Should you get rid of your customer service email address?

How long does it take your company to respond to customer service emails?

If it is longer than one day, you may want to consider dumping your customer service email address. Why leave the door open for disappointment when you can stick with technology you're more comfortable using like the telephone, the fax, or even the telegram. 

I’ve lost count of how many companies have done a poor job of responding to a problem or even a sales inquiry via email in recent months. 

Here are a few examples:

I recently emailed three wine shops looking for a particular bottle of wine. One responded quickly and let me know they'd search for it, but it may take a few days (great response). One took a week to get back to me before replying, "Sorry it took so long, but we're looking for it." (Eh.) One didn't respond at all (fail). When the first two found the wine I was looking for, guess who I bought it from?

In another example, I emailed my frequent guest number to a hotel so they would have it on file when I arrived. They never responded to my email and of course didn't have it on my reservation when I checked in. Here was an easy opportunity to perform a simple service for a frequent traveler and they blew it.

Most customers expect a response to email within one business day or less (see my research here). My question is why do so many companies fall short in this area?

The power company reinforces the value of great service

I recently had a great customer service experience with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), my local power company. They're pretty much the only game in town if you live in San Diego and use electricity. Fortunately, SDG&E realized that good customer service is still good business.

The Situation
An SDG&E contractor broke a sprinkler pipe in my yard while working on some SDG&E equipment that is adjacent to my lawn. I called on a Sunday and filed my initial claim, but was told that the claims department wouldn't open until Monday. Someone would call me then.

I braced myself for the expected hassle and runaround, but what followed was a trio of surprises that exceeded my expectations.

RESPONSIVENESS!
A gentleman named Mike from the claims department called me on Monday morning. I was truly surprised to get a call as promised.

Why is this such a big deal? Too many companies don't call in this situation. That prompts another call from the customer. And another. And another. It aggravates the customer but also wastes valuable company time to deal with the some complaint over and over again. It's always better to put the problem in the hands of a person who can fix it and let them fix it right away.

IT WAS EASY!
I was bracing for a mountain of bureaucratic paperwork. Instead, Mike simply apologized and suggested I use my own sprinkler guy to do the repair. He told me I could send the bill directly to him and he'd make sure I got paid.

What?! Where is the bureaucracy? Where was the expected accusation that I was somehow trying to rip them off? What's up with this helpful single point of contact business instead of making me call another number and re-explain the problem?!

Mike's actions made things easy for me but they also saved SDG&E a lot of time too. Making me wade through a maze of bureaucratic steps would make it necessary to employ a legion of bureaucratic gate keepers to patrol the maze. Problems can and will happen, but customers shouldn't have to suffer more than necessary to get them fixed. Mike was able to resolve the problem with a minimal amount of contact and effort on both sides.

RESOLUTION!
A reimbursement check came in the mail a few days after I sent my receipt to Mike. I had expected it to take forever to get my money, so it was a real surprise to get the check so quickly.

Wait - aren't big utility companies supposed to be evil?

It turns out that being evil can be much more expensive than doing right. Let's imagine my check didn't arrive quickly. I'd probably call again. The labor cost of that extra phone call would offset any marginal savings gained from delaying payment. In fact, each time I called, the company would be deeper in the hole. Better, and cheaper, to just send the check and get it done.

So there you have it. A customer service lesson from the utility company. Be on the lookout for flying pigs!

The impact of conformity on customer service

Have you ever wondered why a company tends to have consistent service levels amongst all its employees? Sure, there are exceptions here and there, but a company known for poor service tends to be consistent. A company known for great service tends to be consistent too.

Why is that? One explanation could be the pressures of social confirmity. Employees may give in to social pressure to behave the same way other employees do. This means that if the culture supports poor service, otherwise good employees may lower their own performance rather than feel ostricized by their co-workers.

I've discovered some interesting psychological studies on conformity while conducting research for my book, Getting Service Right. Here is a short and entertaining YouTube videos that highlight some of the results:

The video below recreates the famous Asch conformity experiment:

So, what do you think? Can a good customer service employee turn bad in the wrong environment?

The service power of fully engaged employees

My wife, Sally, and I recently spent a few days relaxing at a resort hotel in Phoenix. One of our best customer service experiences came from an unlikely source: an associate named Darryl who was doing construction work to help renovate some of the hotel's rooms.

