Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of May 29, 2017

Each week I read a number of customer service and experience articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

How good is your company’s internal customer experience? by Nicolas Maechler

(McKinsey & Company) To excel with customers, frontline employees need high-level service from core support functions. Société Générale’s group head of corporate resources and innovation explains how to achieve such symmetry.

My Comment: It is no coincidence that the companies that are known for the best customer service are also known as some of the best places to work. And, it’s also not a coincidence that they happen to be more successful than others in their industry. Great service starts on the inside with employees being treated the way a customer should be treated. McKinsey & Company interviews Françoise Mercadal-Delasalles, head of corporate resources and innovation at France’s Société Générale about their internal service culture.

When the customer experience starts at home by Sylvie Bardaune, Sébastien Lacroix, and Nicolas Maechler

(McKinsey & Company) To serve end customers better, begin with your employees.

My Comment: While on the topic of internal customer service, here is another excellent article from McKinsey & Company. The opening line of the article sums up what this article is about: To service end customers better, begin with employees. The concept of internal customer service is really that simple. What’s happening on the inside of your organization is going to be felt by the customer on the outside.

30 Awesome Ways To Reward Employees & Boost Productivity by Kelichi Okeke

(CXService 360) Rewarding and recognizing excellent service from your employees not only boosts productivity, it reinforces the actions of the employee and makes it even more likely that they will do it again. The Positive reinforcement sets an example for everyone in your organization and helps them understand the kind of work you value most

My Comment: And yet one more article on the concept of internal service. My friend Kelichi Okeke from Nigeria sent over an article about 30 ways we can reward employees. He opens with a quote from Dale Carnegie: People work for money, but go the extra mile for praise, recognition and rewards.

United Continental: What Customer Service Scandal? by Ben Levisohn

(Barron’s) Shares of United Continental have rallied since video of a passenger being dragged off one of its flights made the rounds. One analyst explains why.

My Comment: What United Airlines scandal! The day or two after the scandal where a United Airlines passenger was physically and brutally removed from the plane, the stock plummeted and United lost almost a billion dollars in value. Well not even two months later the stock is up 11% and touched a new high. How can that be? This very short article has an answer.

Twitter pushes into customer service – can it prove to be successful? by Yaniv Reznik

(IT ProPortal) Twitter released new personalisation features, allowing customers to share their locations when interacting with branded chatbots through Twitter’s Direct Message service.

My Comment: I’ve written about how Twitter is becoming a powerful customer service channel. Here is another article that explains how Twitter is getting users to not only post their likes and dislikes, but also getting them to move into “Direct Message” mode with the brand to work through any issues or answer questions. Social customer care is a viable customer support channel that every company should be considering, if they haven’t already done so.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

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