Apologise... Then Act
We’ve all been in this
situation: we call a “Customer Service Hotline” and are handled by a nice
person full of apologies and assurances that the problem will be solved. Then we wait…
And wait… And wait…
The point is that nothing
actually gets done. Whether it’s
because of a disconnect between the Customer Service Representative who takes
our call and the function, department, or section that actually has to fix the
problem, or because the “fixers” are already overwhelmed with fix-it requests,
or because of other causes we don't know.
Frankly, we don’t want to know either.
We just want our problem solved.
Part of customer retention is actually sorting out customers’
problems quickly and completely. We all
know that things go wrong; we don't like it when they do, but bad things
happen. What sets the leaders above the
“also rans” is how they sort things out. “We’re no worse than the rest” is not
an excuse…
This can range from a “no questions” returns/refund policy
to a visit by the appropriate technician to a personal call from someone with
the knowledge and authority to get
things done. The fact that anyone calls
back is enough to set that business apart from the competition.
If you want to stand above the competition, make sure that
your organisation is set up to act on
hearing that customers have a problem.
There must be a clear line of communication between:
- Customer Service Reps;
- “Fixers”;
- Product/service design teams.
Why the last? So that
if too many calls come in because of a
flaw in the product or service, the design team can fix it straight away and
reduce the chances of unhappy customers.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I 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. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Selling, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 11:05
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