Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 28, 2009 under Connecting Moments, Customer Moments, Resolving Conflict, social media | 
Just read a post on Dennis Snow’s site in which he reminds us that social media now allows unhappy customers to tell millions about their bad service as it happens. In the past the negative word of mouth would extend to 7 or 9 or 15 people and now in a blink of a text our mistakes, mis-steps and ineffective service can be communicated round the world!
Dennis suggests that we train our front line employees to ask themselves:
“In every customer interaction you have, imagine the customer is going to immediately ‘tweet’ about their experience. What would they communicate instantly to all of their contacts about their interaction with you?”
How would that change your approach to building customer relationships? Should social media be added to your customer retention strategy? When we think of social media in general or rather Twitter in particular; we say “I don’t see the value” or “I don’t have time for that” or “How can it help my business?”
We dismiss Twitter as a silly thing the young people do to waste time and miss altogether the fact that it doesn’t matter if WE USE social media. Our customers DO! And very effectively.
Although customer service ENDS at the customer/sales associate interaction – it BEGINS with management. In this economy companies are down sizing. In some cases they are treating their employees like an expense item on their P&L rather than as the greatest asset in their arsenal. Bosses let employees know they should be grateful they have a job rather than encouraging, training and thanking them for hanging in there during the tough times.
Fewer employees are having to cover a greater number of tasks and all of this leads to declining customer service. In an age when customer service should be the number one focus; with increased competition and fewer spendable dollars, we should be doing everything we can to help customers spend with us!
Yet -if the employees who actually interact with customers are beaten down, feeling overworked and under valued – they aren’t going to see the need to do anything extra with each customer experience.
The combination of declining customer service and increased communication abilities through Twitter is a disaster waiting to happen.
As a manager – an owner – an entrepreneur – we need to recognize Twitter for the opportunity it is to create awareness and build customer retention.
Not long ago I talked about Ramon DeLeon - the owner of several pizza shops in Chicago and how he stays connected with his customers via Twitter and other social media venues. Through the use of Google Alerts and Twitter search plug-ins – you can stay connected and learn when people are talking about you. At the very least make sure you follow conversations about your business so that you can respond.
However, a more proactive customer retention strategy would be to actively engage your customers in conversation via social media. For more information about using social media to connect with customers, check out Becky Carroll’s post called Where Does Social Media fit in?
At the very least – go back to Dennis’ question and ask yourself – just what is the customer I’m talking with RIGHT NOW going to Tweet about this experience?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 27, 2009 under Customer Moments, Resolving Conflict |
I wanted to get my hair cut yesterday. Something different. Short. Easy to care for. I tried a salon I’d not previously visited.
By the end of the experience I was unhappy with my look. Whether it was the stylist or my poor communication – it doesn’t matter. The result was – I was not pleased. I didn’t say anything as I paid my bill, but I also wasn’t smiling.
“It’s only hair,” I told myself. I will try to fix it when I get home and soon it will grow out.
However, when I arrived home there was a voice mail message on my machine.
“Ms. Brown, the owner saw you leave and commented that you didn’t look happy with your hair cut. Nina wants to make sure that everyone is happy. If you are interested, we would like to invite you back. Nina will redo your hair to your liking.”
Oh my goodness. I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t complained. I hadn’t put up a fuss. True – I probably wouldn’t have gone back. But now I was embarrassed. I looked back over my exit from the salon – had I unknowingly been rude? I hoped not. However, I couldn’t resist calling them back. This seemed to be above and beyond.
“I received your call,” I said when the receptionist answered the phone.
“Yes, the owner wants to make sure you are happy. Can you come back in so that she can recut your hair? It is very important to her that every customer is a happy customer.”
I went back to the store last night and Nina redid my hair. The first girl was extremely pleasant and we’d had a nice chat while she cut my hair. I had no quarrel with her and yet here was the owner coming back to the salon away from her evening with her family to work on my hair.
Impressive. I couldn’t believe how in tune she was to my feelings – we didn’t have a conversation earlier in the day – we didn’t even make eye contact. Yet she was so aware of her customers that she noticed from whatever my body language was that I wasn’t happy.
- That’s customer service.
- That’s going above and beyond.
- That’s being aware of your customer and the experience they are having.
- That sets you apart from your competition.
