When Service Failures Collide

My experience last Sunday at Red Lobster reminded me of how service failures can snowball. It was a classic case of breaking one tenet of customer service after another:

Set Accurate Expectations

When you set expectations properly, you give your customer the freedom to make informed decisions. Period. Under promise and over deliver isn’t the cliché it is for no reason. If you over promise and under deliver, you’ve failed the customer experience.

The host at Red Lobster greeted me with pained interest, took our name, handed me a pager and said the wait time would be about 15 minutes. The wait time ended up being 35 minutes. Lucky for us, friends of ours arrived before us and were also waiting for a table. I was able to strike up conversation with our friends and pass the time. That said, I would much prefer the host had accurately stated the wait time. Then I can make an informed decision as to whether or not I wish to wait. Another couple I didn’t know asked me, “What did they tell you the wait time was?” “15 minutes,” I replied. “Yeah, that’s what they told us too. It’s already been 30 minutes, we’re leaving.” The couple left and so did several other guests.

Manage Perceptions

The customer’s perception is their reality so instinctively put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself, “How does this look? How will our customers perceive this?”

As 25 or so guests waited for available tables, in plain view of all of us were 3 booths and one 4 square sitting empty. We continued to wait and wait and wait and the table and booths continued to be empty of diners. A rumble of undertone passed around the waiting area. Why weren’t they seating anyone at open stations?

I approached the host desk and asked for the manager. When the manager approached, I asked her why guests weren’t being seated at the available booths? She explained that the server handling that section also had a table of 16 and couldn’t handle the additional tables. Wow. Bad planning or lousy contingency plans – or both? Hard to believe that is their Plan B.

Customers don’t care about your drama. Manage it. And manage what customers see and hear.

Harmful Damage Control

If you decide to compensate a customer for a service failure, make sure that comp doesn’t cause further damage.

The Red Lobster Manager offered my guest and I a complimentary appetizer in consideration of our longer than expected wait time. The comp was properly communicated to our waiter and was subtracted from our bill without any intervention from me. However, the appetizer we ordered tasted like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours.

Mind the Beginning and the End

Customers typically remember more clearly the very beginning of an experience and the very end. Pay very close attention to how a customer’s journey begins with your product or service and to the last thing they’ll remember.

In a restaurant, the guest arrival, greeting and seating functions are the beginning of your customer’s on site journey. If you botch up this part of the experience, you’re quite possibly sabotaging the rest of the experience. The customer is likely to remember mostly what went wrong in the beginning, regardless of how you tried to recover.

Check for Consistency

Your company may have separate unique brands and trade names. Customers may not be aware that your brands are all part of the same company. Nevertheless, if customer experience inconsistency exits across your brands, your could be setting yourself up to “brand damage” your entire organization.

It may not be known to all that Red Lobster is part of the same restaurant family as Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse. Ironically, this was not my first bad experience at Red Lobster. However, after a year of boycotting the chain, I thought I’d give them another chance to see if things had improved. They haven’t. Yet, I regularly have great experiences at Olive Garden and good experience at Longhorn. So why the inconsistency within the same parent company?

One can only speculate that best practices are not shared, brands are not held to the same standard, head office politics – who knows. At any rate, best in class eludes them.

So, you want to train your employees? Don’t miss these key steps.

Company budgets have been tight these past several years and that typically means businesses have cut back on training. Not always a wise choice. However, if your business has decided to invest in some form of training for your employees in 2012, that’s a positive sign for your company’s growth.

Whether you’re planning to train customer service, sales people, delivery associates or any other group, make sure you include the following key elements in order to increase your success rate and get the most return on your investment:

 In your next training endeavor, here’s what to look for in 5 key areas:

1)      Know Your Audience:

Adult learners are a unique breed. Understand what motivates adult learners and how to ensure the training is effective. Adult learners want to know “what’s in it for them” and how the training is going to help them with their goals. The focus is sometimes weighted too heavily on “here’s why this training is good for our business” rather than “here’s why this training is valuable for you in our business.” Subtle but important difference. Be sure the training starts with a) Here’s what you’re going to learn and b) At the end of this training, you’ll know how to do X. This clearly sets expectations and also establishes responsibility with the adult learner.

2)      Subject Matter Experts Aren’t Trainers by Default:

A PowerPoint and a projector don’t constitute training! The tendency in many companies is to say, “Hey, Bob’s a whiz when it comes to our SmartOrder program. Let’s get Bob to train the new customer service team.” The problem with that approach is this – Knowing how to use the SmartOrder system is one thing. Knowing how to effectively train other people to use it is something different entirely. Why do you think the teachers teaching your kids have to be trained to teach? Teaching is a vocation in and of itself. Bob showing up at your door with a PowerPoint deck is not training! It’s a presentation.

