Surface Ripples

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

posted by William Martin @ 08:26