- That shows you want to build a relationship with your customer so they remember, refer and return.
- That’s impressive.
I’ve had bad hair cuts or hair cuts that didn’t turn out like I hoped in the past. It happens. It’s hair. It will grow back. I wash it, style it and move on. It is usually my fault because I can’t articulate what I want. My fault.
Never have I experienced a salon that cared this much about their customer. I will be back. Check them out – if you are in NE Ohio, visit Nina Michelle Salon and Spa. They care about their customers!
Maybe I’ll see you there – because I’ll definitely be going back!
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on under Customer Moments |
Last week I talked about my favorite grocery store and their new fuel program in the post Is Acme Measuring Customer Service. Thought I’d follow up with a few new developments:
1. I went grocery shopping again yesterday (because it seems there is always something we need to purchase) and I asked the cashier what kind of feedback she was experiencing with the new fuel program. “Customers are upset,” she told me. They don’t understand how it works. I jokingly said “Well, it makes sense that you would get all of the flak considering you are the one who developed the program.” She looked at me for a beat and then burst out laughing. “Yeah, that’s right – it was all my doing.”
- When we develop a new program that affects our customers – do we consider the fact that it will be the hourly employees that will have to explain, defend or take the guff for the change?
- What training do we provide to help our hourly employees deal with the questions and concerns of a new program?
- Do we ask the opinion of our hourly employees before we make a major change that will affect both the customers and the front line staff? I’m just asking.
2. Last night I was talking to my best friend and we were comparing the price of milk and who had the best price (with growing male teens we both go through a lot of milk) and I asked what she thought of the new fuel program. She is also a fan of Acme. “I can’t figure it out,” she said. I explained that I had finally learned that you only get fuel points/cents when you purchase one of the private label items that Acme sells – and not on all of those. She said “I have 20 cents accumulated.” I explained that her benefit was not 20 cents per gallon – but merely 20 cents. “Oh – guess it will take a long time for it to mean anything to me.”
So where is the value in the program? I guess the lesson we can learn is this:
- When making a change or developing a new program/service – we need to ask the opinion of our front line staff and our valued customers. Whether we use what they say or not – we may be surprised by what we learn.
- We need to develop and provide training to help our associates adequately understand the “why” behind the change and how to effectively communicate the new program to customers. Also how to answer questions without referring them to a wordy brochure or a 1-800 – number.
- We need to make sure the program we are providing offers a value that the customer sees as important. We may develop a program so that we can be competitive – but if the program doesn’t appear to offer a value to our customers we might as well not even bother.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 26, 2009 under Customer Moments |
I recently attended a meeting at The Woman’s City Club in Akron, Ohio. The Woman’s City Club is a private facility housed in a historic home in downtown Akron that features a series of lovely rooms for meetings and events and a quaint dining room where a tasty lunch buffet is served.
In the past you had to be a member or be the guest of a member to dine or host/attend a function in this lovely old home. They have two types of memberships – a full membership and a dining membership.
However, during this recent event one of the servers interrupted our meal to share NEW news.
“We are now open Tuesday evenings to the general public and Sunday’s for brunch. You don’t have to be a member to join us.”
She went on to share the details of each event but I stopped listening. I was immediately struck with the thought – here is a business that has looked in the mirror and decided to make a change to meet the changing needs of their potential customers. The slow economy has certainly affected their new memberships and many with existing memberships may not be renewing. The Woman’s City Club, in an effort to continue to be a viable solution for meals and meetings, has found a way to effectively reach their target prospects.
Impressive!
What have you done in your business to modify services or products to respond to the economic crunch? Have you looked in the mirror and asked yourself “what should I change or add to respond to my consumers changing needs?”
Isn’t it about time you did?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 22, 2009 under Customer Moments |
I just made a deposit at the drive through window of my bank. When I pulled up to the magic tube that shoots up and over into the bank I noticed a computerized screen that said “Honk if you receive excellent customer service.”
Oh, I thought, they are focusing on customer service. I wonder what they will do that will inspire me to honk. Let’s see – I have filled out the form, signed the back of my check and placed a request for a little cash back. I sent the tube up and over and then waited to be astounded with their excellence.
I measure excellence based on my expectations. In this case, I am expecting the check to be deposited and the little bit of cash to be returned to me. So that is my “line in the sand.”
