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Guest Blog: Myths Busted: Great Customer Service Starts Here

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Doug Sandler, busts some popular customer service myths. I am a big advocate of the policies and procedures myth! Arming employees with knowledge and training is key. – Shep Hyken I’m a fan of the Discovery series called MythBusters. In every episode, Jamie […]

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Doug Sandler, busts some popular customer service myths. I am a big advocate of the policies and procedures myth! Arming employees with knowledge and training is key. – Shep Hyken

I’m a fan of the Discovery series called MythBusters. In every episode, Jamie and Adam work to prove or debunk a myth through a series of experiments involving trial and error, advanced exploration and communication. What fascinates me is the high relatability factor of the myths they present. It may be a statement of the obvious, but this is why they became myths in the first place. With customer service being my focus, I explored the myths believed to be most prolific in a wide variety of industries. Following each myth, I provide additional insight, personal observations or explanations for common misconceptions.

MYTHGreat customer service starts with understanding the customer is always right.

BUSTED – Companies that score extremely high marks in customer service go well beyond the philosophy of “ the customer is always right.” Unfortunately, the customer may always think he is right, but in reality, that just isn’t the case. It’s the perception of being right that draws the customer back to a company’s brand to solve a problem, make a demand or request a response. Regardless of whether the customer is right or wrong, it is extremely important to acknowledge the query, to be open to the dialogue exchange (face-to-face, phone, email or social), to not get defensive, and to have a clear understanding that although the customer is not always right, being human and understanding their perspective will go far with every exchange.

MYTHGreat customer service is about being quick to resolve problems.

BUSTED- It’s about great communication. Everything starts with communication. Do not wait until you have all of your solutions lined up, neat in a row and presenting your findings to your customer. Great customer service is about keeping your customers in the loop, staying open and being honest with your communication. Some problems take a while to resolve, and that is the reality of problems, especially problems that are unique. I can recall a problem I had traveling with Southwest Air from Baltimore to Seattle. The Southwest gate employee explained there was a delay due to not having a complete crew. Rather than leaving it at that, she explained (over the microphone) that the crew scheduled for our flight was flying in from the midwest had a delay, but was about 30 minutes from arrival. As time drew closer, she continues to update us every 5-10 minutes.

As we got closer to the time for the crew’s arrival she started to tell us a bit about her experience with these specific crew members. Finally, when the team arrived, we (the waiting passengers) felt like we knew them. We actually applauded for them when they arrived, excited to meet these famed crew members. Although the problem took longer than expected to resolve, Southwest kept the communication open and honest. They took a problem and made it part of a positive experience that I will remember for years to come.

“The most important thing for every human is to be heard, effective customer service is letting your client know you hear them and will, therefore, do your best to help them.”

~Shirley Impellizzeri, Ph.D., QME

MYTHGreat customer service is about being responsive to customers.

BUSTED – Silence is the customer service killer. I’m talking about customer silence. Over 70% of clients that have a problem or question will not call, post or reach out to your company for information or resolution. Exemplary customer service is about being proactive and reaching out to your customers to find out how their experience has been with your brand. Don’t assume because you do not get a complaint or questions from your customers that all is ok.

The philosophy of “don’t stir the pot,” is like putting your head in the sand. A silent customer is not always a happy customer. Routinely reach out to your customers on a variety of channels to see how their experience has been with your brand. This can be a double-edged sword. Don’t try to be on every channel unless you plan on having the manpower to be visible on every channel. If you do encounter a problem while communicating in a public space like social media, don’t be so quick to take it private. People are watching your every move. Here’s your opportunity to really shine so don’t go on the defensive. Work the situation to your advantage and the public forum you used to resolve your problem will become your stage for problem resolution.

MYTHGreat customer service is about putting the customer first. 

BUSTED – Great service starts with happy employees. A management team that leads from the top down, putting the customer first and having little consideration for their front line has sadly misaligned priorities. A company that puts their employees first, creating a positive work environment, encouraging a positive, happy culture and designing programs that are “employee-centric” will also be putting the customer first. Companies that place importance on employee’s feelings will create staff that are happy and take more ownership of customers’ feelings as well.

If you create an environment where you say the customer always comes first, you may be establishing an adversarial relationship between the customer and the employee.  If the customer wins the employee loses. More money spent on the customer is less money spent on the employee. If however, you put the employee first, making them happy, everyone wins, including the customer, the employee and your company. Winning companies, through action, that show the employee comes first (empowerment programs, better training, creative incentives, great work environment), will be rewarded with employees providing great customer service.

“Excellent service is putting your employees first and building a culture that has them putting the customer first.”

~Micha Mikailian

MYTH– Great customer service starts with having a governing set of policies and procedures specifically establishing how your company should respond to customers.

BUSTED – While having specific policies established to address customer needs is a good start, empowering your employees to make decisions is crucial in providing exemplary service. Emphasize philosophy over specific tactics when engaging customers, and getting to know their needs. Management that says they empower their employees yet doesn’t provide enough decision-making power to them is putting on a stage show complete with a ventriloquist and dummy.

I regularly consult with companies, associations and organizations that claim they give their employees power to make decisions but in reality pull the plug when they have an issue with decisions made. It’s important, just like a parent raising a child, you give guidelines to your staff, but that you let them experiment and let them fail (or succeed) on their own. If you have provided proper training, they will recover, handle the issue and most importantly, they will have learned a lesson. Keeping a rigid set of policies and procedures is no better than having a robot on the other side of customer communication. There is no place for robots in customer service if your customer is human. Human beings have feelings, emotions and needs that do not fit neatly in a policy manual.

Doug Sandler, aka Mr. Nice Guy, created Nice Guys Finish First in an environment where too often people accept average as the norm when it comes to customer service; and way too often companies accept average from their sales and customer service departments.  Doug is a speaker, author and blogger specializing in exceeding service expectations and he can prove to you why nice guys (and girls) finish first.

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Recent Airline Service Debacles Remind Us: Communication Is Key

 

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