Quality Service Marketing

Corporate Insensitivity Adds to Customer Grief

This is a plea for companies to be more sensitive to their customers’ situations. It’s about a frustrating and emotionally-laden personal experience resulting from a lack of corporate sensitivity that may not be deliberate, but nonetheless, there's no excuse for it.

My beloved mother passed away a few months ago, and I've been handling her mail and bills until her estate is settled. What's unbelievable is the direct mail I continue to get in my mother's name from companies who have been contacted about the situation. Here’s what happened recently (within the span of one week) that sent me over the edge:

• Even though we closed out my mother's checking and savings accounts after her funeral (just over four months ago) to transfer the funds to an estate account, she continues to receive promotional offers from her credit union.
• My family recently received an insurance check after submitting lengthy documentation about my mother's illness and death. Get this: a few days later, we also got a notice from the same insurance company stating that her annual policy renewal would be cancelled for lack of payment.
• Then there was the personal invitation to my mother to attend a financial education seminar from the financial services firm where we opened her estate account!

I thought 'Relationship' was CRM’s middle name

I just don't understand – companies have customer data bases that they presumably update with new and closed account information. How long does it take to remove a customer name from the marketing list?

Companies have invested millions of dollars in CRM (customer relationship management) technology, so what's the problem? Is it a bureaucratic issue based on organizations that are so complex and silo'd that the left hand doesn't talk to the right hand or even know what it's doing?

Regardless, the result is inefficient and wasteful. Sadly, it's also perceived as a lack of sensitivity to consumers who are emotionally fragile.

I was so upset about this that I vented to my new blogging buddy, Becky Carroll, of CustomersRock! fame. Here’s her response:

It is more than unfortunate that the thoughtlessness of these businesses has thrown salt into the wound. Obviously, no one would do this intentionally.  However, in delicate situations, it is critical that a business flag the situation and make it work out with as little stress on the customer as possible.

I think these things happen due to silo thinking, and it happens too often!

(Thanks for listening, Becky).

Is it realistic for companies to know what their customers’ families are going through? Of course not. But in these situations – when company policy requires a death certificate to change a customer account – someone should have a clue!

Don't Call Us, Unless We Need You

I ranted in my last post about organizations that don’t communicate with job applicants. Wait till you hear this shabby treatment of an internal job candidate.

A friend of mine provided freelance PR services for a number of years to an organization that decided to bring the position in-house. And she applied for the position.

How did she learn she didn’t get it? When she received an invitation to meet the new PR person. She called the office where she was contracted as a freelancer and was told that her rejection letter would be sent shortly. (That it should have been sent before the invitation is a moot point as my friend never received any letter.) She was also told she wasn’t hired for the position because she wasn’t a good fit with the organization’s culture and strategic plan. (Huh? Up to this point, she had never gotten any negative feedback about her work.)

The bottom line was that after all her years of service, she was treated rudely and without any professional courtesy. And get this - the office then called my friend because it wanted her to spend some time orienting the new person to the PR job!

Guess that was one task they had to tackle themselves ...  : )

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You

Seems almost everybody I talk to who’s in the current job market has stories on how they’re ignored by prospective employers when they apply for jobs. Only a few organizations extend the courtesy of a postcard or letter confirming receipt of an applicant’s resume.

Doesn’t matter whether it’s an entry-level or executive job search … new job or job-change … for-profit or nonprofit … too many organizations do not acknowledge their job applicants.

I’ve heard the excuses before: HR & other departments doing the hiring are short-staffed and/or there are too many applications flooding into the system. But there’s enough technology out there to automate the acknowledgment process.

At the very least, firms can better manage applicants’ expectations by putting a disclaimer in their want ads that tell people “You won’t hear from us at all unless we’re interested in you.” Don’t assume every applicant takes “no news is no news” as a given.

The smart organization can actually create a favorable brand impression by extending the courtesy of communication to its job applicants. Consumers, including prospective employees, judge an organization by how well they’re treated by everyone in the organization they come in contact with. In other words, EVERYONE in the organization impacts the brand. So ignoring job applicants doesn’t do much if you want to be known as an employer-of-choice.

To those involved in the hiring process, listen up: someday YOU may be the one looking for a job who is ignored.

Search Committees Need a Clue

A friend who works in a university told me about her school's search for a new administrative department head. In passing she said she was surprised that the search committee hadn’t bothered to include input from the department’s current staff.

