Beyond Being Satisfied

In this blog and this book in progress we are advocating from a very strong point of view of customer service - clearly, that the outcome you must create for your customers is a very positive and very memorable experience. It's the "Wow!" factor. It's "wowing" your customers! And the "wow" is always positive and memorable, and to be positive and memorable it must be a positive, memorable and emotional experience. That's a lot of wows, positives and memorables - and it's the only outcome that makes a difference in terms of your business results.

Satisfying customers is not enough - it never has been. In some organizations that have made great strides in measuring customer satisfaction there is a growing dilemma: Survey says our satisfaction index is improving; but our rate of churn or defection is increasing as well. How can this be? Why do customers who appear to be satisfied, or tell us they're satisfied, defect to the competition?

There is a growing body of research on customer decision making and loyalty that supports our very strong point of view.

In Human Sigma published by Gallop Press, John Fleming and Jim Asplund present the results of several fascinating studies that illuminate customer behaviour. They have analyzed customer satisfaction ratings and found that those customers who are extremely satisfied can be classified into two distinct groups - rationally satisfied and emotionally satisfied. They report that the rationally satisfied customers, although extremely satisfied, lack a strong emotional attachment to the company. And just as we might all predict, emotionally satisfied customers outperform rationally satisfied customers on all dimensions - average spend, frequency, loyalty, rate of defection, etc. One of the most fascinating findings however, is that, (and please read this slowly), rationally satisfied customers behave no differently than dissatisfied customers! Wow! Interesting findings.

In a study of "advocating" the authors report similar results. Rational advocates, who report that they are extremely likely to recommend a company to others, ultimately behave very similar to non-advocates. And course, passionate (emotional) advocates deliver far superior performance on all dimensions. Wow! Human Sigma is an excellent book if you need more data to develop a strong point of view about service.

So, the only outcome you should strive to create for your customers is the 'WOW", the positive and memorable experience - the emotional experience.

Nothing else really matters!

Serving Each Customer Uniquely

An excellent story from Rebecca Morgan

She stood at the entrance in her crisp uniform, greeting every arrival. The guests filed past into the hotel meeting room for the local radio and TV broadcasters annual awards banquets. She looked each person in the eye as they passed and said, “I hope you have a great time tonight.”

I watched her, noting this out-of-the-norm behavior, even for 5-star hotels, which this was not. After we were seated, she visited each of her tables and asked if there was anything we needed. She chatted with those who wanted to chat and moved silently to pour wine for those otherwise engaged.

I complimented her on her impeccable attention to the guests and asked what motivated her to treat everyone with such care. She said she’d been working in hospitality for over 40 years and loved her job. But the next thing she said stood out for me.

“These people have given me so much joy every day, I’m thrilled to be able to help them make their special night memorable.”

This server had a clear vision of who her customers were that evening and how she could give each something from her heart.

Did she do this with every group? What about those who she had no personal connection to? I didn’t think to ask her, but now I’m guessing she found something to celebrate about each group.

Do your employees find ways to relate to each of their customers? Do they think about how to make each interaction special? Do you notice exemplars and compliment them? Or better yet, reward them?

Rebecca Morgan works with organizations that know the secret to their current and future success is developing key talent long-term. Visit http://growyourkeytalent.wordpress.com/ for more of her work.

Have a Conversation and Care

I often visit a local branch of TD Canada Trust to look after my mother's banking, as she no longer can get out on her own. I have been very impressed with the service and care they consistently display and I can now understand why my mother always insisted on bringing the staff chocolates at Christmas.

It's Saturday morning and there are four young smiling faces at work at the tellers, two others working with clients in offices, and one smiling face at reception. There's a couple waiting for an appointment with an advisor and their young daughter is busy colouring at a child-sized desk and chair. The ATMs are also being used. All of the tellers and receptionist are serving customers. There's an air of efficiency and everyone is busy. There are a lot of smiling faces and conversations abound. I'm second in line and the wait is about 15 seconds.

"Hi Rick, what can I do for you today?" I clarify what I need and Sean goes right into action. "Any plans for the weekend?" "I might head up to the cottage to make sure it's still standing," I say. "Where's the cottage?" "Near Midland." "Nice spot, great beaches, been there many times." "And you?" And our conversation continues as he very efficiently handles everything. Then Agnes walks by and says "Hi and how is your mother?" I fill her in and we talk and she tells me what a wonderfully kind customer she has been over the years. I will give my mother her regards.

Five minutes and I'm done and all went efficiently and I reflect that this branch has a most memorable group of efficient and caring people. Somebody is getting it right - in terms of service, conversations and caring. There was no customer service script - with canned questions and feigned interest. These people just seem to enjoy having conversations, and want to engage and connect personally with their customers as real people. And as far as I'm concerned, they really care.

Is this a one-off branch perhaps led by a most service-oriented manager, or a have they had more than their fair share of good recruits? I think there's more to it. I get the sense that there something more cultural involved, that there are significant investments being made in service orientation, and development, and that customer service has become strategic to the long term plans for TD Canada Trust.

