Customer Service 2.0

I've been a customer service professional for nearly twenty years. Well, that's not accurate; I've been in the customer service field for that long. I would only say I've been professional about it for less than half that time. Providing the best customer service isn't a turn-key proposition for most people. The skills are developed over many years, after encountering an uncountable number of different situations and working in a variety of customer-related venues. For example, I've been a restaurant server and dining room host, a bell hop, a showroom manager and the manager of a customer service department in a manufacturing operation. Now I'm working the quintessential customer service department: Customer Solutions --- our fancy name for dispute resolutions. Call any of them what you will, they all have two things in common: the representative (also of any title flavor), and the customer.

The client is the reason any particular organization is able to be in business in the first place (yeah, even my keyboard just told me, "Duh"). But honestly; without them, any concern would cease to function. It sounds like such an obvious concept, but when you get right down to the basics, it is by far the most important. Without the customer, you would have no business; it seems like a no-brainer.

A Necessary Evil

So why then do we still find employees and whole organizations earning a reputation for being abrasive and unpleasant to do business with? One reason may be lack of morale. Good customer service starts deep within the company; and one way to achieve that goal is by first making the place feel like somewhere the employees want to be. If an employee is provided with support, the proper tools, a welcoming environment and empowerment, they are more likely to take ownership of their position and pride in their organization. Nothing supports an employee better than a strong backbone, which includes a two way street of respect.

Another might be that most organizations find customer service to be a "necessary evil", so to speak. Customer service doesn't generate tangible revenue for a company. You can't make it a line item in your budget; neither can you delete it from your inventory. But there it is; somehow being responsible for adding to your bottom line, or erasing it all together. If it's so obvious then that taking care of the customer is vital and integral to a business' success, why is there still such a disparity between great service and bad?

The Face of Bad Service

Sometimes bad service happens before it ever happens. That is to say, sometimes people in the industry are already so jaded and prepared for customers to be on the defensive that they are already hunkered down for confrontation. Some time ago I found online, an interesting list created by the manager of a nationwide car rental company. The list noted the problems this employee had with customers complaints, how idiotic they felt a customer could be and how most of the complaints were, in the writer's opinion, unfounded to begin with. I searched long and hard to find this again, and wish I could provide a link, because it showed just how dissatisfied this one manager was. Most of the problems the associate had with the customer complaints stemmed from a lack of knowledge on the customers' parts. But the biggest issue with the article was the shear abrasiveness of the author; the writer thought they were providing the public a service, while at the same time casting insults and generalizations that showed low morale and lack of empathy toward the clients.

Being on the inside, I'm at the same time more critical as well as forgiving of other people in my similar position. I tend to leave a larger than normal tip when restaurant service is just average, only because I'm sensitive how bad "bad" can be. At the same time, when customer service is obviously lower than that I or any of my coworkers would provide, I admit that I can be embarrassingly blunt.

My father passed away about 5 months ago and I found out about an insurance policy he left me, not as beneficiary, but as the insured. In order to get more information about the terms, I found that I had to take ownership of the policy. The first representative advised me to send a letter of request and wait about ten days; that would be it. After fourteen days, I called to check on my new life insurance only to find out that I had not completed the correct form found online and that the thing was about to lapse for non-payment, anyhow. I sent a check, found the online form and again, waited the two working weeks I was told I would need. Again, I called in order to be misinformed one more time. I soon discovered that the policy was actually my Mom's (it reverted to her as the widow), that she would need to complete the ownership change forms and that there would be another two week wait. This happened once more, when we found out that my Mom was not the owner, since Claims had assigned the policy to my father's non-existent estate. To make matters worse, when I finally found a sympathetic dispute resolution person (at last, a kindred soul ), she never returned the phone calls she promised she would not miss.

Empowerment

When speaking of impeccable guest service, one name that gets repeated quite often is the Disney organization. Many companies use a model similar to the Disney philosophy when structuring their own client service programs. Even more organizations and colleges send their own employees and students to observe and work within the Disney establishment. More often than not, the Mouse gets it right the first time, and a big part of that is due to the empowerment afforded to Disney Cast Members (Mickey feels his 'employees' are always "on stage"). That is to say that each cast member, from the street sweeper to the guy in the "Queen of Hearts" costume to the theme park general manager, is encouraged to take ownership and ensure every guest has a memorable, magical experience.

