Customer Experience - The Sincera Way

Customer Service and the Lowest Paid Employee Paradox

It is an interesting paradox I often observe in Customer Service Experiences...

• Who typically has the most exposure to the Customer or Patient and yet is the lowest paid employee team member?

• Who single-handedly has the greatest potential to create or destroy Customer Value via the delivered Customer Service Experience?  The Patient Experience?

• Which single position often has the deepest impact on the traditional Customer Service Experience or the Patient Experience and is often the lowest paid?

Perhaps you have already arrived at the potential correct answers...  The receptionist or "Director of First Impressions" has significant contact with your Customer and represents your organization and are often amongst the lowest paid.  Ironic is it not?

As a Customer Service Experience consultant, I see this "compensation paradox" ALL the time and quite frankly, this "paradox" makes little strategic sense.  How can it be that the one position that has the greatest potential to create or destroy so much value is compensated so little.  Consider...

• Average organizations measure the direct bottom line, monetary value.  Therefore, the receptionist is a "cost" - not a "benefit" nor someone who returns a tangible return on investment.

• Rainmaker organizations measure the potential psychological impact and recognize that it has a long-term impact on the bottom line, monetary value.

What should be done differently?

Rather than randomly hire people to fill receptionist and phone-answering positions, create a strategy that truly adds value and respects the potential these positions represent.  Following are critical steps to maximize your Customer Service Experience.

1. Reframe the Mindset of Management and the receptionist alike - Management and the Director of First Impressions alike must get into the right mindset about what the role performed by receptionists.  It is not a cost - it is a strategic benefit that reaps rewards when done correctly and loses Customers when done poorly.
2. Benchmark the Position - Identify the Behaviors, Values, and Attributes necessary to do the job well
3. Set Performance Expectations - Define performance success and expect it.  Identify Customer Service Experience Touch Points that are non-negotiable.  Set expectations regarding non-performance and the ramifications of doing the job well or failing to do so.

4. Create Performance Accountability - Employee team members who do not perform their duties as expected shall expect to be replaced or at the very least - provided additional training.

5. Compensate High Performers / Remove Low Performers

Receptionists and those who answer the phone are doing very important work.  The reality is they are making your First Impression.  Make your First Impression count by recognizing the strategic importance of what the receptionist (Director of First Impressions) actually does.  Select the right talent that can fulfill this important role well and compensate them well for the value added.

Now Go Maximize Possibility

Small Efforts can Make or Break a Patient's Experience

We’ve all heard horror stories about bad experiences at a doctor’s office or some other medical facility.  Stories of patients being forgotten in exam rooms for hours, lost files and paperwork, long waits, and a lack of information throughout the whole medical process are far too common.   Those of us unfortunate enough to have experienced one of these stories first hand can testify as to how frustrating a visit to a medical facility can become. 

Do You Treat Your Best Customers Like Royalty?

Or are your best Customers receiving the very same Customer Service Experience as your least important Customers?

Do you know who your best Customers are?  By name?

Stop for a moment.  List off your ten best Customers. 

Can you list your ten best Customers?

What kind of Customer Service Experience do you deliver to your ten best Customers?

Is it different from all the rest?

Like you (or perhaps not), I tend to be a pretty loyal Customer.  I am a member of several rewards programs such as Northwest Airlines Worldperks and Marriott's Rewards Program.  No...  It is not all about the points I accumulate - although I do love points.

A significant reason I am a loyal Customer is due to the Customer Service Experience I receive.

• On the plane, I typically fly First Class due to my free upgrades.
• In the hotel, I typically am at least recognized for my status as a frequent stayer of Marriott.

Why am I member of Customer-centric programs like these?  The answer is really simple.  I like to be treated like the Customer I am.  I am unique.  As a Customer who spends a lot of money with some companies, I expect to be treated differently than people who do not spend as much and/or are not as loyal.

You might say, "Chris...  NWA and the entire airline industry are not shining examples of fine Customer Service Experiences."

I tend to agree and disagree.  In general, the airline industry does not do a very good job taking care of the Customer.

Yet, I can say with 100 percent confidence that when companies like NWA and Marriott realize who I am and how much I have spent with them over the years, I am treated differently - when they realize who I am.  They know who I am.  They communicate with me.  They thank me for my business days and weeks after I did business with them (mail and email).  They remind me that I am a preferred Customer.

