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Showing newest posts with label Customer Focus. Show older posts
Showing newest posts with label Customer Focus. Show older posts

I am happy


Hi Adesh
 
i am sure zoobie has told you that i am working on a project on service quality for **** and i dont even know the 's' of it.. i did go through your blog and found it extremely good- i might be quoting a few lines from your blog - hope its ok with you.

 
nyways might even take your help over the weekend also
 
thanks...


Few weeks back I received above email from one of my friend who happens to be a part of customer service or service quality (organization terminology) team (I am withholding the name of the brand as requested). She wrote me asking to use some of my blog things in her organization presentation. I was glad that someone found something useful in my blog which can be used to make customer service better in an organization.
 
This happens so often that while working we try to monitor some metrics and feel that they will guide the business to some new heights. If you are in a call centre, your SLAs will be number of calls (more the merrier), average time of call (less is better) etc. In retail, it is footfalls (more the merrier), average value of bill (higher is good) etc. In blogs, number of hits (more the merrier), number of comments (sky is the limit) etc. 
 
But behind all these defined metric, we tend to forget the true meaningful conversations which are building blocks of any business or blog. We never measure in call centres whether relationships with customers got stronger or not. No track of bonds getting stronger or weaker with customers in your retail store.

This mail just showed that there are 'soft metrics' which makes keeping blogs much more worthwhile. I am happy.

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Real Time Reviews - Trend for 2010



Zoobie posted a feedback regarding a restaurant on Facebook. 
 
Customers set up a website to protest against faulty Time Machine Capsule.
 
I blogged, tweeted, reviewed,facebooked regarding my poor service experience rendered by IFB.
 
Dell hell blog post rocked Dell customer service in 2005. A prolific blogger wrote few posts over 20 days before Dell look into his problem. But that sounds too 2005-ish. These days Real Time Reviews (RTR) are in.
 
Real Time Reviews of products, services, by users and customers will be one of the trends to look out for in 2010. Real Time Reviews are already a rage. Tools like Twitter, Blogs and Facebook are fuelling this trend.
 
These real time reviews spread like a forest fire. Tweets get re-tweeted. Facebook status get comments. Blogs unite customers with same issues.
 
But bigger problem is most of the customer service departments in India are not ready for this RTR onslaught. They still believe in surveys which are meticulosly designed and carried. They still believe in good olds ways of structured feedback wherein feedback forms are given, feedback comes to customer service department, then it goes to respective departments, who act on it and reverts to customer service department who then get backs to customers. Phew! Too many layers to encounter.
 
I really wish customer had patience to go through so many layers. Trendwatching has come out with top 10 trends for 2010.

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Thanks for remembering me...




My marriage anniversary was on November 18 and I got a discount coupon from Pizza Hut. I was glad to know that they at least tried to use data which I have filled innumerable times in their outlet. They are not the only ones who gather this data. I have filled such details in almost all places but it was good to know that at least someone used it.

They have done a couple of good things here. They have sent me a list of stores along with their addresses and phone numbers. This is small, mundane but extremely useful thing to do. They are not assuming that I know the locations of Pizza Hut and they are also giving me an opportunity to visit some other Pizza Hut outlets and not my regular ones.

Pizza Hut have given me a window of one month to avail the discount coupons. It is not that I have to utilize these coupons on any given date and time. I can enjoy a sumptuous meal as per my own convenience. A thoughtful thing to do.

In terms of implementation, they could have done better. A personalized mail would have been great. A less-strict-sounding T&C would have had a more soothing effect on me.

Anyways, I am thankful to them as they remembered me on one of the most important days of my life. Thanks, Pizza Hut.
 

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Local Business - Sip and Bite

I have started loving local businesses or small business owners. Till few years back, I have always loved to dine-in some reputed national or international chain, always liked to shop with retailer which has national presence or has some phoren tag attached.
 
With some of my ordinary experiences with so called organized players, my faith is back in local businesses. My mindset is changing because with the advent of organized retail, local businesses have also pulled their socks and raised their standards (service, hygiene etc.) to decent levels. And organized retailers are unable to compete with these resurgent small businesses.
 
