January 13, 2011

Customer Service Dumb Rules: They Continue to Track Me Down

Three Elements of BE DiFFERENT Marketing
What to do in 2011
Hire for Goosebumps

You may recall my past diatribes on what I call Customer Service Dumb Rules; the Rules, Policies and Procedures organizations put in place for some good reason. But they have the opposite effect and annoy their customers ALL THE TIME.

Case in point:
- my Daughter-in-Law goes into Aritzia, a women’s clothing retailer in Whistler to purchase a T-Shirt;
- she selects one (a $20 item) she likes and goes to the fitting room to try it on;
- she is advised by one of the staff that she cannot take her handbag into the change room. Company Policy!
- however, she is welcome to leave it in a locker until she has made her selection.
- she questions the Rule but is told in no uncertain terms that she must comply if she wants the article;
- she refuses and leaves the store;
- she tells me her story;
- I, in turn, am more than pleased to pass it on to you.
- and I hope you pass it on to others.

Aritzia has lost a customer for life. An honest consumer who likes to shop. And for what? A Rule that meant to prevent theft. But all it does is make an honest person feel guilty. You are presumed Guilty for a crime you haven’t committed. WOW! What a great way to establish trusted relationships with your customers in a tough economy where competition is intense and everyone is chasing the illusive loyal customer. Dumb and Stupid way to run a business. But lots of opportunity for other Retailers to get an advantage over them.

This Rule is out-of-touch on so many levels:
- theft is your problem, Aritzia. Figure out how to deal with it and not assume that everyone that walks into your store is going to steal from you;
- the Rule is applied to everyone and yet the theft is the result of the Few. Really? Punish everyone because of the actions of a few people who choose to commit the crime. Dumb.
- it does nothing to enhance your brand, Aritzia. Brands are controlled by the conversations of people about you. This conversation is not going well for you. I see you as an internally-focused organization with rigid Rues that punishe people. Not true? Then you need to change your ways.
- no discretion is given to the serving employee who just MAY believe someone poses a low theft risk and decide NOT to impose the Rule.
- empower your people, Aritzia, to bend the Rule when they feel it is necessary to do so.

Got a Dumb Rule to share? Send it along to me

Cheers,
Roy


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Posted 1.13.11 at 06:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 3, 2011

Customer Service - Hire for Goosebumps

The House of YES 
Choose Wierd Fans to BE DiFFERENT 
VP Experience Marketing

Dazzle your Fans. Blow ‘em away. Leave them breathless. Mesmerise them; a key strategy to Distinguish your organization from the faceless competitive herd. SERVE them don’t SERVICE them. You SERVICE automobiles but you SERVE people.

THE most important way of achieving the Dazzle Dream is to recruit people that love human beings! People that have the instinctive desire to serve their fellow homo-sapiens. To take care of them. To satisfy them regardless of what they want. A person can’t be trained to love people; they are either borne with the nurturing attribute or they are not.

The real issue then becomes how to find these invaluable folks. How to discover people this natural desire to serve.

Here’s a rather simple but so effective way of separating the Human Lovers from the Fish (or the Grinners who have been through some type of Customer Service Training program).

First, ask the prospective employee this question: “Do you love human beings?”. They will realize that this a bit of a trick question but will not know where you are going with it. Fun as the interviewer to say the least. Most people will say “yes” in varying ways, ranging from the declaration “Absolutely” to the positive inference “Sure”. You need to dig deeper.

Next, pose this: “Tell me a story that will show me that you love your fellow humans”. The responses you get from this request will be of two types: One, “The Intellectualizer” or two, “The People Lover”. The Intelectualizer has figured out what you are up to and will conjure up a story that quite frankly will leave you COLD.

The natural-born People Lover, on the other hand will thrill you with a story that will leave you warm all over. Their story will paint a vivid picture of someone who cares about people and who is creative at finding ways to create unforgettable memories for them.

The People Lover will leave you with Goosebumps. Hire for Goosebumps and you will never go wrong. Do it. Your fans deserve them.

Cheers,
Roy


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Posted 1.3.11 at 06:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 30, 2010

Serving Customers: The House of YES

Choose Wierd Fans to BE DiFFERENT 
Dead or Alive: How Would You Rate Your Customer Service 
The Customer Charter of Rights

A sign that reads The House of YES sits above the kitchen area of every Cactus Club Restaurant in Canada.