I like that.  As a Customer, I like being treated differently from all of the rest very, very much.

Most Customers agree with me. 

Are you differentiating your Customer Service Experience based on who your Customers are?  Or are your high-value Customers being provided the same Customer Service Experiences as your low value Customers? 

Key Customer Service Experience Message...  If you want my loyalty and my money, you must treat me differently - better than all of the rest.

Last summer I had my deck rebuilt.  The huge "home improvement" chain treated me just like everyone else - on the day I purchased $10,000 in materials and every single time I have been there since.  This company has lost a powerful opportunity to treat me differently.  They have lost a powerful opportunity to capture a long-term relationship that is not based only on price, price, price.

The huge office supply store I frequent treats me like everyone else - everyone gets the little rebate credit - everyone gets treated courteously as they enter the store - everyone gets upsold when they buy electronics.

How can you deliver a better Customer Service Experience to your best Customers?

1. Acknowledge your best Customers are different from all the rest.
2. Tell your best Customers you appreciate them - often.
3. Give your best Customers Service that is beyond what everyone else gets.
4. Select only employee team members who are capable and willing to deliver your desired Customer Service Experience.
5. Do the above four Customer Service Strategies consistently.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Don't Destroy Customer Value by Assuming You Know What the Customer Wants
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
• Five Signs Personal Accountability Isn't a Core Cultural Value
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

 

 

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Customer Service Strategy: Don't Destroy Customer Value By Assuming You Know What the Customer Wants

Is it safe to assume that all Customers want to save money?

I think so…  But I think it is important to keep in perspective how your Customer wants to save it.

We could fix their problem two ways…

1.       Fix it cheaply now – but not completely (a “bandaid”) – the problem may come back later at a worse time.

2.       Fix it right – now – fully, without a doubt that the problem will not recur.

Key thought – Are you creating Customer Service Value or are you subjecting them to your perspective?

Are your assumptions of trying to save your Customer money actually causing more harm than good?  Are you putting a “bandaid” on a problem that will recur at the worst possible time for your Customer?

It is important to remember…  Many Customers will do EXACTLY what you suggest.  They trust you.  You are the EXPERT.

Do not assume they want to save money.  Assume your Customer wants the most valuable solution to their problem that will fix it completely.

Please allow me to share a story to illustrate.

A year ago, we purchased a building that has four apartments on the second floor.  We allowed the existing property manager to continue managing the apartments.  Little did we know that the property manager was a “penny pincher” to the extreme. 

That might sound really great – to have a property manager who is conscious of cutting costs.  But this property manager took it to a level we did not want.  He thought he was helping us when he was actually hurting us by destroying Customer Value with our Tenants.

The benefit of having a property manager is that they deal with all of the renting, maintaining, repairing, and cleaning of the apartments.  When there is any type of problem that a tenant has, the property manager brings in a repair person.

The four apartments are heated and cooled from one furnace and one air conditioning unit.  The “magic” of being able to do so and keep everyone comfortably happy is through the use of “zone controllers” that are wired to a thermostat in each apartment.  The “zone controllers” enable each tenant to choose their own desired heating and cooling setting.  There is one “zone controller” for each apartment or four total.

During a big storm in March, one of the “zone controllers” failed.  The property manager brought in a heating and cooling contractor who asked the property manager what he wanted him to do.  The property manager thought he was there to save us money so he said, “remove all but one of the zone controllers”.  In other words, the contractor removed three of the four zone controllers to “save” us money.

The results were ugly.  With only one zone controller working – one tenant had their desired temperature of 70 degrees.  The rest varied from 73 to almost 85 degrees.

Imagine living in 85 degree heat.  Yes…  The tenant became very, very upset.

The bottom line – the tenant with the 85 degree heat became VERY frustrated and ultimately left the window open all the time (wasting energy) and then proceeded to flood the apartment in frustration.

We (the building owners) did not know what was going on until we had water damage on the main floor and the 85 degree apartment was flooded.

What was the real problem?

The property manager wanted to save us money on repair costs.  His primary objective was to “save” us money.  Our primary objective was to take great care of our Customers.  In other words, we wanted each tenant to comfortably choose their desired temperature.  Therefore, we did not want only one zone controller.  We wanted the heating system fully-repaired to maximize comfort for our valued tenants.

Our property manager destroyed the Customer Value we were hoping to create by trying to save us money. 

