Customers should have names, not numbers

It has just dawned on me that I have not been addressed by name for two days. On the other hand, I've been many numbers. Here are just a few of my numbers:

• B55 (Southwest Airlines)
• "Next" & Space 340 (Hertz)
• Room 108 (Courtyard, by Marriott)
• Guest #33 (In-n-Out)

Here's an example at Hertz:

I arrived at the rental counter along with what seemed like every other person to ever rent a car at Hertz. In reality, there were 7 people in line ahead of me along with a customer at each of the four open counters. My wait was longer than expected and I calculated (nerdy, I know) that it took the 4 Hertz counter agents an average of 5 minutes per customer to rent a car. It was slightly more than 20 minutes before I made it to the counter.

"Hi, my name is Sheila!" said Sheila. "Hi Sheila, my name is Jeff." Ahhh, now someone will call me by name, I thought. Well, no. Apparently, Sheila just wanted me to know her name. She did try extra hard to sell me the refueling option and finally told me my car was in space 340.

These situations get me thinking. For example, I can't remember how many times I've had a situation like the one I experienced with Sheila and the person hasn't used my name. Then, when they look up my account, they suddenly exclaim, "How are you today, Mr. Toister?!" Uh, huh.

What the best do...

Service is about a connection between people. The name isn't necessary, but it sure helps and I'd much rather be a name than a number. Customer Service Reps that work for a client of mine overcome this by keeping a list of their most important customers' account numbers. When Mr. Smith calls, Mr. Smith never has to give his account number. The customer service rep looks it up for him, so the formality of a little number never has to get between them.

Forget the averages - service happens one person at a time

Most of you have heard about the rash of recent flight cancellations due to bankruptcy (Aloha Airlines, ATA, etc.), safety concerns (American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, etc.), and the usual weather problems experienced at this time of year. Thousands of travelers have been impacted, creating a major customer service headache for these airlines. I'll avoid the statistics for a moment and suggest that our impressions of service in these situations come down to two questions:

1. Was I directly impacted?
2. If the answer to question 1 is "Yes", how was I treated?

Example #1: American Airlines

I was directly impacted by weather delays when I flew American Airlines to Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago. I had to spend an extra night in D.C., so the answer to question #1 was "Yes, I was directly impacted." It's one thing to read about thousands of people you don't know being delayed or stranded, but it's another thing to be one of them!

Fortunately, I encountered a kind ticket agent, Thomas Lee, who gave me a hotel voucher and booked me on the first available flight home the next day. Mr. Lee said they weren't normally able to provide hotel vouchers due to weather delays, but weather hadn't yet been "officially" logged as the cause, so he was able to get me into a hotel at no charge. So, the answer to #2 was "I felt as though I was treated well."

Example #2: A customer service call center
Last week, I gave a talk on Employee Engagement to a San Diego networking group for call center professionals called CCPN. Preparing for the talk reminded me that an organization may have an average customer service rating of 85%, but that doesn't mean every agent satisfies 85% of their customers. More likely than not, some agents satisfy nearly 100% of their customers while other agents may satisfy less than 50%. Your personal impression of their customer service all depends on which agent you get when you call - the 100% person or the 50% person.

Here's an example from a small call center I managed several years ago. Our goal for quality assurance monitoring scores was 85%. Over one particular period we achieved that 85% goal. Pretty good, huh? Well, not really. When you looked at average monitoring scores by individual rep, you noticed some interesting trends (names have been changed to protect the innocent).

Our average was 85%, but I was really hoping customers would get Cara (100% average), Kristy (100% average), or even Betty (95% average). Conversely, I cringed every time Preston (70% average) and especially Steve (55% average) took a call. Preston and Steve were both given opportunities to improve and eventually asked to leave the organization, but that didn't change the impact they had on the customers they spoke with.

Lessons Learned
My call center experience taught me the value of having top performers and how necessary it was to improve or move performers who couldn't meet the minimally acceptable standards. I also suggest companies like American Airlines pay special attention to hiring and developing more people like Thomas Lee. I've flown American since then as a direct result of his service. I have two trips coming up and I'll probably fly American again thanks to him.

Taking a look through the customers' eyes

On a recent trip, a stop in the hotel gift shop reminded me that companies all too often fail to see things from a customer's perspective. This myopia can lead to frustration, poor service, and sometimes humorous consequences. Check out the picture below and note the third option down.

