One of the greatest
phrases I've ever heard on customer service came from Pacific Bell
(Pac Bell) Telephone. For a few years they answered the phone with
the line
"How
may I provide you with excellent service today?"
Wow! The first time
I heard that I was flabbergasted. Talk about raising the bar!
Most of the time
when we call Customer Service, we have pretty low expectations. We
expect them to answer the phone with "Yeah? Whudda ya
want?" We expect to have to argue and explain. In fact, if we had to
describe the experience, many words would come to mind--but not
service.
So with this
pleasant surprise from Pac Bell, a couple of things happened. First,
it was a major boost for my attitude. I was pleasantly surprised to
find that my expectations had been raised. Maybe there wouldn't be a
fight. Maybe they'd just fix the problem.
The second thing
that happened is that I had a lower frustration level right off the
bat. When the first words out of their mouth are "excellent
service," the caller begins to let the guard down. After all, I've
been promised excellent service. So now my attitude becomes "Okay.
Show me your excellent service. Fix this problem."
And while the
initial shock wore off, I was still a bit surprised and pleased
every time I called Pac Bell. It was disarming. It never got old.
And it put a smile on my face. Until one day . . .
My recollection
could be wrong, but when Pac Bell started calling themselves SBC, I
believe they continued this. I know it went on for a few years.
Then one day I
called and the SBC rep said
"How may I
provide you with very satisfying service today?"
What?
Once again, I was
shocked. I wanted excellent service! I don't want "very
satisfying" service! When you're used to excellent service, very
satisfying is a step down. It's less than excellent. It doesn't
raise my expectations.
I asked the rep
what happened to excellent service. Her response was as honest as it
was deflating. She said that when customers are surveyed to evaluate
the customer service experience, there is no "excellent" option to
choose from. Instead, it's a scale that includes dissatisfied,
somewhat satisfied, very satisfied.
Period.
They're going for
ratings. Compensation is affected by ratings.
"Very Satisfying"
might be their highest rating, but to me it's very unsatisfying. Now
I feel like I'm dealing with a person who doesn't care about me or
my business. She wants to do the minimum it takes to get the
evaluation filled out in her favor.
I fully admit that
the service may be unchanged. It may be excellent. But they haven't
disarmed me; they haven't got me to lower my shields; they haven't
made me smile. And they haven't raised my expectations.
Follow Through
It's still a great
line. I'll never forget the line "How may I provide you with
excellent service?" I even use it sometimes when talking to family
and friends. When my wife comes home and she's completely worn out
and exhausted and not in the mood for whatever I'm cooking, I'll ask
"How may I provide you with excellent service?" Then she knows that
it's okay to skip my dinner plans and order take-out, or to go out,
or to do whatever she wants.
But beware. When
you raise expectations like this, you better follow through.
A few years ago we
moved into a newer house. The local cable TV company was not a
national brand company. It was a tiny, under-funded cable company
owned by the home builder. Their service was horrible. Unbelievably
horrible. Outages would last days and weeks. When that happened,
they simply stopped answering the phone.
And you'll never
guess how they answered the phone: "How may I provide you with
excellent service today?"
Great line. Love
the line. But in this case, it did not have a magical effect me.
The first time they
used this line, my reaction was "Yeah, right." I knew I was going to
get terrible service, and no tag line was going to change that. They
used that line the entire time we were subscribers. As soon as we
could, we moved over to a real cable company.
The point is, you
can't just say you're going to give great service. You have to prove
it again and again and again. You'll make mistakes. We all do. No
one expects you to be perfect. But if you can get them to see that
you're really trying, they will become more forgiving.
The worst case
scenario is to continue paying lip service to excellent service but to
put out no effort. You become a laughing stock. It will actually
raise anger instead of reducing it.
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"If your mission holds no personal
passion, it is not your path."
-- Laurie Beth Jones
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Lessons Learned
Expectations
may be the most important part of service. I never expect to have a
fun time calling a corporate customer service line. I don't expect
to laugh or chit chat or make life-long friends. Sometimes I expect
a fight. Sometimes I expect to be taken care of.
If a company has
not poisoned the relationship, they can manage my expectations. SBC
can get me to expect good service. The local cable company has no
hope of making me happy.
Follow-Through
makes the difference. When a given "customer service experience"
is completed, the actual service will be evaluated without regard to
advertising slogans or tag lines. Someone who has given bad service
in the past can begin to repair their reputation by giving excellent
service on the next call. The client's perception won't skyrocket,
but it will go up a notch.
z The best phone company I deal
with on a regular basis is Verizon Wireless. They don't promise me
"excellent service." But they deliver it. They don't give me a label
for what they do. They just continue to provide excellent service
and I continue to be a subscriber.
Campaign vs. Culture
So what happened
with SBC? In the end, it turned out that the whole "excellent
service" routine was just another corporate campaign. Like sales
contests and marketing campaigns, it was an idea that came and went
like the Taco Bell dog.
Yo quiero excellent
service.
It's difficult,
almost impossible, for large corporations to adopt a permanent
change in culture. You see it on rare occasions. It's more common to
see campaigns--waves of change.
Do you remember the
Taco Bell ad campaign that came after the Taco Bell dog campaign?
Neither does anyone else. It was just another wave of advertising
that didn't differentiate itself.
Customer service is
the same way. You can try one approach after the other, trying to
convince people that you have excellent service. But in the long run,
having excellent service is the only thing that matters. You have to
have a culture of excellent service. That part needs to be
permanent.
The way you
implement that service will change over time. Yesterday follow-up
came by U.S. Mail and today it comes by email. But what hasn't
changed? Follow-up.
Small companies can
give the best customer service because they implement something and
stick to it. They don't have waves of CEOs and managers coming and
going. They can get quick feedback, and execute changes.
Action Items
So what can you do
today? Start by making a commitment to customer service. Not
basic customer service. Basic is what the competition gives.
Basic is the entry level that allows you to be in the game. Make
your commitment to excellent customer service.
Talk to your
customers. Give them feedback loops so they can communicate with
your. What do they like or not like? What do they expect? What would
they like that's "too much to ask for?" Now you're getting a sense
of excellent customer service.
Find out what it
means in your business and do. Not today, not for awhile, not until
everyone forgets: Do it forever. Make it part of your company
culture.
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"The essence of sustainable competitive
advantage is:
1) The obvious;
2) The little things;
3) The accumulation of little things over the years."
-- Tom Peters
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### RFS ###