The question I have for you…

What assumptions are you making for your Customers that may not be accurate?  Are you trying to save money for a Customer when it is actually hurting them more in terms of additional costs down the road and causing their Customers to be upset?  How are your assumptions about what the Customer wants destroying Customer Value rather than creating it?

The best solution is to solve both today and tomorrow’s problem.  Solve the current problem and solve the future problem.  Doing this will Maximize the Customer Value that your organization is able to create.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• What we can all Learn About Customer Service From Ozzy Osbourne
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
• Five Signs Personal Accountability Isn't a Core Cultural Value
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Why Customer Service Training Is Usually Lipstick on a Pig

Every day we get calls from people across the United States seeking Customer Service Training.

The conversation goes something like the following...

"We need someone to come in and do some Customer Service Training for our hospital.  Can you give me a price?"  The statement and question are seemingly tied together to get the conversation started and concluded as quickly as possible.  We have been here before.  They want a price and a program.

"Can you tell me a little about your organization please?" we ask.

"I'm just an admin assistant.  My boss, the CEO just wants to know how much," is the typical response.

Quick aside...  What does it say about the leadership of a hospital, clinic, law firm, or a business if they hand off something as strategic as Customer Experience Strategy to an admin assistant to do their research?  Hold a minute.  I need to call my stock broker so that I can sell some shares... 

Continuing on... 

"Oh...  Well, unfortunately, we are really not able to be of real assistance unless we know more about your situation and organization."

Their response is almost universally incredulous, "You can't give me a price for Customer Service training?"

"No, I am afraid we cannot until we understand your unique situation."

"I just want a price."

Click.

Sometimes the conversation goes deeper and we learn more but rarely and here is why...

Most organizations are really not very interested in changing their Customer Experience.  Customer Service is lip service at best.  We see this problem in medical facilities with alarming regularity.

The Customer Service Training Initiative is usually kicked into high gear as the result of the CEO saying, "Someone get someone in here to do some Customer Service Training!"  What usually sparks this order is a lousy Press Ganey score.

The wheels start in motion.  The CEO thinks they are going to solve a Customer Experience problem through training alone.  Imagine that. 

Can I be frank?  Of course I can...

Customer Service Training is ''lipstick on a pig".

Customer Service Training by itself does NOTHING to change your Customer Experience.  I do not care if you are a clinic, hospital, law firm, call center, or a restaurant.  Your Customer Experience hinges on the following three critical elements...

The Right People (1) doing The Right Things (2) working in The Right Culture (3).

• Ignore having the right talent doing the job and your Customer Experience will suffer greatly.
• Ignore having the right talent doing the right things at the right time and your Customer Experience will be lousy on a good day.
• Ignore having the right talent doing the right things at the right time in a world of leadership accountability and your Customer Experience will be memorable and avoided.   

If you are missing just one of the above three critical Customer Experience Elements, you are in dire straits.

In other words, Customer Service Training out-of-a-box does nothing, zero, zilch, nada to improve your Customer Experience.  If Customer Service Training is entertaining, we call it "Trainertainment".

If you really must check the box saying "We did some Customer Service Training for our team this year," then call a local college and bring in someone who is a "talking head" and get it overwith cheaply. 

Or better yet - save your money - get serious about your Customer Experience and bring in real change agents. 

Now Go Maximize Possibility

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Personal Accountability – Does Your Organization Have the QBQ!

I hate to rip on fast food establishments any more than necessary for their notoriously poor job of creating a positive customer experience. However, my experience at a local fast food franchise drive thru the other day was too perfect an example to not discuss how practicing personal accountability can help to ensure a great customer experience. During my experience with this particular fast food establish (which took up over half of my lunch break!) I managed to put aside my rage and frustration and take note of several opportunities where a culture of personal accountability could have drastically improved my experience that afternoon…

As I listened to my stomach growl I eagerly anticipated the coming noon hour when I could quell the hunger inside me that was growing by the minute. I carefully contemplated my options… "The leftover lasagna from last night? Nah, not today. Another cold sandwich and soup? No that won't do either…" Then it hit me, the perfect cure to my hunger… a sour dough bacon cheeseburger from the fast food joint just down the road. I couldn't wait.

My long awaited lunch hour finally arrived and I drove to the burger joint down the road. When I arrived I was a bit discouraged by the longer than expected line in the drive thru, but I figured it was a small price to pay for such a delicious burger. Mmmm…I could already taste it.