The screen changes to reveal the face of the teller who is serving my needs and sure to exceed them.
“Hi.” she says.
“Hi,” I mimic. Okay – get ready. My radar is up. The seeds of excellence have been planted.
The screen changes back to the “honk” message. My hand is poised over the steering wheel.
The screen changes again to the teller, “thank you.” she says.
Down comes the tube with my deposit receipt and cash. No lollypop. No special message. It is the Friday before a holiday – no special greeting to send me on my holiday-way.
Oh. Now I’m disappointed. Truth is – had there been no message – I would have left quite pleased. I had my expectations met. No hassle. No issues. Made a deposit. Got some cash. Bada bing bada boom.
But because there was a message that set the stage for excellence and just average greeted me- I’m now leaving feeling deflated. Disappointed. Like I missed the parade.
Do we set expectations that we fail to meet? Truth is – I didn’t need the message to complete my transaction. But because the seed was planted, I became more aware- a sense of expectation set in my mind, left unfulfilled.
Will I change banks? No, of course not.
But let me make a comparison. Last week I had my daughter and her friend in the car. We went through the drive through of a different branch of the same bank. No special message. No computer screen. I sent the tube up and over and the teller did her job and as she was about to return the tube asked me if my daughter would like a lolly. I said – oh yes and she has a girlfriend in the back seat. Then the teller said – would you also like a lolly? Why – yes, I would.
So here comes the tube with my deposit slip and three lollies. As we drove away my daughter’s girlfriend said “you should send her a thank you note for being so nice.”
Now THAT’S excellence. A simple lolly.
Hmmm. What do you think? Do you set the expectation for excellence and then frequently fail to produce or do you set out to do what is expected and then throw in a little surprise? Which is more impactful?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 20, 2009 under Customer Moments |
COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises) is an amazing organization – one of the largest of its kind supporting small business entrepreneurs in the country. I am proud to be a member and have attended many of the great workshops, coffee conversations and seminars offered through COSE.
One of the reasons I joined was so that I could submit an application to be one of the over 50 presenters sharing their knowledge at the annual COSE Small Business Conference held each October. Recently I received the thoroughly explained application via email. I opened the instructions with great anticipation.
The website included a link to a PDF file that outlined the over 50 workshops they’ve identified. Your task; should you decide to under take it – is to find the workshop that comes the closest to a presentation you have already successfully given. The topics included cover such important areas as:
- Human Resources
- Money
- Technology for Small Business
- Sales and Marketing
- Personal and Professional Development
- Sustainability
All great topics. I offer speeches on a few of those topics - in particular Social Media, marketing for small business and making the most of your online presence – however, I am striving to brand myself as the Customer Service speaker – with a focus on building customer relationships and earning customer loyalty. I read through the topics. Three times. I couldn’t find a single session – not one in all of the over 50 suggested – that focused on the customer. Oh, there is a class on CRM (software packages for customer communication marketing) but nothing on handling irate customers, exceeding customer expectations, earning customer loyalty, building customer relationships, or even basic customer service in a down economy.
Am I just behind the times? Is customer service old news? Is customer loyalty last year’s topic? Is building customer relationships a thing of the past?
Guess so – because every day I encounter more examples of BAD customer service than I do associates who exceed or even meet expectations.
Sales are down – customers are even more careful with their spending dollars – shouldn’t at least one topic focus on winning customers for life?
What do you think? Should we just focus on driving traffic in the door and forget about the importance of how to treat them once we have them?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 19, 2009 under Communication, Customer Moments, Missed Moments |
You’ve read articles on how to improve your business, lose weight, be a better lover and all have a long list of things to do to be successful.
This list has one item:
Fail to communicate.
That’s all it takes to really tick off a customer and potentially LOSE them for life.
I’m waiting on a product that I need to help complete a project for a customer. I called the vendor and was told it would be ten working days for delivery.
Ten days came and went six days ago.
No email from the vendor.
No phone call.
No explanation.
So yesterday I called him. At ten am. His voice mail said “I’m in today but away from my desk. Leave a message and I’ll call you right back.”
So I did.
Nothing.
I called at 11am. Left another message.
Again I called at 1pm. Figured he’d need a lunch break so I didn’t call at noon.
