Electrical stores ramp up customer service

The Financial Times released an interesting article showing how the white and brown line consumer goods industry is recognizing customer service as the new "battleground", now that the flames of the pricing parity war have subsided and the dust has settled to show no clear winner.

The UK consumer goods industry has been rattled in recent years by the entrance of digital retailers and large supermarket chains, who have been slowly staking out territory in what's commonly been high street turf -- something we also see here in the Philippines. With the appearance of these players, price wars were inevitable, as groups vied for market share at almost any cost - but such tactics cannot be sustained for very long in most cases, and blue ocean strategies are now being looked for to differentiate the players. Add to this the complexity of the products being sold, and it's easy to see many opportunities where value added customer service (ala The Geek Squad) becomes a prime area for investment.

Identifying customer pain and developing new services to essentially outsource those problems from the customer, then combining those services with technological solutions that can potentially eliminate phone calls to call centers or repair service attendance, have become the arsenal of companies looking to outdo their competition.

You'll notice in the article that Dixon's "Knowhow" customer service platform took two years to plan and develop, with a hefty price tag. Yet they had the vision, forethought, focus, and long term goal of profit over time, to help them set a direction and stick with it. They know the hefty margins that can come from value added services, and are seeking to exploit this opportunity as much as possible - while using it as market differentiator at the same time.

We're seeing similar strategies being employed in the finance, travel, and hospitality sectors too. As the Internet levels the playing field, and websites like "Not Good Enough" and "Twitter" hook in social networking, you can bet that consumers will come to expect the same service offerings to start appearing in other industries as well.

Without a road map, and the conviction to stick to a plan and avoid letting the daily ups and downs of the market distract you, most companies will flounder and fall to the wayside over the next 12 to 24 months, as the competition for consumer brain space and the pursuit of exceptional customer service becomes key corporate strategy.

You don't need to spend billions or even millions, to get a head start in this game -- but you have to get the facts right by hearing what your customers want, and then exceeding those expectations time and time again, across multiple delivery channels, 24 x 7.

It's a long distance marathon, not a sprint to the finish line, and the sooner companies realize and embrace this reality, the sooner they can get on with aligning themselves to the paradigm shift that's taking place.

Call center worker has own tale of woe

This is my 20th year in customer service, and although it's been a few years since I have been on the front-line taking calls, I can still connect with the story of this call center worker and his frustrations at trying to deliver customer service, while working in a tightly controlled "numbers environment".


For those who haven't worked in a call center, it's got to be the most measured environment you can possibly be in - everything from toilet breaks to pauses in your speech, how long you talk to your attendance (down to the second).


For those who have or do work in call centers, I need not say more, and i'd love to hear your comments first hand!


This "numbers environment" structure comes from an outdated model that stretches back to the late 19th century when the first electromechanical automatic telephone exchange was invented by Almon Strowger, and the first switchboard operators began appearing. In the early 1900's, as these exchanges began to handle more and more calls, engineers began struggling to develop ways of efficiently handling the growing traffic through the use of statistically predictive models - most notably starting with the "Erlang", which was developed by A.K Erlang.

The Erlang began as a way of calculating how many lines you would need to handle a certain number of calls lasting a certain amount of time, but soon spread to calculating how many people you'd need too. Thus began the micro-measurement of the call center environment.


What was overlooked in this clinical approach to "handling calls" was of course "handling customers". Customers themselves are such a highly unpredictable variable in your calculation, that it's the bane of any call center manager or workforce planner. What if you're customer is hard of hearing? Or doesn't have just one question but ten? Or your computer is running slow because of a Windows update? Although their is room for some variation in the calculation, overall the method tends to ignore these as "anomalies" that can be dealt with  by someone else (namely the person taking the call!).


In an industry where the focus now is to go beyond handling calls, or even just delivering customer satisfaction, and into the realm of delighting customers and turning them into cult followers of brands, one has to ask what new approaches are being taken now to move away from this old antiquated model and look for a new way of embracing technology and people in such as a way that all parties win.


Attrition is the killer of call centers, not just in terms of cost for acquisition and training, but in terms of interruption to service, transition of account management, team morale, and the hurtful fact that knowledge is walking out your door.


If the industry cannot adopt a new attitude and implement enablers for staff to deliver the level of service we all know we want, then we're sadly heading towards a zero sum game.


Don't get me wrong, this isn't a simple weekend project. There are many factors to weigh up, many angles to consider, but the key is businesses have to begin thinking and implementing now, to ensure alignment with their people on the ground and the organization goal of delighting customers.


I encourage you to read the story and let me know you're thoughts!