After a few minutes in the drive thru I pulled up to the speaker ready to place my order. That's when I noticed the sign over the speaker that read "Speaker not working. Order at window!!!" My first reaction was that I was a little put off by the demanding, unfriendly language of the sign followed by the three large explanation points. With the absence of any "please" or "we apologize…" my experience had already started off on the wrong foot.

My next reaction was to reverse out of the drive thru and go inside with hopes of receiving quicker service. At the same moment I placed my hand on the shifter to go into reverse two vehicles pulled behind me in the drive thru line. I was trapped on all four sides – cars in front of and behind me, the building to my left, and a line of imposing concrete pillars forming the drive thru lane to my right. Yuck!

For the next twenty three minutes (yes, I counted!) I watched as the four cars in front of me pulled up to the window, placed their order, and waited for their food to be prepared. Finally I arrived, quite frustrated by this time (I am not a patient man), with the lofty hopes of being greeted by a friendly team member who would apologize for the delay.

Rather I was greeted with a cold, indifferent, "what would you like?" I placed my order and paid for my food. At this time the team member at the window craned her head out the window to see how long the line had gotten by this time. It had become quite long. She shook her head, let out an annoyed sigh, and remarked to a fellow team member, "Why can't they read the damned sign and come inside?"

Of course we can read the "damned" sign; we wouldn't have been issued drivers licenses if we couldn't. I stared in disbelief as this team member and three others stood around apathetically waiting for someone to come inside where there was no line for service.

Finally I received my food (once again with no "sorry for the wait", or even a "thank you, have a nice day") and hurried home to let my dog outside to go to the bathroom.

The purpose of this story is not to complain about my bad experience that day, but rather to examine how a culture of personal accountability could have corrected or even prevented my bad experience with this burger joint. Let's examine how.

First off, practicing personal accountability and QBQ! is all about asking oneself "how can I make a difference in this situation? How Can I help? What can I do to make things better?" Notice how the team member at the window asked "WHY can't THEY read the sign?" rather than "What can I do to move things along?" or any number of better questions.

With this in mind, there were numerous opportunities where team members at this establishment could have asked a QBQ! and made the experience better for the customer.

• An unoccupied team member (there were plenty!) could have made rounds between the cars in line taking orders and bringing the orders to the kitchen to speed up the process.
• A sign could have been placed near the drive thru line alerting customers that the speaker was out of service and it would be best to come inside.
• A cheap set of two way radios could have been purchased from the K-Mart across the street and used as a temporary intercom system.
• Someone could have chosen to be a leader and closed the drive thru altogether.

These are just a few possibilities as to how practicing personal accountability and asking a QBQ! could have made the drive thru customer's experience more pleasant. For an organization which practices personal accountability these questions would have been a no-brainer, a solution quickly devised, and customers that day would have left with a much more favorable impression of the establishment.

A culture of personal accountability can help create a significant competitive advantage by earning a base of loyal, satisfied customers. This is true for all organizations competing in all industries of business. If your organization is in need of personal accountability the time to start is now! Give us a call and we would be happy to discuss opportunities to help transform you culture into one which eats, drinks, and breathes personal accountability. Your customers will thank you!

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• What we can all Learn About Customer Service From Ozzy Osbourne
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
• Five Signs Personal Accountability Isn't a Core Cultural Value
• Consistency is Key to Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

The Importance of Touch Points in Providing Exceptional Customer Service and Creating a Powerful Customer Experience

The Customer Experience is everything and everyone the Customer comes in contact with during his or her interaction with your organization is an opportunity. Each of these interactions can be consider a Customer Experience Touch Point and these touch points are the key to creating a WOW! Customer or Patient Experience. Neglect the importance of these Touch Points and you are likely to disappoint and lose Customers, making life very difficult for your organization.

We help a wide range of professional organizations from professional service firms such as consulting companies, law firms, high-end call centers, and medical organizations improve their Customer or Patient Experience.

In this post, I am going to use a restaurant as a Customer Experience Touch Point metaphor as it is a good baseline example that we can all relate to...

The first step to developing and improving the Customer or Patient Experience Touch Points in your organization is to understand the Customer Experience in its entirety. Too often we think of Customer Service and the Customer Experience as those instances where we are actively serving the Customer in an attempt to gain a sale. For example to think of Customer Service in a restaurant as the level of service a guest receives from the wait staff is a serious lack of understanding of what the customer experience actually is. In reality the Customer Experience is everything the restaurant guest encounters from the time they arrive in the parking lot to the time they leave that very parking space.