For the next four weeks, every Friday I intend to cover one small business to which I am sold because they offer me great service.  
 
First in line is a restaurant, Sip and Bite in Gurgaon which is run by an old Uncle and Aunty. Couple of months back, I developed an allergy to red chilly powder and doctor has asked me to avoid it. One evening, I went to this restaurant asking what all is available without red chilly. Steward suggested a couple of dishes, and I ordered as per that. True to his advice it was without any red chilly. 
 
After a few days, I again went to this place. Steward came to me with a menu and asked me, "Sir, you want without red chilly?". I was floored because he remembered me and my choices. After that moment, I knew I was going to be a regular at this place. After all, you do not find such places very often where people remember you very often.
 
Place is clean and kitchen is open and is visible to everyone. This exudes confidence in the diner as he can see that everything is cooked in a place which is spic and span. It also shows that owners have full faith in their facility.
 
I am sold to this place because of their thoughtfulness and openness.

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Promoters and Passive




I loved these terms. Promoters. Passive.

Passives, as the name implies, are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are easily wooed by the competition. These customers are disloyal, tending to make buying decisions based on convenience and price considerations—as opposed to brand loyalty.

Promoters are the least price-sensitive, have the highest repurchase rates, and are responsible for between 80 and 90 percent of positive referrals to a company or brand.

These terms are coined by Bain and Company and I found them here.

I think Apple thrives because of promoters.

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Service Do-Not's for Diner Staff




As stated in my earlier post, here goes  second part of practices that should be avoided if you work in a restaurant. As stated in my last post, some of these practices are applicable to most customer service department.

Here are some more tips which can help in delivering customer service a little better....

Know your product. Know your your store. Know your menu. etc. etc. A simple approach which can produce some startling results.

Do not ignore a customer. Even if it is not your department, customer is yours.

Do not blame others for problem. It is always easy to point fingers. Looking for solutions is difficult but very fruitful. If immediate solution is not available, give an appropriate timeline and proactively inform customer about the status.

Help customers in making decision, if it is necessary. Do not try to sell your highest margin product or costliest product or product which provides maximum employee incentive. Provide genuine help. Customers appreciate that.

Do not disappear. Customer asked for some help and you promised to come back with solution. And you never came back. This is bad.

Do not hover long enough. Do not make customers feel they are being watched. Let customers figure out themselves. If they require any help, they will come to you.

Do not show frustration. Customer service job is full of stress. But it would be more fun, if you serve your customers patiently.

I hope you enjoyed it.

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Customer Service Tips



An interesting article which lists 50 things that should be avoided by you, if you are working in a restaurant. Though, this list talks about things not-to-do in restaurant but a lot of points can be applied to all businesses related to service. 
 
Some of the points which I feel relevant to many businesses are:
 
Greet warmly - An eye contact. A hearty smile. A friendly hello. A sincere greeting. All these things help in initiating a relationship which can be cherished for long time to come.
 
Opening lines matter - Do not open your conversation with a lame sentence like "mineral water or tap water?" More the interesting opening lines are, more the customer will be inclined to stay with you. After all you do want him to come again and again because of you. 
 
Interrupting a conversation is a sin - Yes, you have some wonderful ideas and bombarding your customer with those ideas is the only logical thing occurring to you. But hold on. Let your customer speak first. Do not interrupt him. If customer is accompanied by a friend or spouse and they are discussing something, do not interrupt them as well. Be patient, you will have enough time to throw your ideas at them.
 
Take feedback and fix things which are not right - After customers are done with their shopping, dinner or window/floor shopping, do take their feedback. And taking feedback will be the first step only and it would be an incomplete step if you do what needs to be corrected.
 
Be consistent throughout your conversation - Charming at the beginning of conversation. Listless in the middle. Tired at the end of the conversation. Not done. Hardly an impact which you want to leave on customer.