But what to do for the occasional under-appreciated, dissatisfied visitor to any one of the Disney resort venues (it can happen)? Every cast member is trained to recognize and respond to the guests needs. If it takes a free plush or pizza, or even a complementary night's stay to bring the guest around, the members of the Disney family (not Walt or Roy or those folks; I'm talking the figurative "family") know what they have at their disposal to make that happen. The trainers have entrusted the cast members to use this empowerment, and rarely fear that the system will get overused or abused.

Even the cast members themselves are rewarded appropriately. Disney has used many recognition systems to single out cast members who rise above, including a merit system called "Give Me Four" --- named for a hand slap of their rodent leader who is of the four-finger-animation variety. If a cast member catches another going above and beyond --- treating a guest "magically" or whatnot --- they are given a "Give Me Four" card. After the accumulation of a set number of cards, the cast member is recognized out loud for their efforts. These are only a couple of ways that one company has found to keep morale up and share magic with their visiting clientele.

Foreign Service

Its no secret that many companies of late have taken their business offshore. As consumers we rarely notice that move on a day to day basis. Nowadays its hard to know if your Toyota is from Tokyo or your Chrysler is from Canada. One place where this change is painfully evident is in customer service.

There's rarely a doubt when you talk with your credit card company whether the person is more likely from Indiana or India. When facing identity theft or refuting the charge of a unscrupulous online vendor, a language or accent barrier is not something many people are prepared or happy to deal with. A friend was recently having a heck of a time getting the driver for a new DSL provider working. It meant a call to the toll free number provided, which meant talking with someone in an overseas call center. After numerous repeats of the same information provided, and asking that the tech to repeat much of their instructions as well, the service was finally started about two hours later. The instructions stated that the process should take about fifteen minutes. My friend threatened to have me call if there was a next time.

When outsourcing, the services themselves tend to become limited. In an effort to shave costs, some of the problems, like resolution of an incorrect account balance, seem to be irreparable. The representatives tend to stick to canned scripts and have access to an inflexible amount of information. It's good that my identity isn't bouncing all willy-nilly around the globe, but it's bad when I try to decline a credit monitoring service being offered by a thick-accented telemarketer who can't answer my questions, insists that I won't pay anything for thirty days, yet still asks if she can have permission to debit my card.

Granted, an issue like this could happen whether the person you are speaking with is from Peoria, IL or Pakistan. When adding the challenge of a thicker, unfamiliar accent and general, limited knowledge base, the chances for an unpleasant customer service experience increase.

Sometimes the Customer Isn't Right

Back to the theme of respect, a two way street travels between the customer and the employee as well. It is understood and expected that the personnel of any organization will treat the client or guest as they would want to be treated. It's nice to be able to think that happens most of the time. However, shouldn't the customer be expected to give the same level of respect to the company representative that they would want given to them?

I deal daily with customers who genuinely have something to complain about; something that wasn't done the right way the first time, and now needs resolution. Regardless of the situation or how paltry their request might seem to me, I have to be understanding and give the customer the respect they deserve. However every once in a while, I will encounter the man or woman who doesn't want to give me the benefit of the doubt or the same respect that they expect to be given. I become their vent and, no matter that I'm the person who is willing and ready to help them, I become a punching bag as well.

And there are the times that the requests are beyond the a company's ability to provide. It's not uncommon for a customer to demand more than they lost in the first place, even if they have received a fraction of the product or service without any issue at all. The terms "limited warranty" and "manufacturing defect" confuse the customer who wants full compensation for a floor damaged by a spring flood. And they will pepper their temper tantrums with expletives and f-bombs and all manner of colorful speech. In the end, they wind up gnawing on the guy who answered their call who's business is is to help them, and never had any intention of arguing the point.

And woe be unto the representative who gets the person wanting to speak straight away with the company president. The most minor issue can be cause for many an irrational person to immediately threaten BBB or Small Claims action, and I could write a whole article about the people who have a cousin, neighbor, friend or mother who works for "9 On Your Side" or the local "Consumer Watch" news program. Suffice it to say that for every bad representative with an ax to grind, there is an equally difficult customer waiting to strike.

The Golden Rule

When it comes down to it, whether you are the customer or the service representative there's only one way to handle every situation: treat the person on the other end of the phone, letter or email the way you would hope to be treated; not the way you fear you might get treated, or the way you were treated even the last time you called.

Smile, remember to say "yes ma'am" and "thank you", and when you promise to call someone back, even if you don't have any new information, follow through with the promise. It's better for you to take the initiative and give the person negative information, than to have them find it out when you've forced them into calling you. And above all else, don't be afraid to say "I'm sorry".