Surface Ripples

The Cost of Getting it Wrong

My wife and I had an experience that just went to show what the costs of “getting it wrong” can be.

Without going into detail, we’d decided we needed to carry out a certain piece of admin which involved adding me to a bank account. My wife had called in advance to find out what documents were required and these we duly prepared.

On the day, we went to the bank with the documents we’ve been told to bring only to be told that two additional documents were needed.

No apology.  No acknowledgement that we had just spent an hour out of our business (total two full-time hours) to go there.  No suggestions of how to remedy the situation (that was left to my wife!)

We managed to catch the manager who spoke to the staff member with whom my wife had spoken before.  That person claimed they had tried to call my wife back to advise of the additional documentation needed but had not gone through.  To be fair, my wife had been somewhere where receiving calls was impossible, so if they had tried calling her at this time, they wouldn’t have succeeded.  However, the next day she was back and could’ve received calls.  They also had an email address which could’ve been used.  It wasn’t. 

The costs?  To the bank concerned, nothing in financial terms but a loss of faith in their professionalism. In fact, there will be a financial cost as we decided to move that particular part of business to a competitor… Oh, and a negative customer experience story to tell. 

To us?  As mentioned earlier, the time spent getting documents together, two hours away from our business at the bank (that cost can be quantified in financial terms) and general annoyance.  

The advantage, however, was that we now had valuable information on how that organisation did business.

“Getting it right” can be extremely challenging when one’s faced with staff turnover, changing regulations, and a host of other factors.  However, finding solutions to a problem that one has oneself caused is well within our control.  The first step would have been an apology (which we finally got an hour later, and grudgingly, from the manager).

It takes little effort to move one’s service standard from “mediocre” to “good”.  However, many organisations don’t realise that this is all it will take to differentiate themselves from their competition.  

As business leaders, our job’s to make sure that our services and products are the best they can be and that, if any problems arise, they are handled quickly, professionally and show the customer why they were right to do business with us.

I deliver change in markets ranging from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience 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. 

Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Selling

posted by William Martin @ 08:17