Customer Service - Are major companies moving from low cost-minimum service to "Customer is King" again?

Over the past 10 years I have worked extensively in the CRM arena as a System Administrator working between end users and the system provider’s Customer Service departments. Over the past two years, I have worked very closely with Salesforce.com and recently I purchased a new Dell computer and was pleasantly surprised at the exceptional level of Customer Service I was given.

My new experiences with these two companies, Salesforce.com and Dell, have given me hope that Corporations are now listening to customer frustrations. Suspecting that I’m not alone in having many past unsatisfactory customer service experiences, I thought, the following tips and anecdotes may be useful in addressing such practices with your vendors or in improving the service level of your own Customer Service teams. Some of the core issues I have encountered include insufficient product/service knowledge, limited command of the English language and reward systems based on volume of calls handled rather than the quality of services provided.

Tip # 1 Give out your CSR's (Customer Service Representative) direct telephone number and/or email address so if there is a problem, your customer can call you back.

• Demonstrate consideration of your customers time - I called a medical billing company recently about a mistake they had made. I asked them if they could call my Insurance provider (HMO) and straighten it out with them. I had the direct number and name of the CSR at my HMO and the billing company CSR said: "Sorry, we can't make any outgoing calls, we only accept incoming calls. Irritated, I called my HMO back and ask them to call the medical billing company.
  
• Trusting your employees - Compounding my problem, the CSR at my HMO who gave me her direct number was admonished by her supervisor because incoming calls were logged as "personal" calls so she asked me to no longer use the direct number. This policy is nothing but short sighted. Once I have made contact, what is the point of making me go through several layers of menu's to get to the right person? Handling problems efficiently saves money for both the customer and the less you inconvenience your customer, the more likely they are to spread a positive word to friends and colleagues.
  
• Creating Clients for life - At Dell, once you start working with a Sales Representative, you are given their phone number and email address. They not only encourage you to call, they follow up if you don't call. This makes sense during the sales process, however, I found the after sales process to be equally as easy. The sales representative gave me a 24/7 customer service phone number. Dell has spent 3 hours with me so far setting up my new computer. I realize I paid extra for this service but, as you can see, the direct number approach has made me a very happy customer, also, I recently sent my Sales Representative a new client.

Tip # 2 - Follow up on the customers request - YES you can call them back!

• Focus on the details and admit mistakes - Both Salesforce.com and Dell are using a new level of customer service. They call you the next day to see if the solution they offered worked and if there is anything else you need. For example, during one of my conversations with Dell, I asked about my removable drive and we got interrupted. The next day, there was an email in my IN box addressing my question with an apology for missing it during our conversation; now, that's great follow up.

Tip # 3 - Adopt a partnering attitude.

• Increase efficiency but not at the expense of your clients time - I have worked with other Sales force Automation service providers who consistently say "No that isn't possible, we will need to escalate your request to a technician" and then the technician does not follow up for several days because the technician is really busy! Salesforce.com has hundreds of outside providers who write solutions for their software. They almost always say "yes, we can do that" and they have a two hour response commitment.


• Flexibility wins - Technology people sometimes say: "with enough time and money, we can do anything". While this is technically true, if you are not creative and proactive about the time and money you spend, you will have nothing.

Tip # 4 - Provide Menu option shortcuts on your phone answering system.

• Give your callers a "zero out" option up front - So often, there are too many menu options "press this for this and press this for that" and the caller becomes weary/frustrated before he gets to a live operator. Airlines seem to be the worst at this. For example, United Airlines uses a voice activated system. This is great if you only need to know if your airplane is on time but if you have a more complex question, it can be a long process to achieve contact with a CSR. Often when you do reach a CSR, although the individual speaks your language, nuance is not part of his training and misunderstandings elongate the solution process. Our time is important too and straining to understand a person with limited language skills adds to an already potentially frustrating experience.

Tip # 5 - Don't ask for information that you have just had the caller key into the phone.

• How irritating is this? You wait on hold for 20 minutes going through the menu's keying in your account number and other information sometimes 2 or 3 times only to have an operator ask for it again. Get a system that stores the information that is keyed in and have it available for the CSR for heaven's sakes.

Tip # 6 - Train your CSR's to listen to the customer's need first before determining the best solution rather than stepping the customer through an FAQ list.

• Careful to not overuse scripts - We have all had the irritating experience of working with someone who has a "first do this, then do that" script. They aren't listening to you, just trying to get your question into a box so they can read a solution to you and get you off the phone.

Tip # 7 - Review your systems, secret shop your CSR's and ask them what the customers are complaining about, listen to them and fix what is not working.

The mileage that companies such as Dell and Salesforce.com get from providing "after the sale" superior service cannot be over emphasized. What a great experience it has been to work with these two organizations. They have really nailed the customer service side of their operations.

At Global Business Solutions (http://www.globalbizso.com/), we strive to continuously provide guidance on issues affecting your company's ability to acquire new business and retain existing customers. We hope this blog will provide valuable input and ideas for your organization. Please feel free to comment or email us at lucy@globalbizso.com