At 2pm I called the main number. Sorry only Mr. Cartright has the information on your file.
I left another message at 3pm.
Finally a call from Mr. Cartright at 4:30pm. No apology. No excuses. No – in fact – he chastised me for not leaving my account number on the voice mail which required he look it up by my name.
“I don’t know when that product will be available. I’ve sent an email to the person that provides the product. I think they may have been on vacation. I’ll give you a call when I hear something.”
I was promised delivery. Yet, when delivery was impossible I wasn’t communicated with. I had to hunt down the information. The answer I received showed no compassion, no empathy, no concern, and certainly no customer service.
When we promise something – the very least we need to do is deliver what we’ve promised. THE MINUTE WE KNOW WE CAN’T DELIVER – we need to act by calling or emailing the customer to keep them informed. The less the customer knows – the more they imagine and the more angry they become.
Our customer makes decisions and promises of their own based on the information we provide. And when we fail to communicate – we put our customers in a position of not making their deadlines. Our products may be needed by the customer to fill an order of their own or may be something they desire for a personal reason. It doesn’t really matter WHY our customer needs our products/services. They just do. And when we fail to deliver when promised and then fail to keep them in the loop – we might just as well kiss them goodbye as a customer.
I just called the vendor again to see what the status was. He said he didn’t know anything. I said – so what is your plan of action?
Wait for a call.
I see. That sounds mighty powerful.
I said – when can I expect to hear from you?
When I hear something, was his customer-focused reply.
How about you call me within 24 hours even if you don’t know anything – just to keep me in the loop, I suggest.
I could do that, he responds.
That would be the customer-service thing to do.
Yes, I guess it would, he said.
Wow. Let me just hold my breath.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 13, 2009 under Customer Moments |
The game is afoot in the grocery store business. For the better part of three years Giant Eagle has been building business loyalty by offering consumers a 10 cent a gallon gas discount for every $50 spent when you buy gas at one of their approved stations. Easy. Spend $50 get 10 cents off every gallon of gas the next time you fill up!
As gas prices rose over the past few years, so did their sales. Whether you liked shopping at Giant Eagle or not – and frankly – I don’t – you couldn’t help but choose Giant Eagle because saving money on gas was just too easy. You can buy gift certificates and also earn gas perks. When my dishwasher and dryer went on the fritz, I bought gift certificates at Giant Eagle for Sears and Best Buy and my gas savings rose to $3.00 a gallon. Almost a free tank of gas at the time!
So it wasn’t surprising to learn that competitor Acme decided to get in the gas game.
When Giant Eagle started their program – if you had a Giant Eagle discount card – you were automatically enrolled. The bottom of each receipt totaled the amount you saved during that day of shopping as well as a total so far that you’d accumulated. Easy. I don’t have to do anything except look at the bottom of my receipt.
Yesterday I shopped at Acme – my preferred store. I was pleased to see that the gas program had begun. Clearly they desired to build customer loyalty. When I got my receipt from the cashier I looked at the bottom to see what I’d earned. Wait – it is different. I’d earned 60 cents. How is that possible? I only spent $80?
“I’ve earned 60 cents?” I ask.
“Only if you’ve signed up for the program.” she explained.
“Sign up – aren’t I just in the program – I’ve been a card holding member for years.” Remember me – your biggest grocery store shopping fan?
“Nope – you have to go to that guy over there. He’ll sign you up.”
Why do I get a tense feeling in my gut? I’m on a tight schedule. I don’t have time for an extra step. This isn’t easy. But I don’t want to walk away from 60 cents.
So I stand in line and as I wait I start to hear about their customer loyalty gas program.
I’ll earn money on SOME of the products I purchase. There isn’t a rolling total on my receipt. The only way to check my customer loyalty gas balance is by calling a number on the back of this new card I have to carry. If I have accumulated $10 in gas credits I pump that amount and then have to start all over with another credit card if my car requires more than $10 in gas.
How is this a customer loyalty program that is easy for the customer? As far as I can see – Acme realized they needed to do something but rather than create a program similar to the one Giant Eagle has successfully educated consumers with – they have developed a customer retention strategy that is so complex and convoluted that rather than creating customer loyalty – I’m ticked off.
I shouldn’t have to work that hard. I wonder how Acme is measuring customer satisfaction? Did they bring customers into the room when they developed this program?