I'm sure they meant "assorted" but that's not how I read it in the store. You can only imagine a frustrated manager scratching his head and saying, "I don't understand it, these fruit stix just aren't selling!" A simple look at this sign through the eyes of a customer would help that manager spot the problem instantly.

Here are a few other examples (OK, pet-peeves) that are definitely not customer-focused!

• Entering an account or credit card number into an automated phone system so they can "better serve you" only to have to repeat it when a live person answers the phone.
• Cashiers who hand me my change with the coins on top of the bills, especially in the drive-through line. You have to be careful to catch the coins before they go flying!
• Airline workers and cashiers who ask to see my identification and then don't look at it. (I once showed a cashier my zoo pass with a picture of a gorilla on the front and he didn't even blink.)
• Employees who respond to a question that begins with "Where is..." by pointing in that thing's general direction rather than helping me find it.
• Valet parking attendants who leave my seat all the way back and my radio blasting on a station I don't listen to.

Starbuck's listens to me (and you) with Pike Place Roast

Starbucks launched a new roast today in response to customer feedback about their often burnt-tasting brews. I was an unwitting 'early adopter' when I stopped by a Starbucks this morning and tried a cup. To my great surprise, it was very good. As in, the best cup of Starbucks coffee I've tasted in a long time good.

Starbucks launched the new flavor after soliciting extensive customer research. They are also reconnecting, it seems, with the reason many people started going to Starbucks in the first place -- the taste of the coffee.

"We are returning to the very best elements of our heritage and bringing back the simple romance and excitement of coffee,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo. You can read all about the Pike Place Roast here.

When being right is really wrong

Major League Baseball's opening day is fast approaching and hope springs eternal. You'd think this would mean they are gearing up the customer service at their online store, but at least one experience suggests this may not be true.

Full disclosure: this 'one experience' is represented by my wife, Sally. She represents 100% of the people I know who have recently made a purchase at http://www.mlb.com/, so according to my data 100% of the people that shop there have a bad experience. Yes, I know that's not statistically significant, but it's significant enough for me.

Disappointment!
It all started when Sally ordered two items, paid for overnight shipping, and then received one item a day later than expected. She responded to a survey she received from a 3rd party and shared her dissatisfaction:

completely dissatisfied with shipping. Paid a high shipping cost to have the items delivered overnight - while it did say 1-2 business days, I received 1 item in 3 business days, and another in 4 business days. I will be requesting a refund on shipping.

Proactive Service
Sally received a prompt email from http://www.mlb.com/ in response to her survey response. Very good move, but the email she received wasn't so helpful:

Dear Sally,

Thank you for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.

We have received your response through BizRate regarding our website and thank you for your feedback. Your opinion as a consumer is greatly appreciated and will be used to aid in the development of our online store to better serve our consumers.

We apologize for any misunderstanding. Our records show that the both packages shipped on 03/13/08 and that the one package that was shipped via UPS was received on 03/14/08. The package that shipped via DHL was also shipped on 03/13/08 and was delivered on 03/17/08, which was the 2nd business day. As indicated on our website, business days are considered Monday-Friday, excluding weekends and Federal Holidays. We hope this information is helpful.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.

Sincerely,

Magritha M.
Customer Service Representative
Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com

What part of 'overnight' takes 2 days???
Dear Margritha,

When I confirmed the order and items said were in stock, I was expecting to receive by Friday, 3/14 at the latest, for overnight shipping. Per your email, you state that both packages shipped on 3/13. Overnight shipping would arrive by 3/14, for both packages.

I am requesting refund for overnight shipping of the one item not received by Friday, 3/14. This was the expectation, and what was paid for, and you have confirmed in your email the item was not shipped overnight.

Appreciate your cooperation,

Sally

Really MLB?! Really?
Dear Sally,

Thank you for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.

We again apologize for any misunderstanding. Our website indicates that if you select overnight shipping that you can expect the order to arrive within 1-2 full business days. Business days are Monday-Friday, excluding federal holidays within the United States. Both items were delivered within the stated timeframe, and we can unfortunately, not credit you back the shipping. To view the shipping information as indicated on our helpdesk please click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the URL of your internet browser:

http://shop.mlb.com/helpdesk/index.jsp?display=ship&subdisplay=shipMetho
ds

We again thank you for your order. We apologize that we could not assist with your request.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.

