The Customer is Always Right (no matter how wrong)

Whoo boy, have you heard the latest from the beleaguered airline industry? JetBlue, known for being the perennial second-place finisher in customer service to Southwest is in a bit of a PR pickle!

Seems that yesterday a flight attendant went off on an unruly customer (read the full story here ). The actions of the flight attendant (and the customer) were a bit extreme, but to anyone who flies it probably won’t seem that far-fetched. The attendant actually got on the intercom, announced he was quitting, grabbed a beer, opened the emergency chute and slid off to the unemployment line.

Flying is stressful, being a flight attendant is more stressful, combine that with downsizing, crazy schedules, meetings, crowds, airports, strong coffee, crappy food and you have a recipe for disaster. Honestly, I’m surprised we don’t hear stories like this every day!

What’s the lesson? We all feel like packing it in somedays I’m sure. How we handle those emotions dictate how successful we will ultimately be. No successful senior executive has ever thrown in the towel and quit on his co-workers (none that I’m aware of anyway), because that one incident would follow them for the rest of their career. I’m just glad I don’t have a fridge full of beer and an emergency chute attached to my office!

Today’s Score 23 – 5

I’ll be the first to admit, my method is not scientific. However, I do feel it holds some merit and certainly parallels the customer sentiment; at least for this morning. What am I rambling about? My Twitter feed.

I set up Twitter searches on a lot of my interests – sports, marketing, friends, events and business-related items. As an exercise, I set up separate feeds for “Good Customer Service” and “Bad Customer Service” just to see what types of responses we have floating around the Twitter-verse. It might not surprise you that the bad outweighed the good by a large margin.

Monitoring for an hour today (9-10 am) I counted 23 bad to the five good, and I had to stretch a bit for the good; two were tied to customer service articles by the tweeter! Along with those were more links to articles on how important customer service is to a company and their competitive position. The most impressive coming from Harvard Business Review .  

We’ve all heard the stats that we will tell one or two friends about a great customer experience, and 12 or more about a bad one. I’m not so sure that that ratio isn’t actually driven by the amount of bad customer experiences and not our need to spread bad news! In fact I pride my blog on the mentions of great customer experiences, and I have to seek them out, all while I’m inundated by the bad and so-so service stories.

OK, only one hour during one day is not enough data you say. I agree, but I have been monitoring this for months and the ratio has not changed. In fact, since I’ve been typing here we have five bad, one good. The point? If your customers’ experiences are paramount to your success, shouldn’t you be doing everything possible to ensure they are legendary?

Dee-vine Service at Daveed’s

It happens so often that I’ve become accustomed to it. I go to a restaurant that looks chic, has wonderful, eclectic dishes (the kind I can’t pronounce properly!) but the service reeks like the green moldy thing in the back of my refrigerator posing as a leftover ham sandwich.  Well, I’m happy to say that was NOT the case at Daveed’s at 934 in Cincinnati!

This place really has it all. It’s in a fantastic location (once you find a parking space) on top of Mt. Adams near the old monastery; where by the way I did finally find a parking space and the monks were too kind to have my car towed.  Daveed’s is comfortable with posh decor and local artwork lining the walls for sale, incredible food (I had the filet – pronounced fil-A’) and the excellent customer service that topped it all off! 

Matt, our server, was attentive without being annoying and I could tell he took pride in the job. How could I tell? Because he took personal ownership of our dining experience. He made sure everything was absolutely perfect and he told us his name at least three times during the evening. Just like Picasso signing a painting or an architect leaving his cornerstone on a skyscraper, Matt put his “signature” on the experience by ensuring we knew him by name, and most importantly because he is proud of what he does.

Sometimes I feel customer service is a lost art here in the states, but every once in a while someone like Matt renews my confidence!

‘Tis the Question

I hear them all the time – “What is the true value of customer service”? Or, “How do I know my customer service training works”? Customer service is a  funny thing, it’s very hard, if not impossible to draw a straight correlation between service levels and bottom line revenue. Asking the direct effect is kind of like asking “What is Santa Claus’ value is to Christmas”? We know he does elevate the holiday, but how would you affix a dollar amount to that? However, we can measure the satellite effects of great customer service.