Can customer service be strategic and create a sustainable competitive advantage? Yes I think so and know so. Based on my experiences of the people that work at this branch I am very seriously contemplating moving all of my business to them - and they haven't even asked me to. If getting people to switch is a challenge for business development at the banks, I'm already teed up to do it - just because of the positive and memorable experience.

And I think there's more to it.

Consider this:

• TD Canada Trust has won the top award in seven of the eleven categories of Synovate's Customer Service Index this year, and has been the top bank three years running.
• J.D. Power has ranked TD Canada Trust highest in Canadian retail banking customer satisfaction for the second consecutive year.
• They have announced more convenient banking hours at all branches across Canada - to serve customers 62 hours a week, and opening at 8:00 am including Saturdays.
• Their most recent quarterly results reported earnings of $1.1 billion, compared to $886 million in the prior year.
• They have recently completed an $8.5 billion acquisition of a major regional US bank and will be one of the largest banks in North America.

Hmmm …

I think I "get it."

Make Yourself Memorable

I think most people love receiving gifts and souvenirs of a most memorable experience. There are many ways to surprise and delight your customers and it rarely has to cost a lot of money. It's the thoughtfulness and appreciation that counts.

A friend recently told me a story of a flight on Emirates airlines. Of course they provided his children a little kit of activities to do during the very long flight, and, then they went beyond. They took photos of every child on the flight, put them in a little frame that had the flight number, route, pilot and attendants names and presented them to all before arrival. What a wonderful gesture of appreciation and a most memorable souvenir for a young child.

Is that something you could apply in your business?

I remember attending a conference of all of the executives in a most progressive organization. As we arrived for the three day session a photographer took shots of every participant as we registered, and many more shots through the sessions. At the conclusion of the conference our chairman presented an amazing slide show that featured every single one of the participants. Our take-way was a file of all of the presentations and also the incredibly memorable slide show. It's something I cherish from a most enlightening time in a very progressive organization.

What can you do to make every company event most memorable?

The more I talk to people about customer service the more I hear about the mindless and dysfunctional activities organizations do to alienate their customers. Take the telcos where customer 'churn' is a key issue. The typical approach to dealing with 'churn or turnover is to aggressively recruit new customers with new deals, ipods, gifts and whatever. Almost every single person I talk to is totally pissed as, being a loyal customer they not only don't get to take advantage of the deals for new subscribers, they never get any acknowledgement or appreciation for being a customer. How bizarre. So what creates the 'churn'?

What have you done to appreciate your current customers and make yourself memorable in their minds?

Create memories. Make yourself memorable!

Free for the Giving

You may think customer service requires a huge capital outlay: expensive training, high-falutin' CRM software, and thousands of dollar in expenditures Nonsense! The most important parts of customer service are free.

Here's my baker's dozen list of customer service components that are free:

1. Smiling.
2. Saying "I'm sorry", "We're sorry," or "I apologize"
3. Saying "thank you for your business."
4. Saying "thank you for bringing this problem to my attention"
5. Thanking customers for allowing you to fix their problems
6. Listening
7. Sharing important information in a timely manner
8. Giving customers choices
9. Addressing customers by name
10. Making small talk that build the relationship
11. Relating to customers on a human level
12. Relishing your interactions with your customers
13. Enjoying your work

The point is, customer service is about many things, most of them tied to attentiveness, friendliness and empathy. We all have the capacity to employ and deploy customer service to salve our customers' wounds. It's as much a mindset as it is phraseology.

The same skills you employed while delivering newspapers, selling lemonade or Girl Scout cookies as a kid, will hold you in good stead as a sales or service professional. The best things in life really are free. Now pass them on!

Craig Harrison's Expressions Of Excellence!™ helps professionals express their sales and service excellence with style. Contact him through http://www.ExpressiosOfExcellence.com .

A Perfect Experience in Landscaping

Exceptional service experiences are rare however, today I had the most perfect experience buying shrubs and plants, and I received an education in the process. Best of all - I feel totally invigorated! I may have a new career in landscaping.

Situation - Major concrete work on the front steps required demolition of the trusted shrubbery that was in the way. Concrete work is done, granite coating is complete (after many hours of effort), all railings are now pristine white - only issue is a naked landscape. I need (or think I need) two sort of evergreen things about four feet high for each side of the steps.

I do a little research. I think about $100 will get it done.

So I dig out the old stuff. Tough going but I am on a mission to complete this project. Several hours later I have the old out and new holes, but then I think I need more foliage in this tapestry. Dig more holes - another one there on the right, two more there to the left and just one more on the corner as an accent.

So now I have many holes in the ground and haven't a clue what to put in them.

Off to Sheridan Nurseries on Burnhamthorpe Road, my closest plant people.

I'm wandering, looking at these emerald things that might work, and then looking at other shrubs that might fit and really wanting someone to talk to. "Need some help?" from a young lady who could see that I did. "Yes I do."

