The Common Man Blog
Blog
The Service Story
So, I was in an accident a few weeks ago. No worries, I’m fine. My car, however, is not. And, as I’ve been searching for a new one, I’ve found myself going beyond price and car safety ratings research. I’ve been scouring the Internet for customer feedback—about the car, about dealerships where they bought the car, about maintenance to the car, etc. It’s almost addictive because with the onslaught of blogs, there is a plethora of information out there. Most importantly, I’m finding out a lot more about the car than I would have had I just done the traditional car and dealership research. Customer feedback is where the truth is.
Throughout this process, I’ve been thinking more and more about the importance of customer and client feedback to prospects. If you are a company, you need to be telling your service story through your customers/clients. If you are a potential customer/client, you need to be listening to these service stories and, if they are unavailable, consider taking your business elsewhere. There’s something strange about an organization that can’t at least give you a list of references. If you are a current, satisfied client/consumer, you need to be willing to tell your story. We all take time to fill out complaint cards; very rarely do we take the time to leave a positive note for a company that has impressed us.
Optimal conducts a client survey every 6 months. We do what many companies do—ask about problems, concerns, areas of improvement, etc. The next one we send out, I think we are going to add questions that ask about positive service experiences. Give our clients a chance to tell their service story. I know our prospects will be out there listening.
I want to hear from you! Respond to one, all or none of the questions below. I just want to hear your thoughts! And, if you post a response, be sure to check back for a reply!
· Do you agree? Do you think most consumers search for others’ end-user experience before making a purchase?
· Which company tells their service story especially well? Which one does it poorly?
· As a consumer, would you be willing to take the time to tell your service story if an organization impressed you?
Post your response!
0 Comments
A Brutal Self-Critique = Better Service
A client just cancelled on us. In fact, they fired us. Why? Because we provided bad service. Did we take responsibility for the mess-ups we made? Yes. Did we try to salvage the relationship? Yes. Was it enough? No. If I were the client, I would’ve fired us too. Think that is a bit brutally honest for the service king of Optimal? Get used to it—being brutally honest is the only way to truly create and implement the best service processes.
At around the same time as the aforementioned firing, I read an article in the May issue of Business Week that discussed how Marvin R. Ellison, Home Depot’s newly-appointed executive vice-president of U.S. stores, is cutting through corporate clutter to make customer service a priority. His promotion is not a coincidence; according to the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, Home Depot has been among the worst-performing retailers over the past several years. Ellison has made it his goal to remove the retailer from this list. He has changed performance reviews so store employees are evaluated almost entirely on customer service, severely slashed corporate email clutter, and enforced a practice called "power hours"—when employees are supposed to do nothing but serve customers.
Ellison (and his ideas) rose to the top because Home Depot’s leadership team was honest with themselves. They were losing money and realized customer service was the missing link. Similarly, losing this client made the Optimal leadership team think. Because our culture operates on an honor system, we were counting on our team to provide the best— all the time. This was not realistic; without feedback, employees become complacent because they have no way to adjust or improve their behaviors. So, we hired Todd, our engineering services manager. His job? To be brutally honest, to be the “bad guy.” He evaluates every engineer-client relationship—from the interaction to the documentation to the solutions implemented—from a service perspective. He is instructed to try as hard as he can to find something wrong. Once the client’s service audit has been completed, Todd generates a report with the findings and recommendations. Areas of weakness are identified and addressed. If significant improvement is not made, termination occurs. Sounds tough, right? It has to be. Exceptional service does not occur without honesty—honesty with employees, honesty with clients, and, most importantly, honesty with yourself.
I want to hear from you! Respond to one, all or none of the questions below. I just want to hear your thoughts! And, if you post a response, be sure to check back for a reply!
· What do you think of the service audit employee idea? Will it help Optimal to better serve their clients or not?
· What does having an internal “auditor” do to the morale of the company? Improvement? Decline?
· Can you think of another company that has taken a more critical eye toward service? Has it benefitted consumers and/or the organization’s bottom line?
Post your response!
0 Comments
The List of Losers and Why They Still Win
Well, it just came out—MSN Money’s “Customer Service Hall of Shame”. Check it out; you may be surprised—not by the “winners” (losers) that made the top 10 list, but by the fact that these companies are still in business. Most are even profiting. That made me think—what makes customers come back to poor service? Is it a psychological problem? Are they suffering from battered customer syndrome? Are they so used to the mistreatment that it becomes their new normal?
Read more: The List of Losers and Why They Still Win
1 Comments
If You Bring It, They Will Stay
I was on my way to a client meeting the other day and one of Optimal’s client service executives said to me, “I know this client needs X technology to function at their best but I’m afraid to recommend it because I know they don’t have the money.” I thought about this for a bit…and went into the client meeting. You know what the client told me? “Please don’t be afraid to continue recommending things to us just because the economy is bad.” After I had checked my shirt for a wire (just kidding), I thought about what she said…and completely agreed. After all, clients are with us because of the value we provide. Our differentiating factor is our proactive approach to technology management. It isn’t our job to decide what clients can or cannot afford; it is our job to continue to recommend the technology that will best serve their organization and make their lives easier. If we continue to bring the best service, our clients will stay with us.
Read more: If You Bring It, They Will Stay
2 Comments
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
You’ve heard it a thousand times in a thousand different contexts: “Walk a mile in their shoes.” And, while it immediately seems an adage only applicable to your personal realm, I want to urge you to consider it in a professional context. What if walking a mile in your clients’ shoes led to better service initiatives? What if it helped with client retention? The familiar saying seems a little more interesting now, doesn’t it?
Read more: Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
1 Comments
More Articles...
Page 4 of 10