Sincerely,

Magritha M

Read the fine print
If you read the fine print you'll discover Magritha at MLB is technically correct. And, I don't even doubt she's responding exactly as she's been instructed to respond. The problem here is them item was shipped via 'overnight' shipping and it took 2 business days to arrive. If you dig through the MLB website, you'll find their text explaining that their 'overnight' service is really 1 - 2 day service, but then why call it overnight? Undoubtedly because it saves MLB a few bucks on shipping costs, but it sure creates confusion and unfulfilled expectations.

Lessons Learned
Confusing policies are dumb for any business and it gets even worse when you stick to the fine print at all costs. A few bucks would have bought some good will and kept Sally satisfied. Saving that money cost MLB a lifetime of future purchases from Sally, from me, and anyone else we can convince not to shop there. Be careful of any policy that may seem cost-effective, but really drives customers away!

Minimum purchase requirements for credit cards

Do you know companies are not allowed to require a minimum purchase for Visa or MasterCard transactions? I learned this yesterday after a disappointing experience at my local produce market (conveniently called "Produce Market"). I drive by it nearly every day and often tell myself to go in there and load up on fresh fruits and vegetables. Yesterday, I finally got around to it and dropped in.

What I liked
They did indeed have a great selection of fresh produce and reasonable prices. The store had a straight-forward layout and was very easy to quickly navigate. I was feeling pretty smart as I browsed their selections since I had finally made the decision to do some shopping there.

A Heaping Dose of Surliness
Apparently, customers must accept a heaping dose of surliness in exchange for that fresh produce at low, low prices. The two employees I encountered were unfriendly and declined to say "Hello", "Good Morning", or offer any other form of commonly-accepted salutation, even after I said "Hello" to them.

What I did get was a scolding from the cashier who rang up my $7.98 sale. I handed him my credit card and he pointed to a sign that said "$15 Minimum Purchase Required for Credit Card Transactions". "I'll let you use your credit card this time, but please remember a $15 purchase is required to pay with a credit card in the future."

That Rule Is Against the Rules
My encounter at Produce Market left me a bit disappointed, but also curious about those minimum purchase requirements. These policies are very unfriendly to customers and I had heard they may actually be a violation of the merchant agreement with Visa and MasterCard. So, I looked it up and yes, these policies are a violation of the merchant agreement.

Visa
You can verify the rule for yourself on this page of their website.

MasterCard
They bury this information on page 2-22 of their merchant rules manual, but they do offer a handy complaint form you can use to zing your least-favorite non-compliant merchant.

The roof, the roof, the roof has been postponed...

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the difficulty I was having finding a roofer. By the end of the 'story' I settled on the company I call 'Roofer D' because he seemed to be moderately reliable. That was then...

Signs of Trouble

Roofer D emailed a contract to me shortly after I confirmed I wanted to move forward with his company. I signed the contract and emailed it back but then noticed a second email in my inbox. This email was asking for a 10% deposit to initiate the job, even though the contract stated the terms were full payment on completion. Perhaps this was a minor oversight, so I allowed Roofer D to revise the contract. The new contract included a 10% deposit, 50% upon delivery of materials and setting up the scaffolding, and the balance upon completion. I wasn't happy with these changing expectations, but I was eager to move forward so I signed.

Rain Delay

We set a start date for February 27, but there were heavy rains the week before, so I got a call from Roofer D on February 26 asking to postpone the job until March 5. I appreciated the call and I had told him beforehand that it wasn't a big emergency so I agreed to the new start date. Then, on February 27, I got another call from him, this time asking to extend the date until March 12. "OK," I said, "but this has to be the date." He agreed the date wouldn't change again.

Lessons Learned

I had low expectations going in, not having heard too many good stories about customer service from roofers. In this case, it's been all about simple expectations that haven't quite been met. I'll reserve judgement until the job is completed, but I wonder if Roofer D realizes the impact this job may have on future business. Consider the following ways I might promote and refer Roofer D or proclaim his ineptitude and poor business dealings, all dependant on how this story turns out.

