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Why Service Still Sucks
by Richard F. Gerson, Ph.D., CMC
It’s been 15 years since I began lecturing and consulting on the topic of customer service. I’ve worked with companies in over 100 different industries to help them improve their customer service. I’ve trained their front-line staff, their management teams, and their senior executives. Everyone who was trained or in attendance at my speeches and workshops said they understood the importance of customer service, how much customer service would contribute to their business success, and how to manage the service experience for customers. They even saw increases in customer service and customer satisfaction ratings following my work with them.
This trend has continued for the past 15 years. When my book, Beyond Customer Service: Keeping Customers for Life, was first published in 1992, it became a business best seller. It was revised in 1998 because of its continued popularity. It has sold 50,000 copies and has been translated into 8 foreign languages. Companies in countries from China, Italy, England, France, Mexico and Spain are using the book to help them improve their customer service and customer retention. During this same time period, thousands of books and articles have been published on customer service, why it’s important, how to “do it”, and how to create loyal customers.
So, if all these books, articles, lectures, workshops and corporate consulting gigs are available in the area of customer service, the question is, “WHY DOES CUSTOMER SERVICE STILL SUCK?”
MEET T.C. MITS and T.C. WITS
Who are these people? T.C. MITS is The Common Man In The Street, and T.C. WITS is The Common Woman In The Street. Get to know them well. These are your customers. They have a great deal to tell you about customer service, how they feel about the way you treat them, and what you need to do to make them happy.
In fact, I’ll bet that if you asked 100 people in the street to tell you about a customer service story that happened to them, 85-90 of those people would relate a negative story. Ask them about an airline experience, or a restaurant experience, or trying to find a cashier in a department store to pay for an item during the holiday season, or getting lost in “voice-mail hell” because companies are jumping on the automation and technology bandwagons (more on this later). Very few people will tell you about a positive customer service experience.
Now you may run into a Nordstrom loyalist, and they will tell you how great Nordstrom’s customer service really is. And they should, and they deserve the opportunity to tell you about it. But, the truth is that most customer service experiences are less than satisfactory. Just think of your own experiences as a customer. How many would you rate positive, and how many are negative? So you, like me, must be asking yourself, with all the emphasis on customer service, why does it still suck?
I believe I have the answer.
7 REASONS WHY CUSTOMER SERVICE STILL SUCKS
Going Digital
In my Beyond Customer Service book, I gave a list of 50 ways to improve customer service. One of those emphasized High Touch over High Tech. Obviously, not many companies are listening. Today, most companies are enamored with automation and technology. They have determined that High Tech must supercede High Touch. After all, using digital technology can reduce employee costs. Technology is easier to repair or replace than an employee. And, technology can show consumers that the company they are contacting is in step with the times.
The problem is that automation and technology reduce the one thing customers want most from companies, and that is human contact. Business is a contact sport, no matter which way you look at it. People enjoy doing business with people. They don’t enjoy doing business with computers, interactive voice response systems, automated menu systems, etc. They enjoy the social aspects and relationship-building aspects of communicating and interacting with people. Why do you think over 70% of all recent Customer Relationship Management projects have failed to produce the desired return on investment? It’s because they are so technology oriented and not people oriented.
The bottom line is still that customer service is an interactive sport. It involves people working with and helping people. I’m not saying you should discard or disregard technology and how it can help improve customer service. I’m saying focus on the people, the service providers, and then use technology to support their work. Don’t replace them with technology.
So, the first reason customer service still sucks is that companies have replaced human contact with automation and technology. We need a return to High Touch first, supported by High Tech. People want to deal with people in service situations, not with avatars and digitized voices. If you want to improve customer service, satisfaction and loyalty, “people-cize” your service efforts.
Training to be Nice
The next two reasons service still sucks are highly related. Since customer service reps are usually the lowest paid employees in a company (this in itself is an anomaly and part of the reason service is so terrible still), many companies hire just about anyone to fill those positions. It is a well-known fact that if you do not have a proper employee-job fit, performance will suffer. In the case of service providers (front-line employees such as desk clerks and call center agents), this is a recipe for disaster. Why would you hire someone just to fill a position when that person has no idea how to provide great service?
I have always told my clients that you can train customer service skills (we’ll talk about that in a moment), but you can’t train niceness. Nice people have to be in service positions. Nice people who want to serve other people must be your front-line staff. Niceness can’t be trained, but it sure can be seen. These are the people you want to hire for your customer service positions.
For example, one company I worked with had a receptionist who was very good with numbers and analysis (which was also part of her job), but was very cold and gruff with people. This woman had 20 years with the company and they certainly did not want to fire her. Yet, they felt they could not keep her as a receptionist because she was upsetting the customers who called or came in.