JobStreet.com JOBGANTIC Career Fair 2011 this August 2011

If you're looking to change your job or career, or are just starting out in the work force, then job/career fairs are a great way to get yourself on the radar of the right potential employers. With summer over, it's time to get cracking on establishing yourself in a career, rather than aimlessly hopping from one job to the next.

You might think careers are for doctors and lawyers, but careers in customer service offer legitimate long term opportunities for anyone serious about going professional. Jobs put food on your table today, while careers feed your family for tomorrow and beyond.

Before you even consider registering yourself for the fair, here's a few tips:

First, get your resume into order. Not only do you need to make sure it's current, you need to make sure it sells yourself in the right way, for the kind of job you're looking for. If that's customer service, then you need to demonstrate not just your academic history, but also clear evidence that you're putting yourself on a path to professionalism.

List any outside activities, training courses or seminars that you've attended that focus on aspects of customer service. Emphasize any jobs (whether part time or full time, or even voluntary) that were in the service of others. Better yet, include written references from people who can confirm your skills in this area. Don't just put "references available on request", put names and contact details to show you're upfront and honest.

Ensure the timeline of your resume is complete, and any gaps are clearly explained. Put an introductory paragraph that explains what you're looking for, why you think you'd be a great asset to the employer, and that you're thinking "long term career" rather than a "job for a year".

Keep in mind that your resume will be amongst hundreds, if not thousands, of other applicants. So step it up and make your resume an advertising tool -- don't just submit a "bio-sheet" with data. You need to tell your story in a concise and clear way so that it will attract the eye of potential employers, and make them pay attention when you get to the interview.

Remember : professionals choose their careers, so make it clear to anyone reading your resume that you're going pro. High caliber customer service professionals are sought after and in demand, and there are opportunities to make excellent money, to travel, and to do extra study -- and this doesn't mean you have to become a call center manager either. Commissions and incentives are being offered by employers to stop attrition and retain talent, so make yourself valuable and get in the game!

Once your resume is ready, register your it with JobStreet.com early because they'll have tens of thousands of applications to sift through!

Next, start to polish your interview techniques ready for the big day by doing a practice with your family or friends. Think through your answers to common questions like "what attracts you to this field?", "what qualities do you bring to the job", and "what are your strengths and weaknesses". Run through this as many times as you need until you're confident. And remember, the interviewers have done this thousands of times and have heard all the corny generic responses, so be creative, honest, and different.

You also need to be very clear about what you want -- will you work night shift, weekends? Are you prepared to travel, or even relocate? What salary expectations do you have? What do you really know about the type of job you're applying for? You need to prove you've done your homework BEFORE the fair itself.

In the DOLE May 2011 job fair, over 70,000 people attended and only 12% received job offers on the spot. Tough competition! But I can guarantee you that those 7,000+ people that got job offers were not picked purely based on their academic or job experience -- they were picked because theystood out from the sea of 70,000 other people.

On the day, dress like a professional, know yourself inside and out, and go in with a positive attitude -- and get their early! The fair opens at 10am, so be at the doors at 9am or earlier, make sure you have a good hearty breakfast, and be prepared to change your life -- and that of your family too!

Be serious and go pro...best of luck!

Your Travel Complaints Now Settled by Technology

An excellent tactic if you can efficiently manage both your service levels AND your technology -- beat your customer to the punch, and initiate compensation for bad service BEFORE they even ask for it! This can only be done using smart technology, so businesses who are serious about service recovery need to wrap their heads around this stuff sooner rather than later, because it's guaranteed that the competition is!!

Customers Chat One-to-One in Bank’s Virtual Facebook Branch

The financial sector pushes along with using social technology to close the gap in dealing with customer service, while minimizing the ever growing costs of managing a larger customer base - a fine balance indeed, but better that the the millions in *other* fines we're recently seeing (see previous story on Lloyds). Invest now, or pay later.

STORY - Outstanding Customer Service

It's important to remember the human side of customer service, because after all it's where those at the frontline can have the maximum impact with your customers. As this story proves, it doesn't have to be about gimmicks and tricks, service level agreements or market feedback - a simple act of empathy can turn a consumer into a fan....give it a try!

How to Turn a Customer Complaint Call into a Customer Retention Strategy

Great site on handling customer complaints and turning them into a customer retention strategy that'll generate long term business opportunities from negative situations. A handy reference to get you thinking about how to apply the basic principles into your own operations and win win win! Good also for frontliners on how you play a significant part in the retention process.