After one fully understands what the Customer Experience actually is for his or her organization, the next step is to map out your typical Customer Experience and identify all the possible touch points that could possibly take place. The following is a Touch Point Map for the example above of a restaurant guest's Customer Experience.

• Arrival in the parking lot – Are there ample parking spaces? Is the lot clean and free of debris and trash? Are restaurant team members smoking in open view of arriving guests?
• Initial greeting – Did the host or hostess promptly greet the guests and direct them to a table? Is there ample room to accommodate guests waiting for a table to open?
• Seating at the table – how are the tables arranged in the restaurant? Is it easy for guests to get in and out of their seats or are they cramped without enough room for comfort?
• Drink and food order – Is the server knowledgeable about the food and drinks the restaurant offers? Has he or she been thoroughly trained on the menu?
• Presentation of food – Did the food arrive hot and as ordered? Is the food arranged with care or was it done sloppily and with haste?
• Mid meal checkup – Are guests satisfied with their food order? Is there anything additional that a guest might need?
• Offering of desserts – Are guests finished with their entrée or was dessert offered too early?
• Delivery of the check – Did the server ask if the guests were ready for the check? Are guests finished with their food and drinks or did they plan on having another drink and socializing?
• Payment – Was the check taken care of promptly and logically? Did the server instruct the guests as to how payments will be handled – every restaurant is different!
• Departure – Are the guests thanked for their patronage as they leave? Is the parking lot still clear of debris or smoking employees?

This of course is a very basic guideline of Customer or Patient Touch Points at your average restaurant. There are numerous other Customer Experience Touch Points that could take place such as interaction with a bus boy filling water glasses for example. The important thing is that managers seriously evaluate all the instances where Customer Experience Touch Points could possibly to take place.

Having identified where these Customer Experience Touch Points can occur the next step is to carefully evaluate each touch point for possible problems that can arise and opportunities to create a powerful and moving customer experience. The questions posed above are just basic examples of things to think about when considering the Customer's experience. Each of these Touch Points should be examined in further detail.

Let's take a look at the mid-meal checkup as an example Touch Point. Typically, it seems that most servers rush by to ask you how your food is at the most inopportune time. You might be deep in a conversation or have food in your mouth; odds are the best response you can muster up quickly enough is "fine" with a nod of the head. By this time the server is already on his or her way; in fact it's almost like they've barely slowed down. This offers little opportunity for a meaningful exchange or feedback on how the food actually is.

However, understanding the importance of Customer Experience Touch Points and identifying the mid-meal check up as a key Touch Point, allows the doors of opportunity begin open wide. Here is an excellent chance to provide something that the guest rarely experiences during a mid-meal check up: sincerity and caring. Guests typically feel too bothersome to ask a server for anything additional during those rare occasions where they have the time to voice their requests. Finding an opportune time to approach the table, genuinely inquiring as to how the meal is going, and asking if there is anything that could be done to improve it is something a guest rarely expects or encounters.

This is the essence of delivering a WOW! Customer Experience – exceeding expectations. However it is not enough to simply voice to the wait staff that they need to work hard to exceed the customer's expectations. The problem with this approach is that an exceptional Customer Experience is different from one server to another. This is why it is advisable that organizations develop a standardized approach to exceeding the customer's expectations at each Touch Point and showing team members what is meant by delivering exceptional Customer Service.

This approach to providing exceptional Customer Service works well for all organizations. Spend some time and seriously evaluate all the possible Customer Experience Touch Points that might take place. Look at your organization's strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities to improve and deliver something the competition cannot. Better yet, give us a shout and let us give you a hand. Often times those outside your organization can bring a fresh new perspective to an organization and identify areas of improvement that might never been thought of before. Whatever you decide just remember that touch points are the key to delivering WOW! Customer Experience!

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Consistency is Key in Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Every Customer Experience Touch Point Counts
• Are Your Vendors Hurting the Customer's Experience
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Being a “yes-man” helps to create customer experience

There is often a certain stigma associated with being labeled as a “yes-man”.  Many people may see “yes-men” as pushovers, suck-ups, or even worse because of their eagerness to please and comply with their bosses.  But what about when it comes to providing customer service?  Almost all great customer service experiences originate from a "yes-man"  Isn’t this the best time to be a “yes-man”?   After all, the customer is essentially your boss – they spend the money that eventually comes back to you in the form of a paycheck.  Wouldn’t your organization rise to new heights if everyone tried to be more of a “yes-man” when it came to customer service?