In business, we spend countless amounts of money trying to improve and some things can be measured directly – a new laptop computer that runs 20% faster and has 300% more memory is fairly easy to measure the impact it will have on our productivity. Technical items seem to be easier to measure by nature, but what about those non-technical advances – customer service for example. There are ways to measure and evaluate our service levels. One of the oldest and most common, asking the customer. We are at the mercy of their memory and emotional state at the time, but it does provide some feedback. What I have found to work even better is using a mystery shopper! These are trained individuals that make a science out of measuring sales and service levels. They account for their experience on a pre-determined scale of elements. For example, did the sales rep use my name? Did they ask for the sale? Did they offer complimentary items along with my purchase? These are specific service elements that we can measure against. 

The Temkin Group, once was an operation within Forrester Reasearch and came to this conclusion as it relates to the value of customer experience – “At an aggregate level, my research at Forrester Research showed that improvements in customer experience are highly correlated to higher loyalty in consumer markets. In a report called “Customer Experience Leaders Garner More loyalty,” for instance, we found that customer experience leaders have more loyal customers than customer experience laggards. The loyalty gap with consumers was 15% to 17% in three areas: willingness to buy more products, reluctance to switch, and likelihood to recommend”.

Those are huge correlations, a loyalty gap of over 15% for customer experience leaders! No, I don’t know how much Santa or the Easter Bunny are worth, but I gaurantee they make those holidays richer for all of us!

The Customer Experience Quad

One of my favorite customer experience experts is Bruce Temkin @ Customer Experience Matters  Bruce takes an analytical approach (he should, his Temkin Group consults exclusively on it) to Customer Experience and how organizations deal with customers.  In his latest post, Bruce outlines some simple, but powerful ingredients to developing a culture of great customer experiences.  His pillars are:

• Purposeful Leadership: Executives operate consistently with a clear set of values
• Employee Engagement: Employees are aligned with the goals of  the organization
• Compelling Brand Values: Brand attributes drive how customers are treated
• Customer-Connectedness: Customer insight is integrated throughout the organization

Ask yourself about all four. Are your leaders dedicated to delivering legendary customer experiences?  Do you have customer experience champions within the organization? Are your mission, vision and values aligned? 

Do ALL of your employees understand exactly how they affect the customer’s experience individually and collectively? Do they really care? What does your brand stand for? Can the customer decipher that; does every touch point reinforce your story?

Finally, how much of a voice does your customer have?  Are they consulted regularly? Do any of them sit on an advisory board for you?  Customers are the best source of new information and also the best gauge of your business barometer!

Like it or not, the customer, more than ever, determines our brand promise and brand identity!  Put them at the center of every strategy!  To read Bruce’s full post go here – http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/the-4-customer-experience-competencies/

Whose Face is on the $1,000,000 Bill? – I’ll say Mickey Mouse

I just got back from speaking at a conference down in Orlando.  I’ve been there many times but until this week, had never stayed on the Disney property.  The Swan and Dolphin Resort is just like I pictured it, great grounds, restaurants, themes and friendly faces everywhere.  I enjoyed my time there and even though my trip was paid by the conference promoters, I still managed to spend a ton of my own money during the stay.  The funny thing was that I didn’t mind, and I even thought I was getting a great deal.  How is this possible when spending $4.00 for a Coke? 

It begins, continues and ends with the “experience”. As soon as you’re on the property you know you’re somewhere special. Even when driving the mini-freeway system within the park, you feel you’re somewhere else, somewhere nicer, somewhere you can leave your troubles and stress behind.  The grounds are meticulously manicured; all signage and props are perfectly maintained.  The most impressive thing however is the attitude of all employees throughout the Disney empire in Central Florida.  I did not meet one face that wasn’t smiling, friendly and genuinely seemed to care about my stay.

I paid dearly for meals and simple staples of a week-long stay, but never felt cheated. It’s true that people will pay for experience and atmosphere.  All around me were families loaded with kids, snacks and more Disney-branded merchandise than they could carry, but I’ll bet the majority would say they got their money’s worth. 20 years from now when those same families are reminiscing about their trip and looking at a faded set of mouse ears, not a word will be said about the price…only the feelings that those ears still bring to life!

