problem solving. Drama is great on the stage or at the movies, but there is no room for drama on the job.

Being aware of what is essential helps on both ends. The interviewer knows what to look for and the interviewee knows what they need to do to land the job. Making the right decisions at this stage of the game is the difference between a good customer service team and one that will struggle. No amount of training can reboot a bad attitude or create a polished and professional demeanor.

Customer Service Training - For the Customer!

We all have customer service horror stories: surly customer service representatives, eternities spent on hold or being transferred a handful of times to people unable or unwilling to help. In that respect, we have all been there and we definitely know what kind of service we don’t want to receive. There is a clear need for customer service training. But, I have to wonder, if sometimes, we could use customer service training for the customer.

Customer service representatives have pretty stressful jobs and if we are honest, we know that we don’t always make it any easier for them. Just out of college, I worked briefly answering phones for a swanky hotel. I was routinely maligned and verbally abused. Of course, most guests were very nice but the ones who weren’t, left quite an impression!

I never understood why someone would think that yelling at me would compel me to give better service. In fact, it was just the opposite. I went out of my way to help those customers who genuinely wanted my help and were respectful. Those who weren’t ran into a lot more obstacles. Being nasty normally doesn’t work. Respect is a two-way street. If we expect to receive it, we should also give it.

Then there are times when we call in a perfectly respectful manner and receive rude treatment. I remember calling about a credit card statement once and getting a woman who was rude. I know I didn’t do anything to her and I told a little joke and her mood changed. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. But either way, I try not to take their attitude personally, and I also try not to respond to rudeness with more rudeness.

Sarcasm is an easy way to make a bad situation worse. I was not surprised when I read that a person who receives poor service shares the experience with at least 11 people. However, when that same person receives superior service, they share that experience with just four people.

We need to be more generous with our compliments. Offer a thank you to the person who retrieves your information quickly and courteously. Tip your server and tell him that he did a great job. A little courtesy goes a long way and who doesn't like it when their hard work and efforts are acknowledged?
Don’t keep great service a secret!