Perhaps the search committee wanted to change that department's culture by bringing in a new leader, and they didn’t think it worthwhile to hear what the staff had to say? That was my initial (and feeble) attempt to explain their rationale. But it’s still no reason to overlook the people who have a major stake in the search’s outcome – after all, they’re the ones who have to live with the new boss.

Don’t Mind Us, We Just Work Here

The more my friend and I discussed this, the more upset we got … especially since we also recalled similar instances from our experience in nonprofit and corporate organizations. In many cases it seemed the search committees showed a blatant disregard and disrespect for the staff. Their message was loud & clear: “Why should we bother with the employees' two cents when they’re not in positions of authority to determine who their boss should be?”

I’m not saying the staff should make the hiring decision. But they should be given the opportunity to offer feedback on the nature of their work and the type of person who might best lead their department.

I just don’t understand why the folks most invested in the department - those closest to the work - are the least likely to be asked for their input. Go figure ...

Whatever Happened to the Friendly Skies?

I know the past few months have been bad on air travel weather-wise, but something else is happening. And it doesn’t bode well for the airline industry.

Check out these horror stories from Jill Stover (with comments, including mine) and Bob Hastings. Customer service continues to wane, while passengers are experiencing increasing hassles.

Jet Blue’s passenger bill of rights notwithstanding, customers are continually subject to poor customer service, not to mention the hassles of getting through airport security. Security issues continue to alter our air travel habits, resulting in changing carry-on policies and new fees.

I remember back around 1999-2000 when air traffic was at a peak and passengers were up in arms about poor service. The airlines responded by improving their customer service and the situation began improving … and then there was 9/11. Airport security changed, and little by little the “frills” (such as on-board meals, pillows, etc.) began to disappear.

It’s not too much to ask, is it?

Even with the changes, I wonder why airlines aren’t doing a better job with customer service. Yes, it’s becoming more of a hassle to travel these days, but there’s an opportunity for airline brands to stand out by recognizing these challenges and being more (not less) empathetic to customers:

• managing customer expectations through up-front & honest communications (check out Jill's follow-up post for more on this)
• treating them courteously and, when appropriate, with a touch of humor
• ensuring airline staff are given the training and support they need to effectively work (and cope) with passengers.

This isn’t rocket surgery.

Summer vacation time is rapidly approaching. I’ve already heard from many friends & colleagues that they're considering “drive-able” destinations to avoid flying anywhere. That works for leisure travel, but us business travelers don’t have that same flexibility.

The question is: will the skies ever be friendly again?

Customer Service: Is Business Paying Attention?

That’s the question I’m left with after reading Toby Bloomberg’s recent posts: “Social Media’s Influence on Customer Service” followed by “Social Media’s Positive Influence on Customer Service.”

To whet your appetite - or if you’re pressed for time - here’s the story: dissatisfied consumer blogs about her poorly handled experience with Capital One. Fellow blogger and diva marketer (Toby) e-mails Capital One with a link to the blog post & suggests the company respond. Her posts also generate a number of comments and head-scratching about why more companies don’t respond to these types of posts. Either they’re not taking the impact of social media & “word-of-mouse” seriously … they don’t know how … or maybe they don’t care.

[Sidebar: I love Toby’s quote about conveying the message: “You matter. I hear you. I’m paying attention to you.” That’s the true essence of customer service and delight.]

I encourage you to read these thoughtful posts, and I also challenge you & your friends to respond to Toby’s request if you’ve ever posted a positive experience on your blog and received feedback from the company involved.

Some Snobs Just Shouldn't Work in Retail!

It's the last time I go to that jewelry store! My husband, Michael, and I went to a local independent jeweler to inquire about getting an appraisal on some jewelry we'd like to sell. The saleswoman who asked if she could "help" us (and I use the term loosely), promptly told us it couldn't be done because they were busy getting ready to do a show. She could have been more polite about it, but she wasn't. And this was the same woman who gave Michael a hard time a few weeks ago when he wanted to replace a watch battery. After she told him it would take a week(!), he walked two blocks to another store and had the watch fixed while he waited.

See, that's the thing about us consumers - we have other options and choices. And we can almost always find other retailers who are ready, willing and able to take care of us.

Moment-of-Truth

This snob of a salesperson who lost our goodwill, as well as future sales, is the epitome of what Don Peppers described in his recent session at ASU's Compete Through Service Symposium: "an indifferent employee" with a "can't-do attitude."