Reader’s Rant & Rave – Ron’s NTB Story

July 2009, I had new tires put on my car at NTB in Strongsville (OH). Since then, my TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) meter has been finicky- often going off when it is cold, etc. When it warms up, the meter resets without a problem.

This weekend up in Cleveland, nearly a year later, the front left tire, goes flat. I took it to another NTB in Cleveland to fix-a-flat, but they were unable to work on it because they said there was a problem with the TPMS meter itself. It’s only a pin hole of a hole, but the TPMS problem prevents them from removing the tire at all. Unless, of course I buy a brand new TPMS sensor kit.

The trouble is I haven’t messed with the tires at all since July. The store indicated it likely occurred through brute force installing the tire when it went on the car.

I got the car back to Polaris in the evening yesterday. The car is there now getting fixed. I had every intention of buying the new kit myself, despite knowing I didn’t cause it…until, a quick call to the original Strongsville NTB Manager occurred. He called the Polaris store and they are taking care of the cost of a new kit. He didn’t need to see the car himself. He’s allowing the other NTB to work on the car. I have other work they are doing too.

I have talked to many people in the 3 different NTB stores here. Tough conversations when the accusations you are making is that they messed up your car a whole year ago. It took the management of the Strongsville store and the advice from the Polaris store. The manager at Strongsville was especially cordial.

 - Thanks for sharing Ron, great story!  ~J

Just Planes and Automobiles…No Trains

Last week I took a trip to my local bookstore looking for another “business” book and much to my dismay, what I wanted was not on the shelf. I waited in line for what seemed to be forever and finally got to talk to one of the store employees and inquired about this particular author’s work I was searching for. “Well, there’s not a lot I can do for you because I don’t see it in our inventory”, Candice (the clerk) fussed. I was ready to walk out the door and move on to another store. However, I had one more trick up my sleeve.

I pulled out my frequent-buyer card and said, “Do you have any idea how many books I’ve bought here?” Seems campy and I hate when I hear customers pull the “Do you know” card, but I was feeling a bit cranky anyway.  Candice gazed at the card for a second and then transformed in front of my eyes. She immediately started apologizing and groveling for forgiveness. “Oh my, I had no idea you were a “Platinum” member…let me see what I can do.”

 She got on the phone and in some back-door bookstore code, she murmured that there was a “P” member in the store and needed this book.  Kinda cool, I’ve now reached “P” status; I’m sure the code does stand for “Platinum” or maybe even “Premier”!

Candice turned to me and said that the West location had my book. I asked for directions and she replied, “Oh, no. Our driver from my store will take you”.  Wow, limo service too?  She led me to the back of the store and introduced me to Jerry. Jerry would be my chauffer and take me to the “West” store.

As we sped away I heard Jerry on the phone asking if “it” was fueled and ready.  I wondered what “it” was and if he had some kind of side business moving freight or something. I leaned forward from the back seat and asked Jerry how long it takes to get to the store.  He looked over his sunglasses and said, “We’ll get you there as fast as we can.”  We, I thought…how many bookstore employees does it take to get me there?

No sooner than that thought left my head I was slammed up against the door as we made a hard right turn onto an abandoned airstrip. As I got my bearings I saw a shiny Gulfstream jet with the bookstore logo painted on the side taxiing toward the limo. “Wow, are you kidding? I’m getting a ride on the corporate jet?” “Absolutely Mr. E, we take care of our customers”.  I jumped out of the limo tried to hand Jerry a ten, but he politely refused and drove off.

I turned around and there was a pleasant looking lady dressed in an old-school stewardess uniform from the 60’s. She introduced herself as Jane, and led me up the steps to the waiting jet. Onboard, I met Kirk and Bolt…pilot and co-pilot respectively. Within 60 seconds I was strapped in and we shot down the runway and into the air at an alarming rate. These private jets are a much bigger rush than any passenger plane!

