That’s a confusing title, isn’t it? What’s marketing got to do with processes and customer service? Great question! Everything, actually. Marketing is a cycle, not an activity… Once a customer enters into your cycle, every interaction they have with your company, can make or break that cycle. Kapish??
Customer Service is one of the lowest paid, and ill-regarded jobs, normally given to students, travellers and generally speaking – temporary staff. You’ve got to ask yourself: apoteksv.se
How come?? After all the time, money and effort we’ve invested in bringing a customer in: we’ve managed to cut through the general noise, and helped them make a buying decision, then we’ve let some inexperienced person to follow an ill-conceived process, to answer questions or complaints in the most alienating manner to our customers? Why do we do that?
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that internal processes and procedures aren’t important, but when they get in a way of good common-sense, and doing the right thing for your customer (who ultimately pays your salary, and help you put food on your table), that’s the sign you need to do something different – either be more flexible with your policies, hire better quality staff, or anything else that would guaranty customer delight (I had the word satisfaction – I’d rather my customers be delighted, than just “satisfied”).
I’m sure we all have similar stories, and I encourage you to post them here in the comments, and if at all possible, tag the company and /or CEO of that company, so we can make this to a positive outcome. Here’s one encounter I had with Officeworks:
This is the header of the Officeworks.com.au website. On the Home page, just below the header, there are 3 very prominent engagement options: Free Click and Collect, Free Next Day Delivery, and Same Day Delivery. I was under the pump, didn’t have time to go to the shop (which is across the road from my office), and wasn’t in a real rush to get my stuff delivered in the same day, so I chose the Next Day Delivery option. I’ve placed my order at 8.42am on a Thursday morning, expecting my parcel to be delivered by COB on a Friday. Fair? I think so.
Friday came and gone. Monday came and gone. No parcel in sight.. Calling customer service wasn’t an option, so on Tuesday afternoon, 6 days after placing my order, I’ve left a message on Officeworks’ Facebook page:
I have to admit, that “Amanda” have responded very quickly, apologising for the incident, and offering help. She found that the delivery driver had delivered the parcel on the Monday, at 3.06pm. Interestingly enough, even though I was at the office, with two others, that parcel never reached my desk. There are two other offices on the same floor as my office, and none of them received my parcel either. Conclusion – parcel wasn’t delivered to the right destination and recipient.
A day goes by, and I get a message from “James”, apologising again for the inconvenience, and saying that the job will be redone and re-shipped ASAP. That’s great! However, the delivery time is between 2-3 business days. Wait, WHAT?? What happened to the Next Day Delivery?? Oh, he said, Printing jobs aren’t included in the Next Day Delivery offer.. And here comes the issue:
I can see James is trying to help, and understands the urgency, but the process is so rigid, he has no authority to send a special courier for a same day delivery. The process Can’t be tempered with. So now we have a corporate client pissed off.. An average lawyer is likely to tell you that apology equals admitting liability. But once you apologised, and admitted liability, it’s your responsibility to rectify the situation. If you can’t, you’ve just admitted not only your liability, but your incompetence too. (BTW, those screenshots above are directly linked to this conversation between the Officeworks Customer Service staff and myself, if you want to read the whole saga and chain of events).
Oh, I’ve forgot to mention that another lady named Thelma, had taken advantage of this opportunity and added her story too to my complaint. Apparently I wasn’t the only one experiencing difficulties with Officeworks’ service. I urge you to read a blog post I’ve written in 2013 about an excellent management of customer service and experience.
What can we learn from this?
- Pay close attention to customer feedback online. Provide the avenues for customer to interact with you, and provide feedback, both positive and negative. Then make sure you respond in a timely manner, and take full responsibility. Officeworks’ staff members did that very well.
- Don’t break the customer cycle. It’s very difficult and expensive to convert people to customers. Your job is to keep them as ongoing clients. That will ensure the sustainability of your business.
- Relax your processes, and provide more operational control freedom to your customer service people.
- Find ways to Delight, not just Satisfy your customers. You want them to come back, and not just because you’ve got the cheapest stuff. Great Customer Experience is more likely to bring them back.
Have you had similar experiences? Share your comments and insights below…
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