This is only part one and I can't wait to read the second part as well. Will share with you all as soon it is updated.

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Designed To Incovenience




 
My Airtel Delhi half-marathon is over.

Yesterday I went to collect my running number from the half-marathon expo which was organized in a mall. Well, the design of expo bamboozled everyone who had come to collect their numbers. It was frustrating as one had to enter from point A, then move around the whole expo, where some brands had put up shops which were manned by some tired-looking representatives.
 
At the end of the expo, there was a counter from where runners were supposed to collect the running numbers. For collecting goodies bag, runners were made to rush to some other counter which was outside the periphery and it was almost impossible to reach that counter without asking directions. I asked twice. Me frustrated? Yes. Me dumb not to figure out? Don't think so.
 
It was chaos and I think poor design of expo played an important part in creating this chaos. It was designed for customer inconvenience.
 
These days design of most of malls and stores in India have one thing in common - design it in such a way so that every customer has to visit every corner of the mall or store. In a nutshell, if a customer has to go from point A to point B in a mall, he has to spend considerable time to figure out the smallest possible way to reach that point. And usually, smallest way = longest way = only way. If there is any short-cut, you will not be able to find out on your own. And, if customer is short on patience it might lead to some frustration as well.  
 
Though, I am not an expert on design but I have visited lot melas as a child and grown up where simple design used to create an environment which was enjoyed by everyone.  
 
Melas were organized on a huge ground somewhere in the middle of a village and the outlay of all melas used to be the same (more or less). There was usually a single point which served as both entry and exit. Kiosks were placed in a circular form on the periphery of the ground. There was an empty space in the center which was generally used for rides. People came and visited and bought from almost all kiosks and spent whole day enjoying the hustle-bustle of mela.
 
The whole design sounds simple. To me at least.
 
Anyways, run went well. Though course was too crowded, I had fun.


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Conversations are on...always





Customers talk. And , they talk in every possible forum available to them. Facebook. Twitter. Parties. Blogs. Everywhere. You think of a place and probably a conversation will be going around about good or bad customer experiences.

Apple is generally known for providing great customer experience. But they are also not perfect. Apparently, Time Capasule (a Wi-Fi router which also backs up your data) dies after 18 months. Customers are writing to Apple about this faulty product line. Though products are covered under Apple extended warranty plan but that is not enough for Apple fans. These fans do not want that their product to go bad at first place.

Anyways, fans of Apple, who go out of way to show their affection for Apple and its products, have now taken an off-beat route to protest. Fans have setup a website which mourns the death of Time Capsule and all dead Time Capsules can R.I.P. together on this website. So far, 178 owners have registered their dead Time Capsules on this site.

Unfortunately, there is no R.I.P. for conversations around good and bad experiences.

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Loyalty Programs...For What?

I am an avid reader and during weekends, I spend close to 2 hours in various book shops. I have loyalty membership card for a couple of book stores and recently I added one more of Om Book Shop as they have decent presence (in terms of number of stores) in Delhi. 

Last weekend, I bought a couple of books on sale and while billing, I informed the cashier that I have membership card. “It is of no use as you are already buying books which are on sale”, replied the cashier. “So, what?”, I asked curiously. “As you already have discount on your purchase, we cannot add points to your bill”.  

Is membership card are all about projecting discounts, I asked myself? 

This is not one off case. At most of the places, membership card is either projected as a medium of giving discounts or extending offers. I agree customers lap it up because they are lured by extra benefits , but loyalty cards can serve lot bigger purposes to a retailer than extending discounts. 
Loyalty cards, as the name suggests, are there to build loyal customer base, to build relationship with existing customers, to treat regular customers so well that they become your brand ambassadors and to help in building loyalty that span a lifetime. Tesco is known for doing this so well. They use their loyalty data to understand consumer behavior and tailor-make offers and promotions according to taste of their loyal customers.  

I guess Indian retailers still have a long way to go as far as using loyalty cards effectively is concerned. If implemented and used well, loyalty cards can be the reason for a customer's coming back to store. 