One organization that exemplifies this “yes-man” philosophy towards customer service is Cameron Mitchell Restaurants based in Columbus, Ohio.  Cameron Mitchell operates 27 upscale restaurants in 7 states and has one of the best customer service strategies in the business.  Their motto:  “The answer’s yes, now what’s the question?”  This is not just your typical lip service plastered around the workplace as feel-good eye candy; this company truly delivers the goods. 

This philosophy and dedication to customer service is such a strong part of the organizations culture that it has become a way of life at all its restaurants.  Nearly all employees actively try to excel in coming up with ways to exceed the customer’s expectations. 

Mitchell has even come up with a genius metaphor to illustrate his organization’s philosophy towards customer service.  That metaphor is the milkshake.  While at a restaurant with his family, Mitchell’s son asked the server if he could have a milkshake.  Her response was “no”.  Knowing that the restaurant had milk, ice cream, and a blender at their disposal, Mitchell simply couldn’t understand why the server wouldn’t accommodate to her guest when it would be so easy to do so.  Essentially what the server was saying was “I don’t care about your experience here – milkshakes are not on the menu so we don’t make them.” 

This sends a clear and powerful message to the guest – you are not important to me.  The scary thing is that it reflects most poorly on the restaurant.  Every other server might have complied with the request, but this one didn’t and it reflects poorly on what type of values the restaurant holds.  You will probably soon forget the servers name, but will never forget the restaurant where you received poor customer service. 

The milkshake has become a powerful metaphor for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants that reminds everyone in the organization to find a way to say, “yes” to the customer.  In fact every company meeting starts out with a milkshake toast and the presentation of a Milkshake Award to employees who exemplified superior customer service by going above and beyond the call of duty. 

Naturally there will be occasions where accommodating to the customer’s wishes is just not possible.  This is just part of doing business, but one still has options.  For starters, think about all the possible situations that might arise where it is simply not possible to say yes.  Now consider some creative solutions to the problem which will make your customer satisfied and feel as if their request was in some way granted.  Discuss these options with your employees or organization as a group.  You will be surprised with the number of creative solutions you can come up with. 

The most important thing here is that employees are empowered to do whatever it takes to deliver genuine customer service.  Perhaps offering milkshakes on the menu is not in you company’s best interest, but make sure that your employees are willing and able to make the occasional milkshake when the guest requests it.  Your hard work and dedication to customer service will far outweigh any minor inconveniences at the time and will be reworded with loyal repeat customers.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Exceeding Expectations Creates a Powerful Customer Experience
• The Worst F-Word: FINE
• Every Touch Point Counts When it Comes to Customer Service
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc.

1-866-988-RAIN

This article inspired in part by “The Answer’s Yes…Now What’s the Question” an article by John Di Julius III appearing in the May/June 2006 issue of Hotel Food and Beverage Executive.

Are Your Vendors Hurting The Customer’s Experience?

Often times when choosing vendors and business partners, little thought is given to how these vendors will affect your brand image and your customer experience creation.  Too often vendors and business associates are chosen based on price, terms of contract, and other variables that do little to enhance the customer’s experience.  This is unfortunate because even vendors who do not have regular interaction with your customers can turn out to have a huge impact on their perception of your brand through the Customer Experience they offer.  Consider the following example:

This past summer I took my family to a small, but widely renowned pizza franchise in Central Minnesota - Zorbaz Pizza.  Zorbaz is known for its excellent pizza and Mexican food as well as its laid back, fun atmosphere that fares well in the fun-loving lakes region of Minnesota.

 

The kids were excited for the great food Zorbaz is known for, while my wife and I still couldn’t believe we had gotten our 21-year-old son, and 16-year-old daughter to come on a family vacation.  We were sitting in a corner of the restaurant with a TV positioned over us.  We had finished eating our excellent food and were enjoying each other’s company after the meal, when out of nowhere a 10 – 15 pound trophy fell off of the TV stand above us.  The trophy struck my daughter’s purse and then her hand.  She immediately grasped her hand and began to cry.  It was an incredibly frightening moment, and could have been much worse:  the massive trophy had missed my daughter’s head by mere inches.  It all happened so fast; we were stunned.

