Understanding the Problem
I’ve been in correspondence for some time with one of my service providers about a problem I’ve been having with their service. To be fair, the problem doesn’t seem to be completely under their control as they rely on another party to provide part of the service.
I first reported the problem in mid-May and have only just been advised that it has been resolved (and this after finding out that my provider’s first request to their third party seemed to have “dropped off the radar” in August). I asked my provider if they could explain what had caused the problem and how to avoid future repetitions. The response was that “the Technical Unit” (not sure if this meant their own unit or that of the third-party provider) had advised it had been resolved.
Part of dealing with customers is that they will, inevitably, have problems with our products or services, no matter how “watertight” we try to make our processes, instruction manuals and explanations. As humans, we all perceive things in different ways (I’m as guilty of this as anyone). Our first duty, when solving a problem is to understand it – and from the customer’s point of view. This means getting our customer to explain what has happened, what they did (if anything) and what any current manifestations of the problem are.
Next, we go into examining the potential causes of said problem. The more experience we gain at work, the more we understand what can go wrong and how. Otherwise, we refer to our experienced colleagues, our manager or to a specialist “technical support” team.
We can then suggest “fixes” to put the customer’s problem right. As we understand the problem and what caused it, we will remember this in the future, meaning fewer delays in resolving customer problems and happier customers as a result.
The more we can understand how things work (and therefore go wrong), the more we can help our customers and make our organisations “look good”.
I’ve 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 provide 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: Crisis Management, Customer Care, Leadership, Selling
What it Takes to Keep Going
We’re still reeling from the impact of COVID-19. Some countries are experiencing fresh outbreaks, others are seeing “second waves”. Businesses, governments, schools, families and our way of life have all been affected. The aviation industry is on its proverbial knees, whilst some countries can’t get enough equipment to help them combat the pandemic.
What made me stop and think was how luck my own business has been. Our work lends itself quite well to dealing remotely with others (occasionally, we need to have face-to-face meetings, but that can be done). We’re based in a country that has been incredibly successful in combatting COVID. Our Minister of Health closed borders stopped travel into and out of the country at first, and then instituted rigorous quarantine procedures for anyone returning or travelling in for vital reasons (e.g. re-joining family, returning home after visiting overseas).
Not all businesses will have been so lucky. Those that depend on a flow of people (e.g. the travel and tourism industry) are in a bad state.
What would other businesses need to have even a fighting chance of keeping their heads above water. In some cases, vast reserves of cash to weather the proverbial storm for up to two years. In others, it’s a case of certain stocks (e.g. PPE) and assured supply chains.
What processes do we need? Can we be assured of vital staff (if, say, we need people taking orders, picking stocks off shelves or replenishing vending machines)?
Who are our “critical people”? These are the ones we must have available to do what is needed. For many countries, these were trained medical staff (with sufficient supplies of PPE). For businesses, it may be the ones who answer technical questions by phone or email (IT support, for example).
The pandemic has shown how much many of us rely on “just in time” delivery, or online ordering. How do we make sure in future that we can manage? What will you do in your business? What impact will it have on customer relations, staff retention, goodwill and profitability?
Some businesses seem to be using the pandemic as an excuse to provide sub-standard service (one of my banks is in this category). We can either use COVID as an excuse, or as a reason to shine. I know what I’m aiming for.
I’ve 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 provide 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: Crisis Management, Customer Care, Financial, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
Power Out
How prepared are we for even minor inconveniences, let alone major disasters? I’ve just seen a post by a friend in Australia about the power going out in their street and the reactions are what I can only describe as “First World problems”.
Comments like:
It has come back - funny how we take so many things for granted!
I was in the midst of a zoom meeting which kept losing connection due to the hotspot! Then on the phone before the lights came on! Too funny 😂 can’t believe how much we depend on our utilities!
Same in [name of neighbourhood] ...we were out for an hour only, so got to cook dinner still once it came back on.
… we had to get takeaway and all panicking - uni assignment due etc.
Power cuts are the norm in some countries and areas and people deal with them. Yes, it’s inconvenient if we lose electricity just as we’re cooking dinner, or in the middle of uploading an assignment to our university portal, but it’s not the end of the world as we know it…
Earlier this year, I wrote about my experiences as a young child growing up in Karachi in the 60s. Both my parents had grown up during the years of World War II (my father spent his teenage years as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese in China) and were used to “inconvenience”. We had supplies in the house “just in case” and knew what to do.
Again, I ask, “What have you got in the house in case you lose power?” (say for 12 hours, a day, two days)? Can you:
- Light the house at night?
- Prepare a hot meal?
- Perform basic personal hygiene functions?
- Stay cool/warm depending on the season?
It doesn’t cost much to invest in a gas-powered camping stove, candles, a few battery- or solar-powered lamps and suitable clothing. We can buy tinned foods and detergent for washing clothes by hand at the supermarket. Heat can be obtained from fires (if you have an open fireplace at home) or, if you need to cool down, from battery-operated fans. Camping heaters are available, but these are often designed for use only in well-ventilated environments or outdoors. We can ow buy rechargeable batteries in common shapes and sizes along with solar panels to charge them.
The more ambitious could invest in a generator to power lights, heating/air-conditioning and refrigerator. Power cuts were common enough when I lived in The Bahamas in the mid-2000s that those who could had generators that turned on automatically when mains power went down. In the UK, my father bought a generator after the “great storm” of 1987 (and, ironically, never needed it after that). Remember though, buying a generator means servicing and fuel costs as well.
So, all we need to worry about is that half-cooked dinner, the assignment that we were uploading when the power went off, or the Zoom conference call that was interrupted. Mobile phones can be turned into temporary “hotspots” (assuming the power to our Internet Service Providers is still there) until we can get through the task in hand.
It’s all “small stuff” compared with what some go through as part of everyday life, but our “one-stop shopping” world has made us complacent.
I’ve 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 provide 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: Crisis Management, Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