As usual, your point of view is welcome.

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Problem ownership and WOW! experience



On a New Year’s Eve, one of my team members got a call from a customer wishing her a Happy New Year.  She did not recognize the customer in first instance but after the customer told her complete incident, she recognized her.  
Apparently, the customer had to struggle a lot to get her concern resolved until she got in touch with my colleague. My colleague helped her in getting her concern resolved. And the customer remembered this act of hers and related her interaction as a WOW moment. This is why she decided to call her on New Year Eve and give her wishes. 

What made this interaction stand out? I think the problem solving approach of my colleague. I agree it is her job to resolve the customer’s concern but she could have easily passed the buck to some other entity, department, person or whatever. So many times we have seen and observed that people simply pass the buck and do not own the problem. With no one taking ownership, customer’s frustration increases and thus the chances of providing great customer experience is lost.  

In a report published by Knowledge @ Wharton emphasis is on this point. The report examines the ways and means of providing wow experience in retail stores to customers. Biggest challenge faced by retailers is lack of problem ownership.  
Courtney stresses it is important for retailers to have a clear, simple problem resolution process. "The biggest issue is problem ownership," she says. "If all you can do is train everybody on one thing related to problem-solving it would be getting people to own the problem and not pass it off." Hoch says that while problem resolution was not as great a factor as some of the other five elements, one common thread emerged from the research: "A person stepped up to the plate and figured out how to solve the problem." Having that experience changed the consumer's state of mind from helplessness to, "'Boy, somebody came up and helped me.' We all like a hero, but it doesn't happen very often," Hoch notes.

Every retailer can have best quality products and can create great ambiance, but it is the small gestures that make a difference.

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What's in a name?

What’s in a name? Juliet asked this question to Romeo in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.
 


I entered Tast of Tibet (Taste is minus ‘e’) after reading its name. I presumed that it was a mistake and entered restaurant to confirm whether it indeed was a mistake or some regional word. It turns out to be a mistake as at various walls and glass, owners have tried to paste ‘e’ but it did not stick.  
Inside, restaurant was clean and had a homely feeling around it. Once inside, I ordered coffee, Momos and Thukpa.  Being a restaurant run by a Tibetan family, I was expecting authentic Chinese meals and not like Indian-Chinese meal available in most parts of India which is spoilt with excessive spices.  
When food arrived, it was sumptuous. Thukpa was colorful as it was full of varied colored vegetables and excellent in taste. Momos were equally delicious. Vegetables used were absolutely fresh and it seemed to me that they played a major role in the quality of dishes. Coffee is like what we make in home – lot of milk, sugar and coffee boiled together. No Italian would like to touch it but me being North Indian can gulp anything which has milk.  I loved the whole meal! 

On the menu, there was also something called Salt Tea which I came across for the first time.  Out of curiosity, I ordered for Salt Tea. When the guy came with the order, I told him that for the first time I am ordering it and do not know whether I will like it or not. He smiled and went away. I tasted it and did not like it. When I asked for bill, owner did not bill me for Salt Tea. I asked for the reason. “This was just for taste” he replied.  
Now coming back to my opening question, what’s in a name?  

I would say nothing much if you can provide products and services that will delight your customers. If you can touch them with small and thoughtful actions they will remember much more than the name. 

After all, Rose with any other name would have the same fragrance.

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Special treatment for your best customers

Google is launching a real time communication tool called Google Waves later this year. Tool looks cool and is already generating lot of good word of mouth. But this post is not about the tool. It is about why best customers of yours should be treated special.

Below is the presentation given in Google I/O. You view it for three minutes and you will realize that  Google has played a masterstroke by treating its best customers differently and special.





In the beginning of presentation, Google guy announces that all those who are present in conference will be given invitation to use the new tool.

"Passwords will emailed to all as we already have your email IDs."

I found this gesture fantastic. People who are attending conference are techies who love Google. They have spent some time and may be money (if the conference is paid one) to attend this conference. They are clearly people who love Google and if there are some critics, they will find this gesture special and will convert themselves as Google fans.