Understand the difference between a subject matter expert and a training professional. A training professional is a subject matter expert about learning. Consider hiring a professional to develop curriculum and to deliver your training.

3)      Plan Ahead:

Be sure to prepare handouts or guides as takeaways for participants. Class participants will typically take notes in class but don’t expect them to know what points are key concepts. Handouts and guides draw attention to the most important concepts so participants aren’t left guessing and the learning is more consistent across your group. A participant manual also gives the student something to review later to brush-up on the material covered through self-study.

A word about application training. Application training is unique – don’t skimp here. Some people learn by seeing, others by doing and still others with a combination of both. If you’re training employees how to use a new computer application, blend presentation training with “computer lab” activities so participants can first “see” and then “do.” If you don’t have a training room outfitted with PC’s, have participants bring their laptops or rent laptops for the training. During the lab activities portion of the training, participants can ask questions while actually performing work in the application. This ensures they’ll retain more of the learning and your program will be much more successful.

4)      Environment and Experience:

The success of your training content is directly tied to the training environment and the training experience for participants. Be sure your training room is comfortable and free of distractions. Have water and healthy snacks to keep participants energy and engagement up. Effective training includes a mixture of elements including clearly stating objectives, communicating what participants will learn, lecture, discussion/activity, debrief and assessment. Variety will fight distraction and boredom. Simple things are important like making sure everyone can see and hear the presentation, especially for larger groups of 15+ participants. Set expectations for how questions will be handled then repeat questions for all to hear. Pause periodically to validate with the class that concepts are understood. And finally, make it fun!

5)      Successful Training Is Not An Event:

The most successful employees have regular training integrated into performance management. Follow up on learning retention rates by implementing training evaluations and refreshers. Don’t make the mistake of having a 1-day training and never following up again. Include an assessment immediately following the training and then again 2-4 weeks later to measure what participants have learned and what they remember. Use assessment results to tweak ongoing training for improvement.

Training and teaching others, helping them grow and make a bigger contribution is some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done.

If you have comments about this article or questions about a training initiative you’re putting together for your company, please contact Bill Leinweber at 513-227-9037 by email at Bill@LandmarkExperience.com.

What’s the Advantage of your rewards program?

Sorry for the long hiatus! Since October, I’ve been working on a completely awesome project in Austin, TX and have had little time to catch my breath.

So, American Airlines sends me an email offer to join their AAdvantage Dining Program so I can “Earn Miles” when I dine at my “Favorite Restaurants.” Apparently, they think they know which restaurants are my favorites. My interest was piqued for about 10 seconds so I clicked on the link to their website and entered my home zip code to see “my favorite restaurants.” The closest restaurant to my house is Maury’s Tiny Cove and it goes downhill from there! Don’t get me wrong. Maury’s Tiny Cove is a westside Cincinnati iconic institution, a delightful place full of “regulars” and where you get the distinct feeling that Frank Sinatra or Bobby Darin are going to walk out of the men’s room just as you walk in. Of course despite nearly 12 years in Cincinnati, on the westside you’re only allowed to be a “regular” if you’re born here, but I digress. My point is, I’d only eat at Maury’s once a year at best.

The next nearest restaurant in the radius search is Willie’s Sports Cafe and then The Crows Nest. Even if you’re not familiar with Cincinnati, I think you’re getting the picture. Since I’ve been working in Austin the past several months, I thought I’d try a zip code radius search from my hotel. Similar results. Beyond one random sushi bar and The Star of India, American Airlines idea of my favorite restaurants are a bunch of pizza joints and Tex Mex. Now, American is based in Dallas so I get the strong Tex Mex influence.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m far from being a food snob. Pick a restaurant and I’ll find something on the menu to eat. Put a plate of food in front of me and I’m likely to clean the plate, just as mom implored us to do growing up. (Although, after a recent trip to the ER, I’m making completely new choices in food selections these days! Ah, the glory of passing the half-century mark).

At the end of the day, given the selection of restaurants on the “Advantage” Dining Program, it would take me 10 years to earn only enough miles to taxi to the end of a runway! So American, what’s the advantage? And, where are “my favorites.” This got me thinking about rewards programs in general, most of which are useless for all but the globe trotters and big spenders.

I have to laugh when companies have any type of rewards program but their basic service is so sub par. Guess what? That ain’t gonna work. So what do you offer your customers in terms of rewards? How about the reward of really great service rolled into an emotionally rousing fantastic experience? The customer gets rewarded and so does your business. Don’t be lured into believing you need to launch a rewards program unless you commit to truly looking at it from the customer’s perspective.

Now, eat up.

Smart Phones Are Slowing Down the World

Maybe it’s just me but, have you noticed this too? You’re in your car sitting at a red light, a few cars back. The light turns green. Are you waiting longer than you used to for traffic to start moving? I think so too! It seems like it takes forever for traffic to get moving. In fact, if you’re the fifth, sixth or seventh car back, you may not even make it through the traffic light on the first green. Hey, hang on a second. If you’re reading this post at a red light, put down your smart phone and put both hands back on the wheel! Okay, now look at the car next to you, in front of you or behind you. Is the driver starring into their smart phone? Aha! See what I mean?

When the light turns green, no one sees that it’s green. Everyone has their head down checking email or texting or watching that cool YouTube video. Then suddenly, oh yeah, back to driving. And after much hesitation, a few cars FINALLY start moving forward. Not like the old days when putting on lipstick or hot coffee caused distracted driving. (Have you ever tried putting on lipstick while holding a hot coffee? I gave that up long ago).

I’m glad you’ve also noticed this phenomena. So, how does the smart phone slow down the world? Well, think about it. Something like 50% of Americans have smart phones. So if there’s 10 cars at a traffic light and half of the driver’s are Tweeting or texting and that causes a 1-2 second delay for those drivers to start driving once the light turns green, that’s a 5-10 second delay at each traffic light. Now multiply that by the bazillions of cars and traffic lights around the country and the world and well, you get the picture. The physical movement of the motor vehicle world is being delayed a zillion times a second! We’re at risk of commerce coming to a screeching halt. Oh wait, been there, done that.

Not to mention that smart-phoning and driving is insanely unsafe. It’s actually crazytown. Oh sure States like Ohio and New York and others have passed their cutesy laws about cell phone use or no texting and driving but let’s get serious. My friend in New York just says, “Hang on, there’s a cop … (put’s her phone down) … okay, I can talk again…” Lots of cities have passed “anti-texting” ordinances but, let’s get serious for a moment. How will they enforce it? “Um, officer, I wasn’t texting. I was typing in my GPS location for routing directions for Google” or “I was looking up my mom’s phone number so I can call her, um, hands free!”

Did I mention I was just as guilty as you are? I walk the dog while reading email on my smart phone which is only slightly less unsafe than doing it at a red light. I’m just merely making the observation.

Remember when seat belts weren’t standard safety requirements in motor vehicles? I only barely remember. So don’t be surprised if we see some deep integration of smart phone technology into automobiles such as, the smart phone has to be “docked” into the dashboard of the car or the car won’t start. I foresee universal plugs and docking stations. Everything will be hands-free and voice commanded. And if Google has their way, the vehicle will simply “drive itself” using their maps and GPS technology, which would actually be great when you think about it. We can all just hop into the back seat and text and email and surf the net to our heart’s content.

Until then, put your damn phone down and put those hands back on the wheel! Light’s green!

P.S. I’m not sure what this has to do with customer experience except maybe the customer experience of driving. Okay, you’re right. That’s a stretch.

What’s the Cost of Voices Unheard? – Part II of II

[This is Part II in a two-part series.]

In my last post, I “came out of the closet” about my childhood stuttering. It’s not like it was a big secret. But most of the people who know me today may not realize I stuttered terribly as a child.

Over time, I came to realize the impact that stuttering had on my life in business, as a manager, a leader, a facilitator, a mentor, a teacher. In short, I like hearing from everyone at the table. I want all voices to be heard. Not merely to be polite. When I’m trying to solve a problem, I want to have as much information as possible so the solution will serve the broadest audience. In turn, there’s a huge benefit to a business and to customer and employee experience when all the voices are heard. But all the voices aren’t always audible so, what to do about it?

On Which Side of the Table Are You?

I’d like to share an experience with you that changed the way I see group interaction. A few years back, I participated in a 2-day management workshop sponsored by our Division President. 20-25 managers gathered from various locations and departments around the division. The workshop facilitator led us through a group exercise where we lined-up around a U-shaped table, with the most extroverted person at one end of the table and the most introverted person at the other end. This would be really difficult to do with a roomful of strangers but thankfully, most of us had worked together a sufficient amount of time. We all stood up and proceeded to move around the table and drop ourselves into place based on our perceptions of where we were in the extro/introversion spectrum.

No Surprise, There Were Surprises

Once we settled into our positions at the table, we all stood there and looked around the room. At the “extrovert” end of the table stood our Division President, an uppercase “A personality;” vocal, bold, aggressive and confident. No surprise to any of us.

At the opposite and ”introvert” end of the table stood our Purchasing Manager, a loyal, quiet, and diligent leader who is content to observe, plan and execute her responsibilities with the least possible fanfare. Again, no surprise to any of us.

I stood smack-dab at the half-way point, with the extroverts to my left and the introverts to my right. At my immediate left stood my Customer Service Manager, “one degree” more extroverted than me. My position in the line-up was no surprise to me, although most of my friends and colleagues peg me as more extroverted that I say I am. Half of my success and enjoyment comes from stepping out in front and leading a team, training, speaking to a group. The other half comes from stepping back, observing and formulating strategy and improvements. So it made sense to me that I straddle the extrovert/introvert threshold.

When It Comes To Solving Problems, Is Halfway Around the Room Far Enough?

The big surprise to me is this: Are we hearing the voice of only half the room?

Think about it. You can do the “line-up around the table” exercise with a room full of card-carrying extroverts or a room full of quiet, demure introverts. And yet in any group, it’s possible half to a third of the people in the room may not be comfortable speaking up, and not because of any speech impediment but simply due to their personality.

But surely the introverts are not without great ideas, observations and suggestions. The mere fact that they speak less and listen more might suggest they’re better equipped to arrive at brilliantly simple solutions. I know this to be true from simply talking to front line employees one-on-one. Some of the best ideas for improvement came from simply asking someone who otherwise wouldn’t have volunteered them.

Listen to What You’re Not Hearing

As a business leader, you owe it to yourself and to the business to ensure your teams arrive at the best possible solutions and outcomes. That won’t happen when only half the room is heard. So, what can you do?

1. Assess -
   > How do your managers interact with one another and with their own teams?
   > Do a few people monopolize the discussion and the solutions?
   > Do your managers recognize personality differences and adjust their behavior to fit the situation and the individual?
   > Are changes in your business implemented only to find out later that some aspect was missed or not considered by the group?
2. Advise -
   > If the more introverted team members remain quiet in group meetings, encourage and ask for their feedback but don’t demand it.
   > Circle back. The more introspective among us may not be comfortable with “feedback on demand” in a large group. Give the person a some time to digest the information and then circle back to ask for their thoughts and suggestions.
   > Sometimes the most extroverted need to “zip it!” Remind them when it is time for someone else to speak.
3. Improve -
   > Consider group activities such as the one above that teach your team members about personality differences and that diversity is a good thing.
   > Focus on strengths. Every team member can’t be great at catching the fly ball. But everyone is great at something. Focusing on individual strengths will build confidence in all of your team members.
   > Make sure your reward systems aren’t biased toward the extroverts. When everyone has a chance of being recognized, individual participation will remain higher.

Look Around Your Table

Are you listening to everyone? Are you hearing everyone?

How Stuttering Made Me a Better Human Being – Part I

[This post is dedicated to my awesome “baby brother.” He knows why. He’s also made me a better human being.]

I’m finally going to come out of the closet. Hey, one second. I can actually see you smirking from here. No fair. Hear me out. Don’t jump to conclusions.

Okay, here goes.

I’m a stutterer.

Stutter, stammer, whatever you want to call it, I do that. I’ve stuttered my entire life. No, not just my adult life. My entire flippin life. I’ve stuttered for as long as I can remember. I don’t know why I stutter. I’m not even sure what causes stuttering. I was never sent to speech therapy or anything like that. Surprisingly, I know very little about stuttering other than the fact that King George VI stuttered and stuttering has had a profound impact on my life. It’s made me a better person in some ways but, it hasn’t always been easy.

What? Did I stutter? Actually, yes, I did.

My stuttering isn’t a TOTAL surprise to everyone. I’ve freely confided in people along my adult journey. When I tell people I stutter, I’m always surprised when I hear, “Oh really? I never noticed it.” My first thought is always, you’ve got to be kidding. I notice it all the time. How could you not notice? Maybe they’re just being polite or maybe I do hide it well.

I’m the fourth of six children spanning a nearly twenty-year age gap. My earliest memory is of adults asking the inevitable, “What’s your name little boy?” And then comes my pathetic response, “B-b-b-b-b-b-i-ll L-l-l-l-l-l-ein-w-w-w-w-eb-b-b-b-b-er.” Imagine for a moment what it must feel like not being able to say your own name.

With six kids around it’s beneficial to be expeditious with your speech. If you’ve got something to say, for God’s sake, say it and say it quick. There are five other kids with something to say. So despite the fact that I had a lot to say, I drifted into the background, the stuttering introvert fighting the creative, curious internal extrovert.

