Nowhere To Hide: Customer Service

MISSION STATEMENT. A mission statement should define what the company does. Let’s say implementing the best customer service is part of the mission statement. To the customer, that means nothing. It’s just a bunch of words. When a customer contacts a company and he or she is treated rudely or is ignored (as in not calling back when promised), the mission statement is mocked.

It is important to have a mission statement because it is a definition for all to follow within the company. The customer will know if it is true or not.

A company needs to establish what it stands for, but those words must be exemplified. This is much like the father that yells at his child and tells him never to lie. Then the phone rings and as the son picks up the receiver his dad says, “If that’s my boss tell him I’m not here!”

The mission statement is the company’s thoughts. Their deeds give the words meaning to the employees and customers.

SALES. Many of the problems service companies have come from promises, innuendoes, misrepresentations or just plain lies that sales representatives tell to get an order.

Keep in mind most sales personnel are honest and do not intentionally do these sorts of things. There are many things that can be misrepresented in a sales presentation and customers can also conveniently forget certain things that were said.

But either way, the service company must straighten this out or lose a customer. Worse yet, the company could get bad-mouthed or even be sued.

It is suggested here that after the sale is made, a quality call could be done to verify the highlights of the agreement and get feedback on the sales presentation. (“Was the sales representative courteous and professional?” and “Did he or she explain things to you?”)

This could help offset potential problems as well as improve the sales representative’s presentation. When these questions are created for the quality call, I suggest this be done with the sales staff. This is not a “gotcha” – it is merely trying to improve communications.

A COMMITMENT SERVICE. After the sale is made, it is critical to have the service representative actually do what the sales representative said would be done.

If there is a clash, such as having what was promised end up wrong or illegal or impossible to do, then there is a major problem. It is important to exceed customer expectations and not reduce them.

When this happens, it is best to prepare the service staff on how to handle these situations. Informing the customer that the sales representative had no idea what he was doing does not help the company image.

When a sales person writes an incorrect order, some companies instruct the service representative to get started on the project while the manager heads out to the account immediately. The one thing that should not be done is criticizing other employees. Doing so only shows that the right hand of the company does not know what the left hand is doing. Customers want a company that can prove what is promised is really going to happen.

IN THE OFFICE. For some reason, this area seems to be the sacred cow of what an organization is about. This is the area where things are processed, but supposedly not messed up. The office is as much a part of the company when it comes to customer service as the sales and service departments.

I can’t begin to explain how often I have been in an office and heard about a customer waiting weeks or even months to get a call back to reschedule service or hear from the office to straighten out a past due account. Many well-run offices implement a policy that any customer who wants to verify or rectify a past due account will be corrected within 24 hours.

Another sacred cow is the manager/owner, who is always in a meeting or will return the call but never does. The office is just as accountable to the customer as the sales and service departments. Too often I have heard this conversation:

Customer: “Is the manager in?”

Receptionist: “No, he isn’t, may I help you?”

Customer: “No, I want to talk to the manager. When will he be back?”

Receptionist: “I don’t know?”

Customer: “Do you expect him back sometime today?”

Receptionist: “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me when he would be back.”

Customer: “Will he be in tomorrow?”

Receptionist: “I don’t know.”

Usually, this is not the office person’s fault. The owner/manager feels that he or she does not have to let the employees know anything. After all, “I am the boss!” The manager may be the employees’ boss, but the customer is the manager’s boss and has the right to know when he or she will be back.

FOLLOW UP. I recall working with a company that ensured all incoming phone calls were returned. They had an elaborate system of checking every incoming call that asked for a return call. The system established a check to make sure that someone called the customer back.

Ironically, no one ever checked with the customer to see if they were satisfied. Yes, the customers received return phone calls, but their problems still existed.

The manager/owner thought everything was handled when, in fact, nothing was solved. Each complaint must be followed up until it is completed to the customer’s satisfaction. Too often companies feel that the situation is concluded because someone contacted the customer.

Many companies are now sending out customer surveys for both new accounts as well as sending out surveys to see if their recent problem with the company has been handled to their full satisfaction. These companies want to make sure they not only deliver satisfaction, but also exceed customer expectations.

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS. Today, handling problems is not only a function of customer service, but it is a function of employee management.

With today’s low unemployment rate, keeping good employees is more of a challenge. How companies are treating their employees and getting them to care about customers is the new challenge.

The first true step here is to recognize employees doing things right. Second, treat all employees fairly and with respect. The third suggested area for improving the company is training. The fourth area is to have training on formal review and/or planned re-negotiation when things are not going the direction that management and employees feel that they should be going.

DEALING WITH CHANGE. There is a favorite old saying that I say to many of my clients,

“What got you to where you are today may not be what will get you to where you want to go tomorrow.”

Many owners and managers need to be taught how to deal with the new generation. In my training, I tell them that they are not worse than the last generation – just different. And it takes an understanding of those differences to survive, and an understanding of dealing with differences to advance.

Change is inevitable and companies must give good service and treat employees with respect. Management can run, but they can’t hide (for long). I have found that many managers/owners try to avoid complaining customers and feel that they will eventually go away if they are ignored. That doesn’t work any more. If an organization doesn’t deliver on their promises, they will suffer the consequences.

Companies can’t hide from poor service, ignore customer complaints and cheat consumers. This no longer leads to bad feelings, but rather, an overwhelming amount of options the consumer has available.

The author is an industry consultant with Care Management Consultants, Oceanside, Calif.

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