Lloyds to Pay $33 Million for Rejecting Customer Complaints - Businessweek

What's worse than getting customer complaints you might wonder? REJECTING them! Having worked in a government regulated industry I am painfully aware of the massive costs and fines that can be imposed if you don't handle complaints properly. Even if you're not in a regulate industry, your customers could make you pay by walking so tread carefully!

Having difficulty calling Globe customer service?

So your computer database becomes inaccessible. What's the solution? Stop taking the calls and redirect your customers to endless recorded announcements! NOT. Globe should be answering those calls regardless, taking down the details and calling customers back when they regain access to their system. It shows just how highly Globe considers it's customers. Does it mean your call center people well cop the brunt of it - yes. But better that than having the customers discover this awful truth and then walking to another vendor!

Jetstar now a do-it-yourself airline

Australia's Jetstar Airlines has outsourced it's customer service...to the customers!? Making customers pay for a standard process like "checking in" and pretending it's now a "premium service" will surely send most customers walking. Imagine if Pizza Hut charged you extra because you wanted THEM to cook the pizza too! You can't say you're improving service by eliminating it!!!

Apple adds iPad customer-service stations in stores

Combining sales with customer service isn't a new trick, but it's possibly a forgotten one. Apple know how important both aspects are, and have armed their sales and service people in store with the right tools to give value added customer service. Pushing power to the frontline!

Tiger Airways complaints over internet, phone | Click for resolution

The trend continues for companies ditching their outsourced customer service in preference to building and maintaining strong in-house capabilities -- particularly the function that handles customer complaints. Why? 

Because an effective complaint management process simply won't pass muster in an outsourced environment because the care factor simply isn't there.

Telstra CEO and leadership team take customer calls

Here is reinforcement that understanding and fully appreciating the frontline of your customer service must come from the absolute top, from the CEO down. 

Here is my old gang from Telstra Australia getting down and dirty taking calls, and really showing commitment to going where the action is.

Blind Spots in Customer Service

A good short article that might help broaden your efforts to look for customer irritants in your operations by not just looking at registered complaints, but other "red flags" that could indicate customers are getting ticked off with you but not speaking up and lodging a formal complaint. The silent majority can kill a business.

Vodafone 'stopped listening' to customers - chief executive officer Nigel Dews

For throw-away markets like telcommunications, negative impact to your customer base can quickly turn dissatisfaction into loss of market share in the blink of an eye. Look at the recovery - 300 more call center people, AUD$1B in network. Recovery COSTS!!

Agent 'Sorry' for Overstating Customer Satisfaction

There's good reasons for maintaining TRUTH when you talk about your customer satisfaction -- glossing things up can really land you in trouble!

How to Turn Your Local Customers Into Raving Fans | Social Media Examiner

Here's a great short video from an entrep. who owns 6 franchise Domino's Pizza stores, telling his story about using social media to build local business - talk about a fired up owner! Creativity,engagement,conversations,stories,video apologies!?

 This guy gets customers!!

Book alert: The elements of persuasion : Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster & Win More Business

Extracted:

"Every great leader is a great storyteller," says Harvard University psychologist Howard Gardner. According to master storytellers Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman, storytelling is a lot like running. Everyone knows how to do it, but few of us ever break the four-minute mile.

Another great book for the library folks - Kindle up!

Imbuing your workplace with stories

I love hearing stories about excellent customer service outside the regular context of "complaints resolution", and this is a great example of going above and beyond, being perceptive to customer situations, and taking the initiative when it's well outside your job description. Little sparks like this create incredible customer loyalty, and only cost a little time and effort.

7 common myths about customer loyalty and the realities behind them

A lot of companies are focused on customer loyalty, but it's important to understand that there are misconceptions and false beliefs that must be overcome if you want to be successful in growing your market share, and this article highlights 7 very important ones -- a definite "good read"!

Top 6 ways to get an angry customer to back down

Try to hear past the corny American language, but these tips are the cornerstone of diffusing angry customers - you just have to find a way of delivering each of the messages that suits your own personal style, so that you can be comfortable and assertive in delivering the tactics. 

Try it!

Bad customer service experience: MAYNILAD

Called Maynilad's "customer service" to check on a new application, only to find that customer service don't have access to that system. When we asked for the number of the group who look after new installations, they didn't have one they could give. Tsk Tsk.


Follow the link to read the rest of the story on my Facebook account using the link in the headline of this post.

Pre-birthday thought on customers

Here's a pre birthday thought-why not treat every customer like it's their birthday?Treat them like your interaction is the single most important event in THEIR year.Go all out, no stops.Make them feel birthday special in whatever transaction you have,because if you do,you know you'll make them feel beyond special, just like i'm going to feel tomorrow.


Light a candle and make your customer feel special! Make a wish!