 

I grabbed the first server passing by and told her what happened.  She responded with the slack jawed look of a teenage boy playing video games.  My response to her was, “Get the manager, NOW!”  In about 5 minutes the manager came, very embarrassed.  He then took another 5 minutes to get some ice and then another 15 minutes to round up some insurance information.

 

The manager did the right thing and sent us to the hospital to have her hand examined, telling us that the hospital would send them the bill.   We had her hand checked and found out nothing was broken and preceded back to the lake.  On the way back to our place we discovered that my daughter’s cellular phone had been smashed by the trophy.

 

The manager called us later that night, as promised, and I informed him that her hand was OK but her cell phone was smashed.  He told me to buy a new one and send him the bill.  This ends the good part of the story if you want to call it that.

 

Three months after the incident the hospital bills had not been paid and we still had not been reimbursed for the cell phone.  The issue was finally settled 4 months after the fact but not until I had to become extremely nasty to get their attention.  I called the owner of Zorbaz, the insurance agent and the insurance adjuster to yell at all of them and basically had to threaten to sue them to get them to act.  The amazing thing is that not one of them could understand why I was so upset.

 

Zorbaz, the insurance adjuster, the insurance agent and the insurance company all now played a part in this debacle.  None of them had enough sense to think about what had happened from the perspective of the customer.

 

So think about the vendors you choose that may come in contact with your customers.  Do they share your thoughts on how you wish your customers to be treated or do they want to win the battle but lose the war?  Their version of your Customer Experience must be your version. 

 

I have already forgotten the name of the insurance company, the insurance adjuster and the insurance agent but I will never forget that Zorbaz dropped a trophy on my daughter and didn’t pay for her phone or hospital bills until I threatened to sue them.

 

This same idea holds true in all industries, be it construction, shipping, offshore customer service and help desks, or even the janitor who cleans the floor of your restaurant.  All of your associates have the potential to have an impact on your Customer Experience, good or bad, and therefore should be seen as an extension of your organization.

 

So, even though your vendors may be forgotten or not even known by your customers, their failures are your failures.  So, as the knight protecting the Holy Grail in the Indiana Jones movie said, “Choose carefully."

 

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• What is Poor Customer Service Costing You?
• No Problem is a Customer Service Phrase Problem
• The Worst F-Word: FINE
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Hospital Customer Service

In terms of Hospital Customer Service, where are the stakes the highest?  Where emotions run frayed and the potential to emotionally hurt a patient is very likely?  The answer is the Emergency Room.

Over the years, we have had countless visits to Emergency Rooms - both via our consulting practice as well as via my 6 year old son, Macauley who has broken his arm twice.  What little boy doesn't spend time at the ER?

Macauley has broken his arm twice now.  The first time was on a bouncy thing in our living room and while painful, it was manageable for Macauley and ourselves.  We went to the ER and were treated.  That ER Customer Experience wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was just an ER visit.  It was blah.  Average.  Normal.  Nothing major to note.  We came and we left.  End of story.

Nice building though.  But wait.  That's expected.  If you don't have a nice building, and a competitor ER down the road does, patients might go there next time. 

The second time, Macauley's break was more painful - for him as well as Mom and Dad.  I remember three things about that day.  I remember the sounds of the thud and the scream of Macualey hitting the ground.  I remember praying that his pain would go away and saying to myself, "I wish my arm was broken and not Macauley's."  It was emotionally traumatic.  And I vividly remember how we were treated by Dr. Gordy. 

As luck would have it, our ER Doc was none other than Dr. Gordy.  I haven't done this before, but I am tempted to ask Dr. Gordy what he does for a living because he is unlike other ER staff I have seen both personally and professionally.  Dr. Gordy touches lives emotionally in ways I think few ER doctors do.

As a scared Dad, I didn't ask Dr. Gordy to show me his credentials.  I assumed that because it is a well-respected hospital that his doctor abilities would be nothing less than the best.  And they were.

And there lies the problem.  Hospitals focus on the technical side of things - the ability to do procedures, to follow protocol.  And they should.  But there needs to be an emotional element or standard as well in the Hospital Customer Service Experience.  And it is missing BIG TIME.