Best customers should be given something more so that they can feel special. Special enough so that they can tell others about it. Special enough so that it can become a conversation starter. Special enough it can create a movement.

Google clearly understands this and has mastered the art of spreading good word about their products. Without spending any fortune on ADs, they are creating a big community which is waiting for their new tool. 

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Meeting expectations = satisfaction II

In response to my this post, Rads and LEB shared their views on how marketing come up with amazing advertisements for an average product and mislead the customers. 

I tried to dig deeper into this topic and found this cartoon strip by Tom.


Before buying a product we do involve in lot of research and most of the time our beliefs in  brand is strengthened by marketing efforts of an organization. They bombard us with product information through advertisements, salespersons, dealers, product displays and mass media.

Most of the information thrown us are from commercial sources and it is  supposed to be least effective. Yet, we could not help ourselves and fall into this well laid trap. By the time we realize that we did not get what have been promised to us, it is too late. Brand has moved onto to its next target and we are struggling to get hold of customer service representatives to get what is promised to us.

And we all end up with 'One Night Brand' stands.

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Meeting expectations = satisfaction

Read on one of the forums
Company: We provide best, amazing, eeficient and excellent customer service.
Customer reaction: And invisible also?

BusinessWeek article suggests that there is huge gap between expected service and service delivered. Lot of companies believe that their customer service is great, their support staff is extremely customer friendly, the value added services are highly admired by customers and companies are able to manage customer expectations. According to customer, it is not so.

In these tough times, every bit of business is important. Every business is trying hard to hang on its customers by providing superior customer service. Truth is customers do not share this feeling.

Customers are readily exposed to good service levels provided by other industries and they compare and expect same service levels from other industries as well. Lots of customers are changing their service providers because of poor level of service.

It is not about providing great customer service. It is also not about providing most efficient customer service. It is about meeting customer expectations which will lead to higher customer satisfaction.

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Compelling story and remarkable product

Fans of Colgin wine wait for more than four years to lay hands on their favorite wine.

Reason is that every Colgin wine has a compelling story to tell. A visit to their website will inform you that they have recorded the smallest possible details of wines. The kind of soil used, kind of weather grapes faced, texture of grapes and methods used to make wines. They also have wine tasters note on their website. Every effort gone into making this remarkable wine is recorded with great honesty. And this effort conveys a compelling story behind this remarkable product.

Colgin wine is sold only through selective restaurants and mailing list. Mailing list has already more than 3500 customers and they get either 3 or 6 bottles of wine. And mailing list is called (rightly so) as 'waiting list' as customers who have signed up in 2005 will be getting their wines this year. Four years and still waiting!

Colgin is able to earn love and respect of its small set of customers.Their small customer base helped them to grow. Without compelling story and remarkable this would not have been possible. So many times we try to target mass market in one go not realising the worth of impressing small set of customers who will spread positive word of mouth, if satisfied. Satisfying small set of customers will help in growing the business but not as fast as you wanted but faster than you have imagined.

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Ducks and eagles

Andersen is doing a wonderful job.
About five years ago, Andresen began taking steps toward building what has come to be known as Innovation Institute. “The mission of the school is to get products into the hands of the disabled that they couldn’t get anywhere else or they couldn’t afford. Also, to give them some skills so they can earn some money for the first time in their lives.”

It is a dream come true for Andersen's customers. He is passionate about what he is doing. He is innovating continuously and building new products which can be used by people who cannot afford. And he is tackling one problem at a time.

Andersen is also passionate about sharing his skills with others. He is training students in his institute and it might become a movement one day.

Andersen like all movements, started very small. He did not wait for big money to come his way. He worked hard and kept honing his skills. While working hard, he kept his focus on bigger vision. Vision of helping people with disabilities. Vision of providing help to people who cannot afford. And today he is making difference to lot of lives.

I read somewhere, ducks quack and eagles soar, we do need eagles like Andersen.