The first thing they tried to do was to send her to customer service training classes. The company felt that if she understood the skill set involved in providing great customer service, she would change her approach. This did not work because you cannot train “niceness” and a desire to serve into someone. So, they asked me what to do.
My solution was simple. We placed her in a “back office job” where she could do her data analysis without having direct customer contact. The company hired a more outgoing, friendly and “nicer” receptionist. Customers began to comment how much they enjoyed talking with this new receptionist. And this simple change led to an increase in the company’s customer satisfaction ratings.
This story leads right into the third reason customer service still sucks. For people who do not have the motivation to be service providers, you cannot train them to become great customer service reps. On the other hand, people who can become great customer service reps unfortunately do not receive enough training.
Too often, nice people who want to serve are hired and they are told to “go out there and help people”. This is true for retail operations, call centers and professional services. But, it doesn’t work. Everyone needs to be trained in customer service skills and the impact customer service has on a business. The key to successful service provision is hiring the right people for the job and then training them to improve their skills in customer service.
It is very easy for me to identify those who will succeed as service providers and those who will fail. In my training programs and seminars, I share the characteristics of great service providers (such as motivation to serve, nice personality, outgoing, friendly, humble, calm under pressure, etc.) and I watch the reactions of the participants. You can see on their faces and through their body language who believes this is the position for them and who really wants out now. That’s part of the reason Disney is so successful in providing a great guest experience. While they hire more people than they need, many self-select out of the training process for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is the high level of service they will have to provide.
One thing that is left out of customer service training is stress management, and the ability to cope with and perform under pressure. Customers put pressure on service personnel to perform, and the reps must be able to handle that pressure. The amount of pressure varies with the job and the company (Disney is obsessive about high levels of service, and that is why many “cast members” opt out of working there even before they start- too much pressure from the expectations for great service). Customer service people must be taught how to handle that pressure so they do not burn out. This is in addition to all the customer service skills they are being taught and are expected to exhibit.
Lip Service Means Little or No Service
The slogans have got to blow you away. “Customers mean everything to us”. “Customers are our most important asset”. “Without customers, we have no business”. “The customer is always right”. And the list goes on.
The problem is that management pushes these slogans on their people and expects the front-line staff to charge ahead and provide great customer service because there is a slogan of the week or a service program of the month. It “ain’t gonna happen”. Employees are too smart for that. They know when management is talking out of both sides of their mouths.
Company management must walk the talk of customer service. Saying you want to or will provide great customer service, and then making it hard for customers to do business with you, just won’t cut it. Or, treating your employees poorly and then expecting them to go out and provide great customer service won’t make it either. You can’t give lip service to customer service, yet that is what many companies today are doing.
Companies and their leaders must lead by example. Employees and customers take their cues, not from words, but from actions and behaviors. The way management treats employees and customers is the way employees will treat customers. Just as children learn by watching what adults do, employees learn by watching what management does. Saying one thing and doing another with regards to customer service will eventually result in two things: Lost customers, and lost employees.
The answer is fairly simple. Managers have to say what they mean, mean what they say, and do what they say where customer service is concerned. When behaviors and words match, then we will see an improvement in customer service.
You Can Have It In Any Color As Long As It’s Black
This is an old description of how Henry Ford told buyers they could have their cars. It speaks volumes about what we call a company-centric philosophy. Have you ever encountered a company whose policies and procedures were set up for the benefit and betterment of the company, to the detriment of its customers? Of course you have. We all have.
How many times have you asked a person in a company to do something for you and they told you it was against policy? Or you were told that the company just does not operate that way. How did you feel? Did you get upset, especially knowing that you are paying them for something and they are treating you this way?
Companies that make their customer service policies for their own benefit run the risk of losing customers in droves. The idea is to make every transaction easy for the customer. Take a look at what your customers have to go through to make a purchase or to return an item. Is the process easier on you or your customers? Are there written guidelines for everyone to follow that tell them what they cannot do to serve the customer? Or, are your customer service providers allowed to do whatever it takes to serve and satisfy customers?
It is too easy today for customers to defect to the competition. Whether they leave for price, product or delivery, it is easy for them to leave. The one thing that binds them to you is great customer service. People who receive great customer service will stay loyal, even if they can get the same thing down the street for a few dollars less. People who receive great customer service will stay loyal even if your company makes a mistake where they are concerned. They will give you another chance.
But, people who have to scratch and claw to get any kind of service, who have to deal with a business that thinks life would be great if it weren’t for the customers, will leave you as soon as they find an alternative. And that alternative does not have to be as good, and the price they pay for products can be higher. The alternative only has to have one thing you don’t: a customer-centric focus and friendly customer service policies.