I don't want to say that Hospital and ER staff don't care about people.  I know they do.  ER staff are under tremendous pressure and are highly educated and trained to overcome life's small and large challenges.  They save lives.  They make a difference.  But all medical organizations make this difference because one may assume (incorrectly) that all medical organizations that are certified are good at what they do.

My concern is that most Hospital Emergency Room Customer Service Experiences are focused solely on the physical or technical issues of the patient.  You are probably wondering...  "Tell me what you mean..."

Please allow me to share an example of my son's broken arm and the treatment we all received by Dr. Gordy...  Remember.  We were scared to death.  My son was crying.  I was crying on the inside.  We were worried.  Dr. Gordy walks into the room and among his first words, he said something like, "Do you have a punchcard?  I think by now you might have a free visit." 

I laughed.

Macauley laughed. 

My wife laughed.

For a moment, we forgot that Macauley's arm was broken.  We were touched.  And we became a Dr. Gordy fan.

Dr. Gordy stood out.  Why?  Because he touched our lives and not just physically but also emotionally.  He left us in better condition than he found us and he treated everyone there today, not just my son, Macualey.

Unfortunately, not everyone that day shared Dr. Gordy's philosophy.

I don't mean to sound cynical here.  I really don't.  But I see it all the time.  I see banners suggesting that hospitals really care about patients.  I believe they do.  Average Hospitals care about the physical needs of the patients.  Amazing Hospitals care about the emotional needs as well.  Here are just some of the things I have seen over the years in a Hospital ER:

• An amazing experience with a nurse who spends quality time and appears to really care and then a doctor walks in and treats the patient like a piece of meat. 
• An amazing experience with a doctor who spends quality time and appears to really care about the patient as a human being and then a professional staff person walks in treating the patient indifferently.
• Over a 20 minute time period, I have seen over 100 Hospital ER team members walk by a patient on a gurney in a hallway exposed to the world and not one of them acknowledged the patient.  Several team members walked by repeatedly - all without acknowledging the patient.
• I have seen medical staff laugh and chit chat outside the room of someone who just passed away where friends and family members are grieving and saying their "good byes". 

I can't tell you how many wonderful Hospital ERs I have been in.  I have been shown blueprints of new medical facilities and I always wonder, "Where's the blueprint of how the patient will be treated?"  The problem is most people think that the Medical Customer Service Experience is about nice buildings filled with technically proficient staff.

It's a standard.  It's a given.  If you aren't technically proficient, you aren't treating patients.  So technical proficiency is a given. 

If you don't have a nice building and a hospital 3 blocks away does, then you aren't innovative and cutting edge.  In other words, you are old.  So everyone is putting up nice buildings.

Fact.  Nice buildings with technically proficient medical staff are a dime a dozen.  They are everywhere.  There is no competitive advantage.  Either you have the technical staff and the nice surroundings or you don't and you lose if competition nearby does. 

The REAL opportunity is through how you treat the Patient.  Your Patient Customer Service Experience is what will set you apart from your competition.  Why?  Simply because most people only pay lip service to Patient Customer Service.  It's in marketing brochures and commercials plastered everywhere about how you will be cared about at XYZ Hospital.

The problem.  Go to XYZ Hospital and see how many times you are greeted by a staff member as you walk the halls.  Chances are, you won't be greeted unless you obviously look like you shouldn't be where you are.

Why create emotionally-engaging Patient Customer Service Experiences?  Most importantly, your patients deserve it.  During the toughest emotional times of our lives, we as human beings deserve to be treated with respect, love, and empathy.  Unfortunately, most medical organizations don't get that.  They think it's about the building and technically proficient staff when that's icing on the cake.

What do you do about this problem?  It's really quite simple.  Cultural change takes time.  Do the following four things, and your Patient Customer Service Experience will soar.

1. Create a culture of Medical Customer Service Experience Accountability.  If you can pass by a patient without acknowledging them, you don't work here anymore.
2. Build Hospital Customer Service Touch Points - Create "Moments of Truth" where your team can purposely help your patients feel emotionally better.
3. Hire and retain the right people.  I see too many Medical Organizations who are quick to hire and slow to fire when people don't live up to Customer Experience expectations. 
4. Help your medical staff understand why they are really there.  To make a difference in the lives of those they touch.  If they can't get that, then help them find work with your competition.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Seven Contributing Factors to Glenn Beck's Hospital Visit Gone Wrong
• No Problem is a Customer Service Phrase Problem
• Consistency is Key to Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2006, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc.