It's All About Expectations - Great Customer Care
I
recently commented in my monthly newsletter that complaints arise because a
product, service or their delivery didn’t meet expectations.
In
the case of a product that's faulty, it's understandable. You fix or
replace it. In the case of service, you find out what went wrong and
correct it. If someone was perceived as discourteous, you get the facts,
make a decision and apologise.
Interestingly,
what often sets expectations is price. The
higher the price, the higher the expectations, and the more likely people are
to find fault. Equally, if something is
cheap, people expect it to be less-than-perfect. There are businesses and products that receive
"rave reviews" from customers whose expectations were clearly
exceeded at every level. These aren't always the "expensive"
products or businesses, either.
Every
customer has expectations and reacts differently when those expectations are
exceeded or aren't met. In the first case, (if you're lucky) they tell
their friends or write a good review. In the case of disappointment, some
are cool and point out what went wrong in a calm and positive manner,
suggesting what could be done to improve. Others (and we've all had them)
"blow a gasket".
Expectations
are linked to emotions. Every time you
don't meet expectations, you make what is known as a withdrawal from the
"Emotional Bank Account" (I'll call it the "EBA" from now
on). Trouble is, you need a lot more deposits to cover even small
withdrawals.
If
you're selling to/serving a customer for the first time, the EBA balance is
zero. Every action that you take will make deposits or withdrawals; at
this key stage you need all the deposits you can make. Where you have a
high balance, customers tend to be more forgiving of errors. If you have a low
or negative balance, they aren't.
Some
businesses have "reputations" which already set expectations in
peoples' minds. If I were to compare Singapore's national carrier with low
cost airlines, you would be forgiven if you assumed that you could expect poor
service, late departures/arrivals and hidden charges from the latter.
Your expectations are already set. You would not expect this of
Singapore Airlines, so if it happens, you might react more strongly.
In
one South East Asian country, people have a Three-Letter Acronym which
starts with "TI..." and ends with the first letter of the country's
name. This is used when things go wrong (which they not infrequently do).
It suggests "Why did you get your expectations up? Of
COURSE things will go wrong. This is, after all [name of country] where
mistakes, broken promises and being let down are the order of the day."
How terrible that people should actually have such low expectations of a
country and its people.
In
one country where I used to work, my boss told me to lower my expectations.
That way, if things went right, it would be a pleasant surprise. It
may be good for one's blood pressure, but is this really the message that you
want put out about your country, business, product or service?
In answer,
the head of one of the low-cost airlines, when confronted by the high number of
customer complaints received, is reported to have answered "Well what do
you expect for a fiver?" He set expectations about his airline low
because it was cheap. Gerald Ratner lost his job because he described his
(cheap) goods as "cr-p". He basically insulted his customers -
something they didn't expect.
If
you were a customer of your business, what would you expect in terms of
product, service and delivery? Do you give that to your customers consistently?
Does it justify the price? Do people get pleasantly surprised
because they get such a great deal for (what they see as) such a low price?
The
questions that you need to ask are:
·
What do my customers expect?
·
How do I give it to them?
·
Am I giving it to them?
·
What more could I do?
Customers expect:
·
Polite and prompt service;
·
Staff who know about the products that they sell;
·
A willingness to “go the extra mile”.
How difficult is that to deliver?
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging”economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging”economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 17:15
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