This young lady was incredible. I outlined my project. She understood. We discussed exposure to sun and soil conditions. We were on our knees looking at the emeralds and she was so very knowledgeable about how to best transplant them but I just couldn't see how I get the holes big enough to make it work. What other options?

We explored several. She took me on a tour to explore everything - the special characteristics of spruce, how these other ones were unique, which ones thrived best in various conditions, how to transpant, how wide they will grow, how high they will grow, how to trim, how to maintain - what a learning experience - and she was so knowledgeable and sincere!

So we settled on two blue spruce as the 'soldiers' for the stairs, and several other accent pieces. She also suggested a special transplanting solution, several bags of their soil, and a few bags of mulch to make it all work. Everything I needed to become the landscaping artist I was destined to be. She helped me to the cash, ensuring the shrubs were safe in my hands, and thanked me for trusting my needs with her.

I came back the same day for two more pieces to complete my work. She saw me wandering again and wanted to know how the project worked. "Superb" I said, just need a few more. I could see in her smile that she enjoyed being of service and helping me create my little work of art. A little conversation and exploration and she helped me find two additional perfect pieces to complete my masterpiece.

It was a wow for me - experiencing sincere, honest, knowledgeable and professional service.

I think it was a wow for her - in being the expert, being of service and helping me succeed at my project.

The outcomes: I set out to spend $100 on two shrubs and did spend just under $400 and was very happy doing so. Sheridan Nurseries now has a very satisfied customer who is referring them to others (as we speak) and I will be a customer for life.

Sincere, honest, knowledgeable and professional service. What an enjoyable experience!

Customer Service Scripting

The trouble with compiling a blog or a book about great customer service experiences is that there are just so few experiences and stories to talk about. What a sad state of affairs! C’est domage. But then again, what an incredible opportunity!

I’ve been involved in creating customer focused cultures for many years and have seen the incredible empowering impact it can have on your front line people and on tangible business results. There is no doubt that when customer service becomes strategic for your enterprise you can win – beyond your wildest imagination. But most organizations, most of the time, don’t get it.

For most enterprises most of the time, the best they can come up with is customer service scripting. Scripting is really, quite feeble. It speaks to an intent to provide a certain minimum of engagement but most often just sounds like lip service to customer service.

I’ve wondered why. I think I have the answer.

I think it is all very logical and reasonable. It does seem to make sense.

If a customer is satisfied, her expectations of you were met, the product was good, the service was fine – what’s the impact? Might tell a few people about it. (Positive but not overly memorable.) You get paid, life goes on.

If you wow your customer! (And that’s a very good thing!) You’ll create a fan (maybe a raving fan) and loyal supporter who will tell several people about his wonderful experience. Great referrals! Excellent stuff! (Positive and very memorable.)

But if you screw up, guess what? Your customer will tell a lot of people about this very negative and memorable experience. (All negative experiences are very memorable – aren’t they?)

And here’s the kicker. If you screw up and then screw up the complaint process your customer will tell hundreds of people about her most negative and very memorable experience of you!

So the logical solution is to avoid the negative – to have a play safe script for your people to “perform” to avoid the nightmare. Have your service providers ‘get with the program’ and do their very best to meet expectations and minimize the risk of screwing anything up. Totally logical! It’s an MBA approach to engineering the customer service “experience.”

Trouble is … we all know it’s lip service. Your customers know it and feel it. Your service providers know it too. That’s why it doesn’t make any $%^& difference! All it does is keep you on a very mediocre path and not very memorable, unless of course you screw up, which you inevitably will.

You cannot ever dream to provide a script to deal with every new and unique experience! Yet most businesses most of the time keep on trying the same things and then wondering why the results aren’t really any different. Must be a problem with your people – in their commitment and execution. This reminds of a wonderful question posed by Paul Levesque in one of his presentations. “Are your people unmotivated, lackluster and uncommitted 24 hours a day, or only the 8 hours a day they spend with you?”

How do you create great experiences for your customers if every new and unique experience is new and unique? You have to start from an ethic or value of service. It’s about who you are and what you stand for and believe in. And you can’t fake it!

It’s about inviting positive and caring people to share your values and then being able to make it real for your customers. Stories help communicate some of the elements of success however, great service is always “improv” within the framework of shared values. You create the framework and ‘context’ and then empower your people to unleash their creativity to make it so.

So please throw out the scripts and unleash the creativity of your people.

Try this the next time you’re in one of your favourite restaurants and the server attempts to very professionally recite all of the specials of the day with all of the detail and pizzazz they can muster, (and it’s best if it’s a new server trainee.) Say, “Wow, sounds like you have the script down pat, good job!” “Have you tried them?” Which one do you like best?” Very often you will get more scripting as in “They’re all great!” Occasionally, your questions will invite the wow factor into the experience and you might just get a most interesting, improvised, passionate and refreshing performance.

Scrap the scripts. Let your people perform!