• I do have a blog, and up to 3 people read it each and every week. I'm planning to name Roofer D upon completion of the job. One of you three people may have a roof of your own that needs help someday.
• There are all sorts of websites where you can provide feedback on local services like this, including Kudzu and ImproveNet.
• I have friends with roofs too. (For some reason, my friends aren't among the 3 people who read my blog. Ouch.) We often give each other referrals on these types of services.

What can we learn from BusinessWeek's service champs?

Not surprisingly, Alfred's Tailoring did not make BusinessWeek's latest list of their 'Top 50 Customer Service Champs'. To be fair, they didn't quite fit BusinessWeek's criteria, but I don't think they'd make the list even if they did.

My wife dropped off a suit last week for tailoring. She needed the suit no later than Saturday, so the tailor said the suit would be ready by noon if my wife paid cash up front. When my wife arrived on Saturday at 12:30, the suit wasn't ready. The response from the tailor was, "I've been really busy!" I guess we'll be too busy to go back.

BusinessWeek Top 50 Customer Service Champs
BusinessWeek has just come out with their list of top customer service companies. The list highlights a few organizations that are truly excellent while raising quite a few questions at the same time.

Dominant Industries
Three business categories account for more than 50% of the companies on the list. Auto manufacturers, hotels, and financial service companies captured 26 of the 50 spots. There were no tailors, though clothing retailers captured four places. See the entire list here.

Unanswered Questions
BusinessWeek's ranking system does raise a few questions. Part of their methodology was rating each company on 'people' and 'process'. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a real explanation for what 'people' or 'process' really means to them. If anyone could enlighten me, I'd be grateful.

Another question is how some of these companies truly made the Top 50 list. For example, BusinessWeek relied extensively on data provided by J.D. Power. Fairmont Hotels was ranked #3 on BusinessWeek's list, but only received a 3 out of 5 rating for overall satisfaction from J.D. Power. Huh?? By contrast, Ritz Carlton, #12 on the list, received a 5 out of 5 rating from J.D. Power. Several other companies on the Top 50 list received relatively poor 'people' ratings, such as B's and C's. Hardly the stuff of 'Customer Service Champions'.

Lessons Learned
These types of rankings are great discussion topics, but customers will ultimately decide who the champs are, and they will eventually vote with their wallets. The weighting of the list suggests that customers have high expectations for certain industries, so companies in those lines of work have to be constantly on their toes. My wife's recent experience also reminds me that the industries we don't expect much from (like tailors and dry cleaners) can go a long way by just being polite and responsive.

Passionate Customers

My recent posts about Starbucks gave me an opportunity to research what other people were saying. Not surprisingly, a lot of people are very passionate about what Starbucks is up to. A few bloggers have even started some very interesting conversations, such as Becky Carroll (Customers Rock!) and Jay Ehret (The Marketing Spot). Carroll and Ehret are collaborating on what they call "The Starbucks Project" to help "Howard get it right." (Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks.)

This got me thinking - how nice would it be if we all had customers who were so passionate about our products and services they went to great lengths to give us feedback and help us get it right.

• I love Jimmy Dean sausage, but this guy takes it to the next level. Listen to his complaint call (careful, his language is a bit 'colorful').
• Fanpop.com is a fan club website with pages for many companies (including In-n-Out!).
• Fans, regular customers, and employees can all interact at Get Satisfaction. Check out the examples on the Timbuk2 page.
• Burger King even tried to create this sort of 'consumer enthusiasm' with their Whopper Freakout campaign.

What can we do about it?

Creating a passionate, self-motivated base of fanatical customers is both an art and a science. This could be a big discussion, but here are my top 3 strategies.

Strategy #1: Be consistent. I love In-N-Out and they rekindle that romance every time I visit, no matter which store I go to. Their service is always enthusasiatic and friendly and the product is always good. Very few companies can achieve this level of consistency.

Strategy #2: Resolve problems like a hero. This is the classic 'hero' opportunity. A customer experiences a problem and someone becomes a hero by swooping in to save the day. Kearny Mesa Acura in San Diego does a great job here. I've occasionally experienced a problem in the service department, but they've always made it right and then some.

Strategy #3: Overdeliver. The best strategy is to give customers more than they expect. The Prado Restaurant in San Diego is outstanding in this aspect. I can distinctly remember many times I've been there because they almost always incorporate an unexpected surprise. The ambience and food are both outstanding, but the service even surpasses both.