Three hours and a few drinks later we began descending to the West location…beautiful San Diego. As we flew over the beach, Jane pointed out some scantily clad people playing volleyball. I told her that I haven’t played much since the ’84 Olympics where I pulled a hamstring and if this is story is starting to sound a little too far-fetched then  – Happy April Fools!

5 Guys, 6 Smiles

When was the last time you visited a fast food joint and got “Stellar” customer service? Even more intriguing, when was the last time you expected to get great service from a fast food chain?

I stopped by my local Five Guys Burgers and Fries and was amazed at what I found. The first thing I noticed was that there were actually five guys behind the counter.  Now, I’m sure it was simply coincidence, but I found it kinda amusing. Next, this will blow you away; all of them were smiling and seemed to be having fun at work. Yes, all five were busy; yes there were people in line, and yes each one of those five guys looked happy to be serving the customers. By the way, the sixth smile was a young lady clearing tables while we waited (not technically a guy, but you gotta count her smile).

As I approached the counter, I was greeted by the smile and a question, “Have you ever been to a Five Guys before?” he asked. “No”, I replied and instantly got a quick explanation of the menu and how to order my toppings (at no charge by the way). When was the last time anyone at McDonalds or Burger King took time to explain the new menu items to you, or even smiled for that matter?

As I paid, the “guy” he mentioned that all burgers were cooked to order and that it would be out in 6-7 minutes. Not fast by fast food standards, but definitely worth the wait. I will strive to find an extra six minutes the next time I’m out for a hamburger at lunch because this was one of the best burgers I’ve had – anywhere!

I left thinking that the other “guys” probably can’t match the burger, but could certainly match the service…if they wanted to. There’s the kicker, any business could match the Five Guys service levels IF they wanted to, and that’s a big “IF”. Most companies boast about great customer service but few really live up to it. Why? Because it is not really a priority in their eyes, or maybe they simply don’t know how to hire and train.

Great service, clean restaurants and fantastic burgers….Five Guys has it goin’ on!

Reader’s Rant & Rave – Rubber Meets the Road

Joyce writes – A thirty-minute trip to Wal-Mart turned into hours at two Wal-Mart locations. That’s right; I came out of my favorite one-stop shop Wal-Mart, to find my tire was going flat. Luckily, I had purchased the tires from this location and figured it would be a quick repair job. Not this time, as the technician explained to me that this particular tire was not in stock at his store. After making a few phone calls to other locations, he asked me to drive to the Hilliard-Rome location and they would be happy to take care of my repair, as they had this tire in stock.

Twenty minutes later a technician proceeded to inspect the tire, research on his computer and then excuse himself to speak to his supervisor. His supervisor returned with the news that the tire was not the proper tire for my particular Honda. It seems that the wrong size tires had been purchased a year or so earlier. Hmmm, interesting that since the purchase, I had had one tire replaced (always purchase the road hazard insurance) due to metal that had found its way into my tire. Again, they installed the wrong tire on my car. He asked me to sign a waiver to allow him to replace the tire with the exact tire (even though it was the wrong size); otherwise, he could not replace it. I was not going to sign a waiver to release Wal-Mart of any damages that may occur should I have an accident. Politely, I asked him to install the correct tire on my car, since Wal-Mart was responsible for installing the wrong ones on my car at the original purchase. Did I also mention that at no time could they find my information on their computer? However, because I am such an organized individual (thanks Dad), I just happened to have my receipt with me. He now asked me to drive back to the Georgesville location and they would take care of me, since that is where the original mistake took place.

Twenty minutes later, I am back where I started. The auto manager was very pleasant as I explained my situation and that I was now into my second hour of trying to get this resolved. I explained that I was very disappointed in the service that I had received and I would just like to get this situation resolved. Again, I politely asked him to correct the mistake. He excused himself to speak to the store manager. He returned 10 minutes later, to say that he was going to take care of the problem and that he would replace not one but all four tires. That’s right, four new tires for free! He apologized again for the situation, and immediately instructed one of his employees to take care of my car. Thirty minutes later, I was on my way with a smile (and new tires), thanks to the great customer service of the manager. By the way, the manager also asked for my future business, to which I replied that I would definitely be back.