As a consumer, my feeling is: if you can't take care of me, then I can't be bothered to do business with you. But I will be happy - even delighted - to recommend to my friends (and anyone else within earshot) that they not patronize your store. As a marketer, however, I see this type of employee as a nightmare.

Wait, there's more to learn here

Check out Toby's blog coverage of the Service Symposium, including her wonderful take-away on The Ten Simple Truths of Service.

Customer Recovery: A Tale of Two Companies

As a marketer, I know the importance of effective complaint handling and recovery on consumer satisfaction and loyalty.  So I was curious to see how two different companies with well known brands would handle me as a consumer with a problem.

This wasn't a test for its own sake - I actually had problems with two products of which I've been a long-time, loyal consumer.  And surprisingly (or not), my experience was different in each case.

Situation #1

I needed to replace my Maybelline eyeliner pen and couldn't find it anywhere after trying several different stores.  So I e-mailed Maybelline's Consumer Affairs and here's their reply:

"Thank you for your interest in Eye Express Easy Lining Pen.  This product is no longer available, and we have no way of obtaining it for you to purchase.  We suggest you try Line Stylist, which is available at stores that carry Maybelline New York products.

We understand the frustration you must feel concerning the disappearance of a product that you had been using faithfully.  It is never easy for us to make the decision to discontinue any of our products or shades.  We truly regret any inconvenience this may have caused you."

At least they were empathetic and apologetic.  But that's all.  There was no link to tell me where to find the suggested alternate product and no special offer or coupon to encourage me to try it.

Marketing Note: OK, as consumers we may be unrealistic in expecting a little extra for the inconvenience.  In marketing, the concept is known as "recovery" - an added incentive to maintain the customer's relationship.  But the bottom line here is there is no reason for me to continue my brand loyalty.  My favorite product is no longer available, and there's no motivation for me to try another product within the brand.  So goodbye, Maybelline.

Situation #2

I opened a box of Post Grape-Nuts cereal and it tasted stale.  (Hard to believe, I know ... but I eat Grape-Nuts in yogurt nearly everyday, and this time it didn't taste quite right.)  I opened another box that I had in my pantry, and it was same.  The "best when used by" date was more than six months away.  Maybe I just had a bad batch?

So I called Kraft (who owns the Post brand).  The Customer Service Rep was also apologetic.  I don't quite remember how she said it, but she managed to genuinely acknowledge my complaint while at the same time reassure me of their quality standards.  And then she offered recovery - Post would send me coupons so I could replace the product.  (A letter of apology, with the coupons, arrived within a week.)

Based on this experience, will I stay loyal to Post Grape-Nuts?  You betcha!

Clueless in Customer Commitment

I watched sadly as my husband & his brothers recently endured a lot of undeserved & unnecessary stress from a bank's brokerage division's poor service & staff incompetence.

In trying to close out an account from my father-in-law's estate, they kept getting the run-around and poor excuses about the paperwork involved ... most of it BS.  Attempts to resolve their frustration by trying to appeal higher up were ignored.  So it became customer service's responsibility for damage control.

And while the situation was handled gingerly by a customer service rep (kudos to her for her personal empathy & professional manner), the brand damage was done.

Unfortunately, this also reinforced the decline in business's commitment to customers as reported in the Strativity Group's annual Customer Experience Management Survey.  Results from last year's study found "companies remained self-centric, transaction-based, and product-focused."

Based on my family's experience, you can count SunTrust Investments among the clueless.

The Ultimate In-Home Gourmet Dining

I finally got the chance to experience Gourmet Station, an absolutely delightful web-order/mail-delivered catering service.  I knew about Gourmet Station from my marketing buddy & blog-mentor, Toby Bloomberg, as it's one of her clients.

It's an interesting concept: heat & eat three- and four-course gourmet meals delivered to your home ... complete with candles and lace-trimmed napkins to enhance a special dining experience.  But until recently, I had only hear about it by word-of-mouth.

Until last month when I had the opportunity to dine ala Gourmet Station.  The meal was delectable - bistro mushroom soup and tomato basil soup (I had a taste of both ... yummm!), seared salmon with herb sauce and chicken Wellington (ditto!), creamed spinach, and amaretto cheesecake.

Gourmet Station makes a great & unique gift for any occasion.  And if you can't wait to be on the receiving end, go ahead & treat yourself.  You won't regret it.