“Na, na-na, na, na, na“

School was the worst. I’m sure you know how cruel kids can be. Lots of kids can’t draw or toss a ball or kick a field goal but I can’t even freakin’ talk? What a loser. The problem is you look “normal” until you open your mouth and try to speak. The goal every day in elementary school from the moment I got to school until the moment I left school was to NOT get called on to “read aloud.” You know that routine. “Bill Leinweber, please read the next three paragraphs aloud while the rest of the class reads silently.” While the rest of the class laughs at me, is what you mean, teach. Oh God, please no. Don’t make me read aloud. I feel sick to my stomach. I’m going to throw up. I’m ill, I have to leave. Yes, I faked illness just to get out of reading to the class.

For a stutterer, reading the written word is a perilous trap into which you don’t want to step. You can’t ad lib. When speaking in conversation, I can say pail instead of bucket if the b’s trip me up. I can say “rest” rather than “sleep” if s’s give me a hard time. I venture to guess that most stutterers have pretty expansive vocabularies because they’re constantly substituting one word for another difficult-to-say word.

Fat Kids Are My Friends

Not so politically correct but true. Many of the heavy kids in school felt like misfits, sitting on the sidelines, and so did I. That pretty much sucks if you WANT to do things but are too afraid. I understood their plight. I knew how it felt. And I was a small kid so I would sit behind my overweight friends to hide from the teacher. I would do anything to not get called on.

I finally came out of my shell in 12^th grade when I was recruited for my high school choir. There was an apparent shortage of baritones but I didn’t care. I love to sing and this was a chance to be part of something where I was accepted. Funny, but I don’t stutter when I sing. Neither does Mel Tillis.

I’m so grateful that my last couple of years in high school were so full of wonderful experiences. Spanish Club, Choir, honors classes – I finally broke free of my imaginary bondage, made scores of new friends and participated in many activities that I otherwise wouldn’t have.  However, when you have a lot to say and can’t speak, inevitably you miss opportunities.

Hey, What Did I Miss?

If I hadn’t stuttered, I would have read morning announcements over the PA system in 3^rd grade. Remember those? I would have auditioned for school plays and played a leading role or supporting role or maybe been in the chorus. Truth is I never even tried out. Too scared.

I probably would have been on the Debate Team or some other group out front. Instead, I stayed mostly in the background. I may have discovered and used my leadership skills sooner. But with all the things I didn’t do, with all the things that weren’t happening at that time, I failed to notice then the cool things that WERE happening as a result of my stuttering.

It Wasn’t All Bad

There are actually good things that came out of stuttering. I love making people think, learn, and laugh. What’s better than that? Thinking, learning, laughing – great gifts to give, if you can. I do believe when one sense is diminished, our remaining senses are enhanced. Isn’t that why sight-impaired people can hear really well?  One of the positive results of stuttering is that I listen really, really well. I spent less time talking and a lot more time listening. Seriously, I can literally “name that tune” in 2 or 3 notes. Play the first few notes of a song and I can probably name it.

I notice things that others don’t. Since I never had the confidence to be ON stage, I worked mostly “backstage” on school activities. As a result, I have a unique perspective. When you’re dancing on the stage and under the spotlight, you’re unable to notice that a spotlight is burned out. I do notice the burned out spotlight. Stuttering makes me more aware of the details around me. Over time, you become “detail oriented.” I anticipate “what’s going to happen next” and “what’s needed next” by stepping back and observing.

If one person is trying to get a word in edge-wise (what does edge-wise mean?) in a conversation, I don’t forget that person. In fact, I’m keenly aware of the person trying to jump in and express their thoughts. I understand how they feel. Once there is a break in the discussion, I might say, “Ben, I think you had something to add. What was it?” I don’t want any voice to be excluded in the way that I excluded my own embarrassed, stuttering voice. I want to hear all voices, all opinions, all ideas.

I learned to write. Well, think about it. If you can’t speak, how else can you communicate all that you have to say? You write. I love to write and I love to touch people with the written word.

Tell Me What Hurts

If you remember only one thing, let it be this. The agony for a stutterer isn’t the inability to speak with poise and grace. The real agony for someone who stutters is watching the pain and uncomfortable embarrassment in your eyes as you look and listen, as you squirm in your seat. That’s the most painful part.

At the end of the day, I’m glad I stutter. It made me more aware, sympathetic, understanding and accepting. Stuttering has made me relentless in discovering the strengths in others rather than dwell on the weaknesses. It makes me recognize the misfit, makes me want to offer my hand and hear their voice. Tell me what’s on your mind. I want to hear it.

Today, for me to stand in front of a room full of people and speak or teach or encourage is nothing short of a miracle. Remember, I was the one hiding behind the “fat kid.” The days of “please don’t call on me” are behind me. Frankly, I don’t care if I stutter or not. I want to inspire and build.

Are there unheard voices in your life? Not because you’re not a good listener. But because the other person isn’t comfortable speaking.

What the Heck Does This Have To Do With Customer Experience?

That’s a good question and thanks for wondering. This blog is about customer experience, after all. So stay tuned to my next post. I had to tell you about my stuttering first before I could share how stuttering made me uniquely suited to customer experience and business excellence building.

[Coming Soon: What Stuttering Has To Do With Customer Experience – Part II]

Customer Experience Has An Identity Crisis

An open letter to American City Business Journals, Inc and it’s affiliate, Dayton Business Journal, Publisher, Carol Clark

 

Dear “Biz Journals,”

 

I need your help. You’re killin’ me here. I need your writers and editors to get on board with customer experience terminology. Your Dayton Business Journal ran an article that came through on my email alert with a link titled, “Southwest tops customer service rankings.” The online headline read, “Report: Top 10 airlines for customer service.”

 

Your article cited a new Consumer Reports ranking on the nation’s largest airlines. You kept referring to this report as “customer service” in airline satisfaction but it became clear to me as I read your article that Consumer Reports had surveyed the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE of airline passengers.

 

The report measured satisfaction on ease of check-in, cabin-crew service, cabin cleanliness, baggage handling, seat comfort and in-flight entertainment. The most frequent complaints, your article stated, were uncomfortable seats and excessive fees.

 

So, what’s the big deal, you say? Customer Service, Customer Experience, what’s the dif? I’ll make a wager that if you asked 10 people, “What do you think of airline customer service,” 9 of them would think you’re talking about service at the other end of an 800 number, not seat comfort. So if we just read your headlines and don’t read the article, we’re being misguided. 

 

Oh sure, airlines provide “non-stop service” to here and there so it’s fair to use service in that context. But Consumer Reports own online article states, “Almost 15,000 readers told us about their experiences on 29,720 domestic flights” and “..opinion of today’s flying experience…” I mean, c’mon, since when are seat comfort and excessive fees considered “customer service?”

 

Why does it matter? It matters because guys like me are out here trying to spread the word with business owners and CEO’s about the importance of customer experience, about weaving continuity throughout customer interactions so that the overall experience is positive, memorable and loyalty-driving. Spreading the good word about customer experience is hard enough without another powerful force out there confusing the issue with word mis-usage. So I need your help in using the correct words, despite what appears to you to be merely a nuance. 

 

So let’s agree that I won’t abbreviate “Biz Journal” any more if you won’t homogenize customer experience into the generic customer service nomenclature.

 

Deal? Thanks. Love ‘ya, mean it. 

 

Your loyal reader,

 

Bill Leinweber

Customer Experience Expert

What’s Your Definition of Expectations?

The other day I was ironing a shirt. The label in the collar read “Easy Care.” So that got me thinking about expectations and meanings, as in “that depends on what you mean by ‘Easy Care.’”

I’ve been asked a lot lately about how to properly set customer expectations, a concept that is so important in managing a great customer experience. Yet, customer disappointments continue to plague businesses.

So how do you best set expectations with customers and avoid disappointments? Well first, don’t call a shirt “Easy Care” when it clearly requires ironing out of the dryer! My definition of Easy Care does not include an ironing board. That said, here are a few tips on the subject:

1) Deliver the News Up Front
People seem to be afraid to set parameters up front, especially if they feel they can’t deliver on a particular requirement exactly as requested. It is much better to set the expectations at the beginning and avoid disappointment later. Your customer will appreciate the honesty and your ability to accurately forecast what you can deliver and when. If the customer asks for the Sun, Moon and Stars and you can provide only the Sun and Moon, say so. Some folks might call this “under promise and over deliver” but I disagree. Accurately promise and then do what you said you would do, or more.

2) Be Clear About Time
Customers will fill in the blanks, so don’t leave any. If the shirt says “Easy Care,” make sure it’s a no-iron shirt! Don’t say, “I’ll get back to you next week.” Instead, say “I’ll get back to you on Wednesday” or “no later than next Friday.” Be specific, then confirm the time frame is acceptable to your customer. Next week has both a Monday and a Friday and there’s a world of difference between the two. Be specific so the expectations are aligned with both parties.

3) Notify Customers Immediately of Any Service Challenges
If you can’t meet a deadline or need more time, notify your customer immediately. Customers appreciate being kept informed rather than left to wonder. A call saying, “I’m still working on your question/issue and I expect to have resolution by Friday” goes a long way.

4) Use Technology to Help Set Expectations
If you’re frequently on the road or out of the office, use your voice mail and email auto-responder to set the expectation on when the customer will hear back from you. “Thanks for calling. Please leave your detailed message. I return calls daily at ten, two and four.”

