Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts and feedback so far. Good stuff. I will be sure to check out your article, Thank the Complainers. Sounds great! Thanks again...and keep those great ideas and suggestions coming. To YOUR success!
Harold, Chief of Helping People, HaroldSays

Craig, I like that answer-response. You are right-the customer would not be expecting something like that to be said. Basically most people are good people and are not looking to take advantage of someone or a company. They want to vent and be heard, and cared for, and they want their problem or issue to be resolved. It is not always possible, however, in most cases a win-win situation can be achieved if the business owner or team member at the business involved takes the time to listen, and truly wants to help their customer or client.

I don’t know what it is about people today. Maybe it’s the stress of the new world or possibly the feeling of entitlement to be angry once some misstep in their life has occurred. One thing is for sure, I personally know people that yell, complain, and show all heights of emotions for the simple act of not getting a parking space close to the front door.

I don’t know the cause, but I completely agree with CraigL. After letting a person get the anger off their chess, then stating… I can help you with this, it shouldn’t be a problem… They become very receptive to kindness. Maybe they really do believe the world is out to get them.

A friendly smile (even when on the phone) and a vote of reassurance that the issue will be resolved is 90% of the battle.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

HaroldSays-Right on Vince! People want to be heard-(acknowledged) and appreciated. When we do listen and show sincere interest in and appreciation for those people who really pay our salaries and provide us our benefits it usually goes along way towards getting a complaint or issue resolved. So far it has worked and is working for me! Keep those good thoughts and ideas coming. To YOUR success! Harold-Chief of Helping People

What I disagree with in all these CS situations mostly has to do with the company management---the company who`s customer is having the problem. I don`t at all believe that it`s a CS rep`s job to be a psychologist, psychiatrist, or mental-health worker. They`re human beans, and trying only to resolve problems.

My sister works for Time-Warner in the CS area. Logically, she identifies with the customers having an issue. They want to be on and off the phone, problem solved, and done. But her supervisors, reporting to the regional directors, reporting ultimately to the VP in charge of services, won`t allow it.

Modern pop-psychology books, needle-point philosophers, and 1-minute platitudes have all come down to ruining people`s lives with meaningless blather. Before she can even begin to resolve the customer complaint (which usually would take or takes less than 2 minutes), she`s forced to go into a whole 5-minute spiel.

She`s graded through computer and click-monitoring, as well as taped phone calls, based on how many offers she makes, what other services, what sell-ups and sell-throughs, and how well she references and promotes the current deals. If she doesn`t do all this, she`s put on report and graded down. With enough bad reports, she`s fired.

It`s the top-level executives who get enamoured with some sort of absolutely stupid new "philosophy" of customer service who cause the problem. Not long ago there was the FISH philosophy. It started simply with a company having fun at work. It caught on, someone wrote a book, extracted the principles, and sold it on the basis that every company in the world should do the same things.

I think the reason the cottage industry and small business sector is in an explosive growth phase has a lot to do with how customers deal directly with the owners. We`re not forced to deal with many-times remote stupidity being handed down by fiat from some corporate manager trying to prove they`re worth whatever outrageous salary they`re being paid.

Yes! I too have had the "opportunity" to witness a business focus on
forcing CSRs to follow a strict guide book in order to solve a problem.
What happeneds to the idea of service when it`s read from a book of
guidelines? We all want to be treated differently when discussing a
problem. Sure there are averages of how to respond effectively to specific
personality traights. But really, do we want a truely automated world? We
hear people complain all the time about phone systems and thier "dial
one for... and dial two for..." platforms. Yet the larger a company
becomes, the more this level of "efficiency" is introduced.

I recently was working on an ad campaign for another business. I picked
up the phone and talked to the local newspaper sales representative. He
said, "Wow. An actuall phone call? I usually do everything through email
with [company owner]. It`s nice to know you guys are real. What can I help
you with?"

At first I thought he was upset that I was speaking to him by phone and
not email. But the more words came from his mouth, and the more we
talked, I learned he was truely happy to hear my voice. A connection was
made and it created a positive working environment.

When I have a problem with something, I desire actual conversation and
people to be involved. If I am just buying something, I don`t care to have
a sales person... unless I have a question about the product.

I wish the larger the business grew, the more resources would be used on
resolving customer problems rather than how to treat everyone equally
and fairly... as if they are covering their butts for legal hastles rather than
keeping the true goal in mind. Good customer service.

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Craig and Vince,

As I like to say, Right on and Write on! I agree with your posts about customer service and what is happening in the world of big business today. People do want a personal touch with another human being-to be acknowledged, valued, and helped when they have a problem or issue. The corporate manuals are full of "how to upsell the customer, how not to let them cancel our service, Sell sell sell, talk, talk, talk, and don`t let the customer speak or listen as you will not close the sale and make your quotas." Blah! Argh! I am sure sick of it. I am tired of phone lines from hell with music to torture terrorists or unruly children by. I prefer a personal touch and connection and I just go nanas when I find it. I am tired of talking with people who only want to tell me what their computer screen shows them and not listen to me. I do know my name and where I live and I do not care what the computer monitor indicates...stop, turn off the computer and turn your brain back on for a moment, think and listen to me, the customer who pays your salary and help me. Does this make any sense? Let me know more of your thoughts. Thank you. To YOUR success! Harold

Next in my series of articles about SO YOUR CUSTOMER HAS A COMPLAINT...

So you have listened to the customer`s complaint or problem, you have confirmed with your customer or client that you understand their complaint, what do you do next?

You ask questions. You let the customer know that in order to help them, you need to make sure what needs to be done to resolve their issue or complaint. So, you ask probing questions to help you better understand the nature of their complaint or problem so that you can resolve it. Assure the customer in this process that you have every intention of helping them and that the questions are necessary to figure out the best way to do so.

More to come in a future post. Keep your thoughts and ideas coming. I enjoy reading them. Thank you. To YOUR success!

Solve the problem, or give them a concrete next-step promise. Then follow up. I`ve seen CS problems go on for a long time, but nobody got bent out of shape simply because the rep in charge Always did a solution-oriented action, tested with the customer for satisfaction, and if they did not solve the problem, stated explicitly what would be the next step. Then they followed up. If there was a delay, the CSR let the customer know that as well.

It usually isn`t about impatience. It`s almost always about the sense that nothing is being done at all.

Unfortunately this whole issue of customer service, in my opinion, derives from a total shift toward operations, not product. A generation ago, companies were all about advertising their product, and that they stood behind it. Today, companies are all about how cheap they can make a product, or merging into a company to absorb a new product, then make it cheaper.

Until that changes, the cottage industry will continue to grow rapidly, and probably will ultimately become a major competitor to the enterprise super corporation. I think we`re seeing it now, as those who are competent leave to start their own business. Those left behind don`t have the imagination to start a business, and so they follow the way things were done before, like robots. And not all situations are exaclty the same as what happened in the past. Without innovation, any business eventually dies. Well....except maybe the banking industry. :-)