The Future Can’t be Bright if You’re Working in the Dark
I received an email from a company called Planet Feedback. They provided a
list of the
top 50 companies as
rated by their customers. I repeat, as rated by
their customers.
It made me stop and think about my own customers. If they were asked to
rate the companies they do business with based on their customer service,
would I be in the top 5? Any ranking higher than that and I’m not even in the
top 10%.
Are you aware of how your customers feel about your level of service? If
not, you may be losing customers because of behaviors or a lack of skills that
could easily be rectified.
Customers can be your best critics
. The challenge
we face is that most of us do not take the time to let someone know when we
are unhappy with the way we have been treated. Instead, we harbor the
resentment and at some point may choose to simply take our business elsewhere.
Customers choose to do business with you because they need you to provide a
service for them. It is important to not lose sight of the fact that, unless
you are one of the lucky who is in a market without competition,
customers make the choice
to do business with you, or with your competition. Therefore it is imperative
that you understand what your customers expect from you.
The challenge we all face is that most customers have a whole set of
requirements that they expect you to meet - most don’t vocalize their
requirements and needs. In addition,
most customers are not quick to complain.
For every person who complains, 26 do not. It’s the silent majority that can
be most damaging.
It’s critical that customers feel comfortable voicing a complaint.
Otherwise you do not have the opportunity to earn back their support or
identify opportunities for improvement in your own company.
It is important that you listen to what your customers are really saying
and to understand what they expect of you. If you could
meet and exceed customer expectations,
customer and employee satisfaction would skyrocket!
This impact goes directly to your bottom line!
So what are some of the common customer irritants?
- Forgetting to use a customer’s name even though he comes to your business
frequently
- Asking customers for information they already gave you
- Failing to acknowledge customers when they walk in to make a payment
- Sticking to the rules no matter what makes sense in the situation
- Being transferred from person to person
- Using technical jargon that is not familiar to your customer
- Not thanking the customer for calling
Most of these irritants can be easily eliminated with just a few simple
strategies:
Create the culture you desire:
Most employees
are willing to do what is asked of them so long as it is reasonable and they
have the skills to perform the job.
How clear are your
standards
on what behaviors and attitudes are acceptable?
Is every member of your management team emulating these behaviors? There is
nothing more frustrating than a grumpy boss coming down on an employee for
having a poor attitude with a customer. What an oxymoron!
The old adage of ‘walk your talk’ demonstrates that your culture is more
than just lip service.
Empower your staff:
Knowledge is power. The
more your employees understand about your company, your philosophies,
marketing strategies and goals, the more effective they will be in delivering
the level of service you desire.
Have you ever
shared with your
employees the dollar value of an average customer?
Do your employees understand exactly what the financial loss is to your
company if their behaviors are such that they drive a customer away?
Do they know the
cost to
acquire a new customer? Perhaps if they
understood what it cost to acquire a new customer, they might be more apt to
work to keep an existing customer.
It goes without saying that the more knowledge an employee has about their
job function, the more effective they can be in their job. Take a close look
at your systems and processes so that you can strive to
empower and educate employees to handle
a customer from start to finish. Obviously this
doesn’t work with every interaction, but the less a customer is “passed off”
the happier he will be.
The vast majority of employees want to do a good job. So in the process of
creating a culture that breeds customer satisfaction, one side benefit is that
you will also breed employee satisfaction through employee empowerment. People
love to perform and meet expectations. Make sure they understand your
expectations.
Skill development:
Most utilities do an
adequate job of teaching the basics of any given job. The technical aspect is
easy to define and teach.
But are you missing the boat on training your staff to demonstrate the
skills with which to exceed customer expectations? Unfortunately, a lot of us
have never been taught these behaviors. So even though we may understand the
technicalities of our job,
if we
don’t understand the basics of human relationships (that is what customer
service is all about!) then we’re only half prepared to do the job.
Coaching:
Communication is the key to
success. It is imperative that both employees and managers have a clear
understanding of their performance requirements and expectations.
Managers need to
support the
efforts of their staff to demonstrate the desired actions and behaviors.
One-on-one discussions of what one is doing well and where one needs to
improve can prove invaluable if handled appropriately.
Recognition:
Rewarding and recognizing the
behaviors you desire is one of the quickest paths to obtaining consistent
quality performance. Research proves that money is not always the top
motivator. Most of us want to make a contribution to our company and to feel
like we are valued. Being
recognized for one’s contributions and value develops an inner pride and
desire for even greater and better performance.
While reinforcement of appropriate behaviors is critical to achieving the
culture of service you desire, modifying inappropriate behaviors is equally
important. Tremendous results can be achieved if coaching and recognition go
hand-in-hand. .
Again, it all comes down to our ability to communicate - both with our
customers as well as our employees.
Does your staff possess the knowledge and skills to function in the dark or
in the light? Whichever the answer, that is your company’s path!