Recently, I asked a Server what it meant to her, and here is what she said:
- their mission is “Every Customer Leaves Happy”
- their culture is to “say YES” to whatever their customer wants;
- if someone wants something that is not on the menu the kitchen will happily make it;
- if the customer’s request involves an ingredient that they don’t have, they will run out and get it. For example a special drink that requires a liquor not in stock. They will go to the Liquor Store and buy it. WOW!
- she is empowered to make whatever decision is needed to “say YES”
- her manager is there to support whatever she does. Management’s role is to make it easier for Servers to Say YES, not to give them orders.

A Servant Leadership Strategy for any organization is tough to achieve. It requires frontline serving behaviors that are supported by Management. Cactus Club has figured it out.
Nice job!

Cheers,
Roy


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Posted 12.30.10 at 05:58 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 16, 2010

DEAD or ALIVE ... How Would You Rate Your Customer Service?

The Customer Charter of Rights, The Things They Don’t Teach Business Students, Competencies to Covet: The Full Meal Deal

Lets describe DEAD Service first since it unfortunately applies to more organizations than it should. If you recognize a significant number of these attributes you had better take a step back and re-invent yourself. The consequences of not doing so will be disastrous…
DEAD Service....
> Rules, policies and procedures are created to serve the organization’s purposes. They are put in place as control mechanisms to satisfy the auditors. They have the intended impact of keeping the customer at a distance. An arms-length relationship with the customer is the result.
> Frontline responsibilities center around enforcing the rules of the organization in terms of customer engagement.
> Leadership is in the “command and control” mode. Frontline empowerment is restricted.
> There is little or no flexibility for people to deviate from established procedures. Those who do so are punished in some way or another.
> Short term results are stressed. There is little time to build sustaining relationships with customers.
> Efficiency is the focus in customer contact operations. Call Centers are measured on the length of time they are on the phone with a customer. Emphasis is on dealing with as many customers as you can within a given time-frame. Quantity trumps quality.
> Call Centers are outsourced based on economics. Service is driven by the need to reduce costs to the lowest possible level.
> No loyalty programs are contained in the marketing strategy.
> Customers are viewed as transactions where the only thing that is important is the money exchanged.
> Customers don’t have personal identity. The organization considers mass markets to drive their activity.
> Telemarketing is used extensively and products are flogged to people without regard for the interruptions and inconvenience caused them.
> Customer Moments are impersonal. The “Machine” doesn’t recognize them as individuals. They are account numbers who are expected to pay their bills on time or else.

ALIVE Service, on the other hand, is characterized by words like responsive, caring, happiness, open, respectful, trust, relationships, remarkable, dazzling and seving. Lets take a closer look…
ALIVE Service...
> The organization has a culture of caring for it’s people and this transcends to how customers are dealt with.
> Leadership believes that their primary role is to serve their employees; to make it easy for them to do their job. They believe that if the Frontline is served well from within the customer will be served in the same manner.
> Internal rules, policies and procedures are created in the image of creating memorable service experiences for the customer. Good business practices are of course applied but the organization is flexible enough to restrict the mandatory controls to the necessary minimum.
> Frontline employees are empowered to bend the rules in order to say yes to a customer. The service strategy in play is to find a way to do what the customer wants and not enforce rigid rules.
> Service Heroes are recognized constantly, reinforcing the importance of the serving ethic.
> Humanity is built in to service operations. Leadership understands that mind-blowing service is delivered by people not machines. Hi-Touch rallies over Hi-Tech.
> Call centers are not outsourced; they are considered a core competency of providing dazzling service.
> The quality of the customer contact is considered the primary objective. Each Moment of Truth is engineered to produce an emotion-rich experience for the customer.
> Quality of service measurement is based on the customer’s perception of how they were served. Internal operational statistics are used only to diagnose a customer perceived problem.
> The organization gives Gifts to their loyal customers as a “thank You” for their continued patronage.
> The recruitment process is geared to finding people who love humans. The belief is that they can learn the business but are borne with the Gift of Serving.
> The organization heavily invests in service believing in long term results rather than emphasis on the short term.
> Social media tools are extensively used to connect with and learn from their tribe.
> The organization is open to feedback and criticism; they use it to improve how they serve customers.
> Marketing is focussed on the individual and creates VALUE-EXPERIENCE based Offers for them. They don’t flog products.

There you go. Profiles of DEAD and ALIVE Service. Which characterizes your organization?

Cheers,
Roy

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Posted 12.16.10 at 06:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)