Is your service bad? It was at last week’s hotel and airline flight and Hertz counter and at Best Buy. So why not yours? It’s a daily battle just to keep it “good” let alone striving for our daily “World-Class Customer Service” goal.
But before we dig into why, blame the process, the CRM or the budget- let’s look at the primary location for great service. That is, the front line staff. Are they empowered to make decisions? Are they well trained? Do they know who the top customers are and, are they able to do something extra for them?If service sucks, then it’s leadership that sucks. No two ways about it…you can’t blame the teenager for the dirty McDonalds bathroom- you blame the restaurant manager. I don’t blame the Hilton hotel counter staff- I blame the Sr. Management who thinks it’s a great idea to let a Gold member be treated like Jed Clampet. Wake up!
System's system
Consumer Affairs exists for one reason- to support the system when the system fails. Tomorrow something will come to a scratching halt, go east instead of west or spiral out of control. The problem is not having the system ready to support the system that failed. May seem like too many systems, but a system without a system can be a systematic problem. Got it? I do. My company does. I’m lucky.
Fanfare?
So I ask a Sr. Executive at a billion dollar company why organizations don’t “market” more of the things they do. This thoughtful response came back;
“Sometimes good consumer friendly ideas to enhance a brand are born and launched without the usual fanfare. Cushier seats in the waiting room, self-check out options at a supermarket, shirts that match the jeans that match the sweater. Consumer awareness and appreciation is the goal...the parade down main street is not always necessary - as a matter of fact - when it just happens without the noise - the consumer still gets it and starts to think that quality & improvements must be an inherent part of that brand culture. Kind of like LT scoring a TD and just tossing the ball to the ref - vs - doing the wild thing in the end zone.”
“Sometimes good consumer friendly ideas to enhance a brand are born and launched without the usual fanfare. Cushier seats in the waiting room, self-check out options at a supermarket, shirts that match the jeans that match the sweater. Consumer awareness and appreciation is the goal...the parade down main street is not always necessary - as a matter of fact - when it just happens without the noise - the consumer still gets it and starts to think that quality & improvements must be an inherent part of that brand culture. Kind of like LT scoring a TD and just tossing the ball to the ref - vs - doing the wild thing in the end zone.”
What's burning?
I got a Brand issue. No, not trying to create one, just protect it. Now can I say most branding issues are really issues associated more in the experience with the brand? Is the mirror handy? Can we dig deep inside; do a little soul searching to uncover why the experience does not match the brand promise? With all due respect to the sample vehicle, brochures and cute promotions (really confusing promotions but I’ll let you have the “cute” description) can we just stop, drop and roll? Can we look at the fire burning instead of wondering why it’s smoky? Oh that’s right…your not declaring a fire until you form a team, study the history of fires, fire types, etc. and deliver the results in a binder.
I smell the binder burning…
I smell the binder burning…
What matters? I mean really matters?
A Starbucks Veep was asked what is most important to the Starbucks experience? He replied not one thing, but everything matters. Hmmm...
So the brochure is cool but the product was delayed. The price was reasonable but the quality wasn’t. The salesperson was knowledgeable but the invoicing was wrong.
So the brochure is cool but the product was delayed. The price was reasonable but the quality wasn’t. The salesperson was knowledgeable but the invoicing was wrong.
Brain holding you back?
The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out.
- Dee Hock
- Dee Hock
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