In this day and age, when the Internet allows companies to focus on each individual customer (check out Amazon’s one-click ordering service and product recommendations for returning customers), and people can shop online, it is imperative for all companies to be customer-centric, not company-centric. Customers can leave you too easily whenever they want to. While there may be times you can’t prevent this from happening, you should never push customers away with company-centric policies. Make it easy for the customer to do business with you and you will earn their loyalty and repeat business.
To Know Me Is To Love Me
You’ve heard this phrase before, or something like it in a song. People love to be recognized. They enjoy it when you know their name and when you compliment them on some accomplishment. The number one need of all people is the need to be and feel appreciated. And who should you appreciate more than your customer service reps and your customers? One of the reasons service still sucks is that the reps do not receive proper feedback on their service performances (if they receive any at all). Or, they only hear negative things from management. Or they only hear customer complaints and never get this balanced with positive feedback from management. There are a few simple things that can be done to motivate reps to provide great service, and they must be done immediately.
The first thing that companies must do is to develop service standards of performance. Once reps know exactly what the company expects of them, and how that performance impacts their customers, then the reps can perform. They must also be given feedback on how well their performances meet company and customer expectations. Without a measurement standard and ongoing feedback, customer service reps will never know how well they are doing, what they must do to improve, and what goals to set to increase performance.
After timely feedback is provided, management must establish a recognition and reward system for superior service performance. This shows the reps that they are appreciated both for what they do and what they accomplish. The two old adages, “what gets measured gets done and improved”, and “what gets rewarded gets repeated”, are very true for customer service delivery. Ask yourself these questions. How much will you enjoy a round of golf if you don’t keep score? How hard will you play in a basketball game if there is no score to tell you how well you’re doing and who is winning? How old would you have had to be before you could truly walk if your parents did not keep encouraging you with positive reinforcement and feedback?
Are these silly questions? Definitely not! Every person wants to continuously improve. They just have to be given the opportunity. You do that through setting performance standards, establishing measurement systems, providing timely feedback, and giving out rewards for superior service performance.
Wait. We’re not done yet with this concept. You now need to transfer the entire approach to your customers. Help customers set service performance expectations. Give them feedback on their behaviors and performances as customers. Reward them for “being a good customer”. When you do these things for your customers, you will increase their satisfaction and earn their loyalty.
You Are The Weakest Link
Companies that provide great customer service make sure that everything they do is focused on the customer and has a benefit for the customer. However, since most companies are focused inward on themselves, service still sucks. And it gets even worse because these companies fail to link their service management and service delivery strategy to their overall business strategy.
If you are in business to make a profit (and who isn’t?), then you know you need to sell to customers and keep selling to them. It’s always cheaper to sell to current and former customers than to try to constantly acquire new customers. But, if you’re business strategy focuses mainly on customer acquisition instead of customer retention and repurchase, you probably will experience minimal customer loyalty and maximum customer churn. That will always eat into your profits.
On the other hand, if your business strategy is customer-centric and focuses on retaining the most loyal and most profitable customers, then you will implement a service delivery system that strives to satisfy and delight your customers. The key here is to link the entire operation of the business to the customer. You must develop your business strategy from the outside in, or backwards as some people have said. First, determine what customers need, want and expect from you. Then, decide how you will deliver that to them. Next, develop customer-friendly service policies and procedures that will make customers loyal. Finally, do whatever it takes to dazzle and delight your customers.
This all sounds so simple, and it really is. However, it is not easy to implement. Service takes time. It pays off in the end, but you first have to make a financial, physical and emotional investment in your corporate service strategies and delivery system, hiring and training your customer service reps, and your customers themselves.
The New Service Era
Everything old is new again. Customer service has come, gone, and come back again. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in or how large or small your business is. Customer service is a critical element to your success, if not THE critical element. Based on what you’ve read in this article, here are 7 ways to make sure customer service in your company never sucks:
1. Remember that service is a people issue. Focus on high touch first, then high tech.
2. Hire nice people and put the right people in customer service jobs.
3. Train the right people in the proper skill sets and personal development skills.
4. Walk the service talk. No slogans, exhortations or cheers. Just actions people can relate to and respond to.
5. Be customer focused and have a bias for customer delight.
6. Measure service performance, provide feedback, and reward superior service performances.
7. Link customer service delivery to your overall business strategy.
It will no longer be enough to have the largest marketing or advertising budget, or to be the biggest company in your industry. Your future success is dependent on making sure service in your company does not suck. You must make sure it SOARS.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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