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Planning, thoughtful and hardwork

My passion for eating usually kept my dadi and mother busy in kitchen. They try to learn new dishes for me. During these cooking sessions, I find they have to plan well, they are always thoughtful and overall it is hard work for them.
They need to plan things well in advance. They have to plan on what they are going to cook. They have to plan so that they can research on new dishes. They plan so that they can buy all ingredients in time. They have to plan well so that they can finish their cooking in time.
They have to be thoughtful with their cooking as well. They think about my eating preferences and of other family members. They have to be thoughtful of spices that they can use in their dishes. They have to be thoughtful about dishes - whether non-vegetarian or vegetarian.
Cooking is hard work as well. They spend lot of time in cutting and chopping of vegetables. They have to stand in hot kitchen while they are cooking. This is hard work. 
Planning, thoughtfulness and hard work is important for delivering good customer service as well. To deliver great customer service, planning is important to make business's back-end strong and correct its boring bits. 
Customer service is also about being thoughtful. The front-end staff who is interacting with customers need to be thoughtful about the actions they demonstrate in front of customers. Call center employees should be thoughtful about words they use in their conversations with customers. Online businesses need to be thoughtful about the design of their websites. 
Customer service is also hard work as expectations of customers keep going up and one has to keep delivering great experience.
Take away point:- Planning, thoughtfulness and hard work can do wonders in life as well.

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Hate tax or overweight opportunity


Ryan Air has decided to levy a ‘fat’ tax to passengers who will not be able to fit into the seat without removing separators and are not able to fit into the seat belt. When you first read it, it sounds funny. But Ryan Air says that it is passengers who want them to levy this tax on overweight passengers as it is uncomfortable for the fellow passengers. Fat passengers spill over to neighbor’s seat!

As it goes with customer feedback, you have to listen more than your ears. All customers are looking a comfortable ride irrespective of their size. Some customers feel uncomfortable if an overweight person is sitting by their side. This is not airlines fault. Adding extra tax may turn away many potential overweight customers. This 'fat' tax may turn out to be a 'hate' tax which could cause a potential damage to Ryan Air.

Most of the companies provide good service when customers do not have any specific need or want. True service skills are tested under conditions where customer is asking (or worse he could not articulate what he wants) something specific. And when you start addressing a particular need (said or unsaid), you start delighting your customers. You create zealots who will swear by your service and brand.

Ryan Air can make a separate sitting area with larger chairs especially for fat people. I do not know how many fat customers travel with Ryan Air. But I guess one or two rows of such seats should do. And charge extra for that seating area. Customers will readily pay if value is shown to them and might start loving it for taking good care of them. God knows, Ryan Air becomes a favorite airline for fat people.

Take away point: No extra tax will benefit you if you are not understanding the needs of your customer.

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Processes are brick walls?

I overheard the following conversation in Baskins and Robins ice cream parlour.

Customer: I want a single scoop of banana caramel in cone.

BR Employee: Single scoop cannot be given in a cone. Cone comes with double scoop only.

Customer: Why?

BR Employee: It is a company policy.

Customer: But I want a single scoop and that too in a cone. I will pay extra for the cone.

BR Employee: I cannot give it to you. Company will deduct from my salary if stock of cones did not match in the evening.

Customer: (Surprised) Seems your company sucks. Give me a single scoop in cup.


Oops! What a damage.

I know BR makes high quality ice creams which tastes good. They charge high prices as well for their ice creams (which is justified given the high quality of their product). But there brand is getting hurt at point of sale.

Processes and policies can cause customer turn offs. Customers do not know the reasons why such silly-sounding policies require to run a business. Processes and policies are required to run businesses efficiently but they should not be at the expense of customer experience. Processes should be an experience enhancing tools.

If customers are asking single scoop in a cone, BR should make processes which help them in delivering it efficiently. Do not build brick walls so that customers stop demanding. Instead destroy brick walls inside your organization so that customer voices can be heard in all the departments and customers get what they want. It is not simple but then fulfilling needs and wants has always been a daunting task.

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