basictraining
seek, as when Ford Credit mailed customers in Florida pay-ment-forgiveness notices after the 2004 hurricanes. They
empower employees at all levels to fix problems and correct
errors and omissions. They focus on overall results—and the
value of “customers for life” rather than on the cost of a single event or solution. They treat customer service as an
investment, not a cost, and understand that customer service
is a differentiator and competitive advantage.
Does this pay off in today’s dog-eat-dog world? Some
research indicates that customer service leaders enjoy bet-ter-than-average stock price performance. Think about
some recognized leaders, the image conjured up by the
name, and the quality of experience you’ve had with them:
Infiniti in automobiles, Ritz-Carlton in hospitality,
Nordstrom in retail, L.L.Bean in consumer-direct. Then
think about how most people feel about the legacy airlines.
Customers at all levels can tell the difference between those
who talk the talk and those who walk the walk.
Consider the customer, then invest
The customer service all-stars also consider how changes in
business practices will affect their customers. Well-designed
technology, for example, can leverage the human investment in customer service. But poorly designed Web sites
and automated menus can sabotage everything you’re try-
ing to accomplish. Before investing in a particular piece of
technological wizardry, figure out what you want it to
accomplish. Is it to reduce labor costs? Handle the easy,
routine stuff in order to free up skilled humans for the sensitive and difficult issues? Increase responsiveness and augment other information and service channels? Or—and it
really seems this way sometimes—is it to provide the
appearance of a customer service commitment without
investing in substance and reality?
Off-center technology includes Web sites that are organized logically (to a technology professional, anyway) but are
not aligned with customer behavior; sites that are difficult
to navigate; sites with rigid search capability; menus that
don’t raise the most common options immediately, regardless of their “logical” positioning or sequence; and menus
that don’t offer an avenue for all possible options.
Offshoring is another decision to approach with care. Its
relatively low cost is seductive, for sure. And there are real
issues domestically in finding qualified and motivated staff
at any cost. But anyone considering an offshore solution for
elements of the customer service equation must determine
customers’ sensitivity to the dynamics of problem solving
with someone with a different cultural background. There
is also the question of when spoken English may not be
perceived to be English—on either side of the exchange.
Finally, there is the tragedy of enterprises that are committed to customer service, are willing to spend money on it, but
are tone-deaf regarding what customer service truly is.
Misdirected customer service can be worse than bad customer
service. Customer service is crucial, yes, but you can go too far.
Ask yourself these questions. How much service should you
lavish on “C” customers, for instance? Do you need to deliver
the next day to customers who would be thrilled to get things
in two or more days? What is the point of “delighting” customers who are buying commodities on price alone? Who has
the courage, and the wisdom, to tell the customer he or she is
wrong, and that there’s money to be made doing things a different way? Have you met the basics of service before striving
to “exceed the customer’s expectations”?
Do take time to consider the importance of satisfying
customers in all phases of the supply chain. It’s what we are
here for, and serving customers in all dimensions of a commercial relationship can help to fulfill all of our core reasons for being in business.
In their 2006 book, Satisfaction: How Every Great
Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, authors Chris
Denove and James D. Power IV echo many of our contentions. Most significantly, they argue that there is a clear
link between customer satisfaction and profitability. Simply
put, the bottom line is that customer service is all about,
well, the bottom line.
Art Van Bodegraven, partner at The Progress Group, may be reached at (614) 336-0346
or avan@theprogressgroup.com. Kenneth B. Ackerman, president of The Ackerman
Company, can be reached at (614) 488-3165 or ken@warehousing-forum.com.
