It’s interesting to me that every time I read articles and newsletters about leadership, I find references to how true leaders treat their employees with respect and dignity, value their opinions, and ask for their feedback. When we feel treated fairly, we are better disposed towards others. A company culture spills onto the experience you have of its customer service.
When the whole organization stands behind the people who have direct contact with customers, you can tell the difference. Two of the companies I wrote about in previous posts, ING Direct and the risk management consulting firm, are examples of organizations that stand behind their promise to customers. Other organizations sort of get it, but fail to recognize when they have a good deal going.
How do you recognize a good deal when you have it?
She is that customer service rep who will bug you in the hallway and follow you into your office until you give her an answer. That might be quite annoying at times, but remember: she is representing your customer. She has promised to get back to them with an answer and she will. Period. And, by they way, be prepared to negotiate with her because she’ll do her best to get what the customer wants.
She is a customer service champ. Do you want to hire her? Here are her characteristics:
- She has specific ideas of how to improve internal processes to provide a faster response to your customers.
- She can describe to you in detail what good service means to your customers.
- She can enroll everyone in the organization to help her provide your customers with a superior experience.
What do you need to do to find her inside your organization? Look for the one who shows commitment, creativity, and listening skills -- now go ahead and reward her. Note that I wrote commitment, and that is very different from compliance. And remember I wrote she might already be in your employ, yet you failed to recognize it.
Do you know how many orders companies lose because their calls are passed around from person to person, from department to department? That’s what I thought. Now if you really think you want a customer service champ, look inside first. If you cannot find her, ask yourself how you reward and recognize those who go whole hog for customers.
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • ConversationAgent@gmail.com • www.conversationagent.com
Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, Valeria Maltoni, Philadelphia, ING Group NV |
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 8 Total
March 8, 2007 at 12:22pm by Marcus Connelly
Excellent points! Many managers forget that their positions exist by customer discretion, and without their open pocketbooks they would be out on the street (where many belong...)
March 8, 2007 at 1:02pm by Pete
I agree, this is something that those of us in the service industry need to understand and remind ourselves of on a daily basis...
March 8, 2007 at 1:29pm by Marisa
Great Article, But.... there is a balance that needs to be struck between doing the best for the company & doing what's best for the Customer... it's easier to work for excellant firms with high product standards that usually translates to happy & effective CSR's who value thier positions as Agents. Companies with Lower standards of excellance do not want excellant CSRs.
March 8, 2007 at 3:20pm by Valeria Maltoni
This is one piece of running a great organization. It is key to have products and services that meet customers’ wants and needs. And when a company focuses on making that product and service work well, it becomes easier to have a happy customer service group.
March 8, 2007 at 4:01pm by Becky Carroll
Thanks for this post, Valerie. It is indeed one piece of running a great organization, but it is a vital piece that too many companies put on the back burner as merely an expense.
The type of employee you describe is most likely that way in spite of company guidelines and reward structures. But she won't stay around forever; she will go elsewhere to be appreciated and to make an impact.
March 8, 2007 at 4:39pm by Valeria Maltoni
Dear Becky:
My inspiration is purely from real life examples. I do wonder sometimes if enough companies appreciate what employees do for the business, or maybe just see what the more promotional types do to look good. The purpose in this forum is to illuminate the issues and sometimes shine the light on not so good experiences so we can learn from them.
March 8, 2007 at 7:28pm by Marvin
This is what I have been thinking about several months.
In retail service there are three sides of the "customer service" influence.
First, we are told to give good service. We always attempt to do this, and customers depend on it.
Second, sales departments design advertisements (and coupons) trying to sell more. They do sell more, but many are despicable. "Buy one, get one free" makes many customers angry, for example. The primary cause is "FREE" in large letters, the rest much smaller. The largest word MUST be available by ignoring all the rest.
Third, another department has a long list of tasks to be done, for which even half are not possible to be done well in the time given. This means most employees work as fast as they can. The faster ANYONE works, the more mistakes are made and far less time and attention can be made with customers. (This is because of too few employees designed to cut labor cost to keep prices down.)
If customers are treated well, the employee who does this is criticized by the other department for not finishing a task list.
Managers where I work treat me very well, because I understand the problems and mistakes, and try to help others complete them, which means I can hardly ever finish mine, but no one complains. When I started this procedure, I began to see how my task list is greatly reduced or eleminated each day. I guess mananagers figure out I know what to do without anyone telling me.
Just a thought.
marvin
March 9, 2007 at 10:28am by Valeria Maltoni
Marvin:
Thank you for weighing in the issue with your experience. As you point out, prioritization is an issue in organizations, especially when we're wrestling with fewer resources.
Retail is a highly competitive environment. Your managers are seeing the results from your hard work and let you focus on the right things: helping customers.