5) Don’t Try to Be Everything to Everyone
It’s tempting to try to accept every opportunity to make a sale and not let any opportunity slip away. However, that approach beckons a very broad spectrum of customer expectations and increases the chances for inconsistency and potential disappointment. Focus on a target market where you can most consistently meet customer expectations. To some degree, standardize processes and minimize exceptions.

Little Billy Leinweber Breaks an Old Habit

Yes I had hair back then and the typewriter weighed more than I did

Nobody likes change. Well, at least very few people I know. Yet, one of the worst things for a business is to stay the same. Sure it’s easier to keep things just as they are and it’s certainly more comfortable. We like routine. Don’t rock the boat, right?

Business leaders, I want you to venture out into your front lines and pick a process or procedure and ask your staff, “Why do we do this? And why is it done in this way?” If you hear anything at all like, “We’ve always done it this way,” then you’ve just stumbled on a huge opportunity. An opportunity to improve and do things better. “We’ve always done it this way” is the worst reason in the world to continue doing something. I know. And just to show you how committed I am, I’m going to stop doing something I’ve done for the past 43 years. I’m going to do something differently.

I learned to type at the age of nine. It was summer school between fourth and fifth grade. I think it was a punishment because I don’t remember volunteering. I just remember I went to summer school and had Living Science (like outdoor biology) and typing class. That was the first and last time I ever went to summer school. Yeah, I can hear you laughing but how many of you have the courage to put a 4th grade photo of yourself on the internet? Anyway, I remember the day the News Herald photographer and reporter came into the class to take the picture. Definitely a slow news day in Mentor, Ohio. The newspaper story begins, “Little Billy Leinweber didn’t even look big enough to reach the typewriter keys…” And for those of you who can’t remember, that big metal object in front of me is called a typewriter. It’s what we used to type letters and envelopes and other documents before computers. You can stop laughing now.

The really cool thing is, by the time computers did become commonplace I already knew how to type and I mean using all my fingers and without looking at the keyboard. And all these years, I thought I was doing it right because “I’ve always done it this way.” Then about a month ago, I read a blog post somewhere and the author was saying, “Anyone who puts 2 spaces between sentences is doing it wrong!” What? Are you kidding? That’s the way I was taught to type 43 years ago. One space between words and two spaces between sentences. What the heck was this guy talking about?

As it turns out, the two-spaces-between-sentences thing was because typewriter characters were monospaced, meaning each letter took up the same amount of space. If you typed two sentences one over the other, the letters in the top row would line up in columns with the letters in the row beneath. A computer produces proportionally spaced characters (unless you use a font like Courier which mimics a typewriter font). With proportional spacing the letter “i” for example takes up only 1/5 the space of the letter “m.” With proportional spacing, there is no longer a need to put two spaces between sentences. Hmmm… I don’t remember getting the newsflash.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to change a habit that you began 43 years ago? Well, it’s not easy but I’m going to do it. I’m going to re-condition myself to type only one space between sentences. Why? To be cool and “with it?” No, because it actually does look better in print and on-screen. It’s more pleasing to read. It’s a better way. Oh sure, I could say the heck with it, I’m going to just keep typing the way I’ve always done it. It would be much easier for me to not change a thing especially because I don’t even have to think about it. My thumbs automatically go tap-tap on the space bar every time I get to the end of a sentence so, it’s going to take some effort. But isn’t it good practice now and then to make a change for the better and not use “We’ve always done it this way” as an excuse to stay comfortable?

Customer experience in your business and your business in general will never be at its absolute best if you continue doing things as you’ve always done them because it’s simply easier. Take a look around your business. Be open. Turn on your peripheral vision. Why do we do this? Why do we do it this way? If the reason is “We’ve always done it this way” then start digging. Is it the best way? Are you willing put forth the effort to make your business better? You CAN do it. Take a hint from Little Billy Leinweber. If he can change something he learned when he was nine, you can make a change too!

The Language of Customer Experience

“Watch your language.”  In my mind’s ear, I can hear my mother’s voice speaking those words if, as kids, we got a little too rambunctious with our vocabulary.  Mom also had a great way of making sure we could imagine being in the other person’s shoes.  That’s probably why, in part, I have such a heightened sense of the spoken and written language in the spectrum of customer experience.

I often wonder if people actually stop to think about the meaning of the words they’ve chosen when addressing customers.  The nuances are subtle. (Is that redundant? Can you have an obvious nuance)?  Let’s put a bit more thought into the language we use with customers, shall we?

A phrase comes to mind, spoken by Queen Marie of France in the movie Ever After – A Cinderella Story. “Choose your words wisely, Madame, for they may be your last.”  The Queen is speaking to Rodmilla (played by Angelica Huston), as she stands before the court after Rodmilla’s lies and deceit have been exposed.  Okay, it’s true that customer experience isn’t usually that dramatic a life or death situation.  However, the Queen’s point is that words elicit emotions within the listener.  So in customer experience, shouldn’t we choose our words wisely and positively touch the customer emotionally?  It may be our last chance to impress them.