The roofer's cup runneth over (or maybe he just lost my number)

No offense to the hardworking roofers out there, but most of us don't expect a lot from you. All I really need is a little honesty, some decent craftsmanship, and I'd appreciate it if you showed up within that four-hour window we talked about. Plumbers, electricians, painters, and all manner of handymen should be in this conversation too. You all provide a valuable service, work hard for your money, and do things that I can't do for myself. At the same time, some of you are sure making it hard to do business together.

How hard is it to get a quote?!

I thought I had struck the motherload when I started searching for someone to put a new roof on my home. A cool website called Improvenet had project estimators and a simple form you could fill out to get quotes. A roofer literally called me to set an appointment within one minute of hitting the "submit" button, so I was pretty psyched.

Over the next day or so, I tracked down several different companies who were willing to come out and give me a quote. I booked their visits into my calendar so I could spend a few minutes with each person and waited for the quotes to come pooring in... Four weeks later, and I finallly have someone scheduled. Well, almost. At this point, I could probably start my own roofing company (that is, if I actually knew how to roof).

Roofer 'A'

The guy who called me immediately was first on the scene. Let's call him Roofer 'A'. When I answered the door, he handed me an envelope and said, "Everything is in here. I've been doing this for 30 years, and I think you'll find we're competitive." I followed him outside and he looked up at the roof and said, "Yeah, your ridgeline is going. It will be about $7400 to replace the roof." He started heading back to his car as I followed him trying to ask questions. "It's all in the envelope," he said.

Roofer 'B'

The next guy, Roofer 'B', sent a guy named John to do the estimate. Compared to Roofer 'A', I was really impressed with John. He got up on the roof and immediately told me I only needed to do some repairs, but didn't need a new roof. John took the time to show me the problem areas and answered my questions patiently. By the time he left, I was hoping the quote from Roofer 'B' was at least competitive. Unfortunately, 10 days and a couple messages went by before I heard back from Roofer 'B'. When he did call and leave a message, he still didn't provide a quote, "Just checking in - are you still in the market?" It took a little more back and forth before I finally got a quote, more than two weeks after the visit. The quote was only $1,650 and not very thorough, so something told me I'd be in for many unpleasant surprises if I hired Roofer 'B'.

Roofer 'C'

John from Roofer 'B' was finishing up right about the time Roofer 'C' was due to come by. I went back into the house and picked up my voice mail. One message was from Roofer 'C' saying he had come by earlier that day. I was a little bummed because I wanted to meet him in person, but it wasn't the end of the world. His quote was. Roofer 'C' proposed a complete tear-down with all sorts of extras, coming in at a whopping $8900! I traded voice messages with Roofer 'C' for a few days before getting him on the phone. "Why did you propose a complete new roof while another roofer said I just needed a few repairs?" After a bit of fumbling, Roofer 'C' said I would need a new roof in 4 to 6 years, so I might as well replace it now. We discussed it a bit more before Roofer 'C' relented and agreed to furnish a quote for just the work I needed. The quote was $3,900.

Roofer 'D'

Roofer 'D' was a referal from a friend. He was pleasant and professional on the phone, but he didn't send his estimator over as promised. Fortunately, I hadn't planned to meet this guy, so it didn't interrupt my day, but I was still disappointed. I called the guy back the next day and this time he sent out Pedro within a few hours. Like John from Roofer 'B', Pedro was friendly, patient, and professional. He agreed with John's assessment that I just needed some repairs, but not a new roof. I was hoping not to repeat the delays I experienced with Roofer 'B', so I called Roofer 'D' a few days after Pedro's visit to ask for the quote. I finally got it a day or so later and even received a prompt call back when I had a question. This quote was for $3,850.

Decisions, Decisions

The roof isn't done yet, but I have told Roofer 'D' I'd like to go with him. We spoke this morning and he told me he had a full week ahead, but would call me this afternoon to schedule the job. "It's not an emergency," I said. "Just call me when you say you're going to call me and let's get this on the calendar and I'll be happy." Roofer 'D' said he could do that, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Lessons Learned

There are many businesses out there where we don't expect much in the way of service. If you work in one of those businesses, you can really stand out by simply being responsive and keeping your promises. If you can't serve your customers at a basic level, you just may be missing out on a lot of easy sales! (Yes, Roofer 'B', I'm talking to you!)