I now have to remember how two totally different programs work. I have to carry additional cards. I have to make a phone call instead of simply looking at my receipt.
So I wonder two things:
1. Do you make your customers work for your customer loyalty programs or do you make it easy?
2. When did we (or maybe it’s just me) become so intolerant as a consumer? When I learned how complex the Acme customer loyalty program was – I actually got a little snippy with the sales guy and negatively compared his program to the Giant Eagle program. Now, I know the guy that signed me up didn’t develop the program, but sadly, he got the brunt of my disgust.
Does your customer loyalty program create disgust in the minds of your consumer? If so – I gotta believe it is the wrong customer retention strategy.
What do you think? Am I just being too picky?
If a competitor has a program that works – do you create something totally different or make a modified version of the same program for your customers? Isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 6, 2009 under Communication, Employee Moments |
Have you ever noticed that associates treat customers – not always how they’d like to be treated – but rather how their boss treats them.
Interesting. If we are encouraging, positive and informative with our associates – they’ll respond positively and in turn, treat their customers with the same open, honest attitude.
So when assigning a project to your team – keep in mind that they’ll respond more in line with your desires if you take the time to explain the “why” behind the task.
Think back to when you were a kid. Remember when your Mom would tell you to do something? Sometimes it was a random request; you are playing with your toys and she sticks her head in the door and says, “Come on, get your coat on.”
Well, you don’t remember any appointment. Nobody told you there were plans to go someplace. You are right in the middle of intense play! You look up to find your Mom has already left your room and you holler, “Why?”
“BECAUSE I SAID SO.”
Oh, many times, she pulled the “because I said so” card. Grudgingly you drag yourself off the floor, looking longingly down at your dolls and slowly you turn towards your door.
“NOW!”
You hear your Mom yell at you to move faster.
You know where I’m going with this, right? How many times have we done the same thing at work? Oh, maybe we don’t say “because I told you” but it’s the impression we give.
So how does that make our associates feel? How many communications have you read or even wrote that spelled out mandatory edicts without an explanation? I know, who has time to bring everyone up to speed.
But how quickly do you achieve 100% compliance without clearly communicating the “whys.”
What if Mom had said, “Hey, come get your coat on? I can hear the marching band practicing at the high school – let’s go watch them practice.”
Or
“Grandma called, she’s not feeling well and she asked us to come for a visit. Go get your coat.”
We’d leave our toys a minute, right?
As the former Director of Communications for Cole National, I often had to communicate messages to associates that would require change or additional work. Most frequently my writing went under the signature of the President or Vice President of Stores. Their goal was a communication that achieved results. My responsibility was to ensure the message was read – understood – and acted upon.
To that end, I always included the why behind the information. It doesn’t need to be lengthy or complicated, in fact, if it is – it won’t be read.
When communicating with your associates remember these tips:
? If there is an action, task or deadline for the reader, state it early and often
? Explain the why behind the message – it should be as simple as a sentence:
o “In response to competitor’s recent advertising we are…”
o “Due to changes in our vendor supply capability you will need to…”
o “In response to requests from your peers we are changing…”
? Tell them how their compliance will impact the company. When associates realize that the request isn’t busy work but will actually impact the overall company results, they are more likely to comply.
? Thank them in advance
? Reinforce any specific task and/or deadline
? Give them a contact in case they have questions or comments
Create a partnership for success by being informative and providing associates with the “who”, “what”, “where”, “why”, “when”, and “how”. You are letting associates understand the value they provide to the company’s success. That makes everyone a winner.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on May 5, 2009 under Connecting Moments, Websites |
In our little local paper I recently read that the County Engineer has decided to use Twitter to keep the local citizens informed of road construction updates.
What a clever idea!
Spring/Summer is a classic time that cities start/complete road construction projects, fill pot holes and repave roadways. What better way to keep the public aware of the best roads to take – or not take – during a certain period of time than with Twitter?
In Summit County Ohio you can just follow @summitengineer for the latest roadway updates.
Who said Twitter was just a silly time waster with people complaining about their day?
How are you using Twitter to communicate time-critical data to your employees/vendors/customers? How COULD you use Twitter for critical updates? Not part of Twitter yet? What’s stopping you?