I’ve gathered a couple of examples for your consideration.  However, before I get to those examples, after reading this please don’t go writing my sponsors about “Bill’s total disregard for colloquial speech,” –  Y’all.  I do also understand that different regions and parts of the country and the world have their own unique words and phrases but, let’s set that aside for a moment.

I’m Sorry to Hear

The scenario for my first example is this.  You’ve just received a shipment for something you ordered online.  The contents of your shipping container were poorly packaged and the product got smashed to smithereens in transit.  You call the vendor and, to the customer service agent, you explain both the unfortunate situation as well as your total displeasure that the product has been rendered useless to you on the very day you had hoped to begin using it.  The customer service person says, “I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a problem…”

Do they actually regret that you had a bad experience OR are they just sorry to hear about it?  Is that agent saying they wished someone else had heard about it?  I don’t like “sorry to hear.”  Either be sorry, or be regretful or be apologetic but don’t be sorry that you heard that my carton got smashed in transit.  If you hadn’t heard of my malady, you wouldn’t be able to help me resolve it, right?  Now, I’ve heard some people claim that you shouldn’t say you’re “sorry” unless you were deliberately responsible for causing the mishap but I think that’s hogwash.  (Is hogwash the solution prepared in advance to wash the hogs or the runoff afterwards?  My money is on the runoff.)  A better response is, “I’m sorry your order arrived damaged…” or “I regret that you had this bad experience…”

You get my drift.  Show a little sincere empathy.

At My/Our Earliest Convenience

In this next example, you happen to be calling your janitorial service to compliment them on the great job they’re doing and you reach their general voice mail after hours.  You listen to the recorded greeting before leaving your message and you hear, “Thanks for calling ABC Janitorial Service.  The office is now closed.  Please leave your message after the tone and we’ll return your call at our earliest convenience.”  A variation on this theme would be, you’re calling “Mary” and Mary’s greeting says, “I’ll call you back at my earliest convenience.”

So, you’ll call the customer back when you’re good and ready?  You’ll return the customer’s call at a time that is most convenient to you?  Shouldn’t convenience be on the customer’s terms?  Of course it should.  This is a distortion of the message you, as a caller, would leave on the customer-recipient’s voice mail such as, “Hi Mary.  It’s Bill Leinweber calling.  I’m sorry I missed you but I would love to discuss your responses to our recent customer survey.  Please call me at your earliest convenience.  My number is…”

Defer your messaging to the customer’s convenience for the optimum customer experience.

You doing okay?

We were in a restaurant the other day and had just each taken a couple bites of our food.  The restaurant manager started making his way, table by table, across the dining room and when he arrived at our table he said, “You guys doing okay?”

I’m willing to bet this restaurant chain’s management training program has a half-day module where they tell the managers how important it is to get out on the floor every hour or so, greet guests and schmooze and make guests feel welcomed.  On the surface, it’s a great idea.  Here’s the restaurant’s chance to have yet another positive, face to face interaction with a guest.  But if “You doing okay” is the best the manager can muster, they have a huge opportunity here.  “How are your meals, gentlemen” or “Have we made you feel welcomed and comfortable” or “Is there anything else we can bring to you?”  I can think of a hundred things better to say than “You doing okay?”

Coach your managers and supervisors on what to say then let them personalize the message to their own personalities.

Your Call Is Important To Us

You’ve probably heard me talk about this one before because it is a pet peeve and I cringe every single time I hear it.  I’m not sure which call center industry prodigy coined this phrase and why it seems every business on planet earth has copied it.  “Your call is important to us” is both condescending to the customer and unimaginative.  I cringe further when “Your call is important to us” is followed by “Your wait time is approximately 7 minutes…”  If your customer’s call is truly important to your business, then don’t just say it is important – demonstrate it! At what point, after how many minutes on hold, does the customer begin to believe despite the claims, that their call is in fact unimportant?

The customer assumes their call is important to you.  Otherwise, why would they even be doing business with you in the first place?  Simple rule here – don’t say stupid things to customers.  Instead, say something like, “We’re glad you called us today” because aren’t you really glad the customer called you and not your competition?  Or “We’re looking forward to speaking with you shortly” or even “An agent will be available soon.”

What are you saying to your customers?

Re-read what you’ve written.  Listen to the words you’re choosing when speaking to your customers.  Of course, you should be doing more listening to customers than talking.  But when you do speak, the words you use are an important part of the customer’s experience.

Now, (as my mom would say) I can get off my high horse.