Poor Customer Service – Whose fault is it anyway? – 6 key lessons and a checklist to consider

My Sunday Morning Blog

This morning lobsters have been my inspiration for this blog.  Let me explain.  In last week’s post  I explored the concept of employees first, customers second: how, by putting employees first, organisations can really influence the level of care and service given to their customers.  I also promised to later share with you some of the conclusions I have come to regarding the reasons behind poor customer service. Well, this week has seen a  deluge of shared experiences – of disappointments, disillusionments and even dismay – that my readers have volunteered  they have suffered at the hands of their service providers.

Shocking, when we consider that ‘customer care’ is hardly a new phenomen!  When I started in this business, more than 25 years ago, it seemed that whether you were a banker, a baker or a bicycle maker, customer care, as a concept, or shall we call it an ideal, had already emerged.  There it was, on the lips of many managers and directors, but in many cases, that was where it firmly stayed. 

So, back to the lobster for the moment.  I have selected this example, (even though I am not a fish eater myself), as it seemed a great tale to tell!  Why? Because I find it even more surprising that such disappointments occur in commercial enterprises.  They need to retain their loyal customers, they need to recognise the importance of the word of mouth recommendation, the advocacy, and the free marketing that goes with the happy, satisfied customer.  The customer that comes into the restaurant out of choice, in a good mood, willing to spend time and money, to celebrate, or to relax.  Happy days!  Working as I do with many public sector organisations, whilst I do not forgive poor service, at times I find it more understandable.  Staff are often dealing with an already distressed customer, someone who may be experiencing a down-turn in their life, misfortune, shame, pain, guilt, fear.  Their stresses and strains and emotions can lead them to use behaviours towards staff that may seem difficult, hard to diffuse, abusive and possibly even violent.  These customers may have no, or at best limited, choice. To staff, the ‘point of payment’ seems far removed or non-existent , they feel stressed and sometimes threatened and it is harder to grasp the ‘marketing element’ in their transactions, even though its importance lurks behind the scenes.

But not so for our Lobster-serving restaurant, purporting to ‘best in class’, with customers and prices to match. The story goes like this.  A client of mine who runs a call-centre in London told me this week how he was in the ‘best restaurant’ in one of our provincial towns last weekend. A group of friends, celebrating a birthday, high spirits……high expectations.  One of the guests was American and Americans apparently like their wine cold. They called the Wine Waiter over, only to be told that its temperature was 7 degrees, the ambient, correct temperature for the wine.  The customer  begged to disagree.

Lesson no  1:  it is the customers’s perception that counts

Lesson no 2:  don’t contradict the customer

Lesson no 3:  don’t patronise the customer

 Things got worse.  My client chose lobster. Lobster needs to be carefully cooked, turning tough very quickly.  His was as tough as old boots.  On being called over, and asked whether the lobster could be replaced the waiter replied.  “Certainly, Sir, we can bring you another one, but it will be exactly the same.”

Lesson no 4:  Listen to the customer

Lesson no 5:  Acknowledge the customer’s views/concerns, using their words. 

Lesson no 6:   Adapt your offering, or offer choices  –  at  least two

It’s hardly rocket science is it?  But like so many things in life, common sense is often not common practice.  So what are some of the reasons behind this big challenge?  Whose fault is poor service? Here’s a sample of just some of our thought-provoking questions we ask our client organisations to help them unravel reasons and blockages to outstanding customer service:

Motivation

Do the people you employ actually want to deal with customers? 

How do you know?

Are leaders, managers and key players passionate about the importance of customer service excellence?

How do they inspire and enthuse their staff to want to treat every customer as individual and special?

Attitudes

Have you considered that it is often easier to train staff in the ‘technical skills’ than it is to develop them to change their attitudes?

How often do you hear ‘that’s not my job, I don’t deal with that’ or ‘Sorry, you’ll have to call back later’?

Do your staff know how much they need their customers, or do they think that the customer needs them?

Is there truly a feeling of ‘ownership’ amongst your staff or do you have a blame culture?

How often do staff take their shoes off and walk in the shoes of others?

Skills

How confident are you really that your staff in your organisation have a big tool box of skills and techniques to help them support their customers, happy or distressed?

Remember, you can follow me on twitter as amongst other updates, I share my day to day customer care experiences.  I would be interested in hearing yours, too

Sunday morning blog – 16 May 2010 Blog Number 2

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