Businesses often focus customer service initiatives on employees whose customer service role is obvious. At a hotel that might be a front desk agent, bellman, or valet. However, anyone who comes into contact with your customers, whether directly or indirectly, is in the service business. Darryl was a great example of how one person can make a big difference.

We ran into Darryl while walking through the hotel. He greeted us with a warm smile and asked us if he could help us find anything. When we told him we were touring the hotel, Darryl told us about some of the renovations they were working on. He spoke with obvious pride about how the hotel was working to make itself even better.

Darryl then asked us if we were enjoying our stay. We told him we were, especially the time spent lounging by the pool. Darryl gave us a few tips on which pools were best at different times of the day.

Finally, Darryl asked if there was anything he could do to make our stay more enjoyable. We told him no, but Darryl encouraged us to let him or another hotel associate know if there was anything we needed.

Darryl created a positive experience for us because he knew he was in the service business. Do all of your employees know they are in the service business, even if "service" isn't in their title? Are they fully engaged with your organization? Try to imagine what you could achieve if you had more Darryls!

How Netflix should have handled their price increase

Netflix alienated a lot of customers when they announced a 60% price increase on July 12. They had previously offered a plan where customers could stream unlimited movies online and rent unlimited DVDs one at a time by mail for $9.99 per month. Starting in September, Netflix will offer a DVD-only plan for $7.99/mo and an online only plan for $7.99.

Subscribers found out via email but the story soon took on a life of its own online. Netflix was flooded with angry Tweets, Facebook posts, and blog posts. Several news outlets conducted informal polls of Netflix subscribers and reported that as many as 70% were thinking of cancelling or reducing their subscription. Investors haven't been too happy either as Netflix's stock price has dropped more than 15%.

Now that I have had a few weeks to calm down and weigh my options, I can see why Netflix raised their prices. I can also think of three things they should have done that they didn't. 

Be honest and open.
It's important to be honest and open when you make a business decision that will adversely impact your customers. The economics behind the Netflix price increase actually make sense. so why not come clean? They chose to ignore the issue entirely by essentially telling customers, "Hey - here are your new prices." I still don't think many customers would be happy with a 60% price increase, but they might have been more forgiving if they knew why. (There's a great overview on Yahoo that explains the business drivers behind this decision.)

Share something positive.
Netflix should have timed their price increase around some exciting news, like an agreement to add more movies that are available for streaming online. Their strategy includes moving more customers online since streaming movies is much cheaper than shipping DVDs. Making more titles available online would let customers know where some of that price increase was going and get more customers to use the streaming service. A bit of misdirection? Yes, but we customers tend to focus on what you put in front of us. All I have to look at right now is an email says I'm have to pay 60% more for the same service.

Emphasize your strengths.
Netflix missed a chance to emphasize that they are still the best deal in town. Their announcement caused many customers like me to shop for alternatives, but the alternatives either cost more money or offer a much smaller selection. Why not point this out? Heck - why not save us the time and put a nice little chart together that illustrates how Netflix offers the best selection, service, and price even after a 60% price increase? Everyone likes to think they are getting a good deal and Netflix should have made this clearer in their announcement.

Assuming the price increase was a foregone conclusion, what else could Netflix have done better?

3 things small business owners must know about service

Most small business owners face an enormous customer service challenge when they start adding even a few employees. How can you build the capacity to continue growing while preserving the customer-focused culture that fueled your growth in the first place?

If you own a small business, here are three things you should know about customer service.

1. Your employees don’t think the way you do
A small business often becomes part of the owner’s personal identity, so it’s no wonder that business owners take customer service personally. The tough part is realizing your employees don’t look at things that way. Even if they have exceptional customer service skills, it's extremely difficult for them to view customer service through the eyes of a business owner. It's up to you to ensure your employees clearly understand your customer service expectations.

2. Experience and talent are not the same thing
Small businesses all have their unique cultures, so it is important to hire employees who will fit with that culture. A talented employee may or may not have a lot of experience, but they should have a strong desire to work in a company like yours. Perhaps more importantly, they must have the right attitude to work with an owner like you.

3. You need to get out of the way, but don't stop leading
Your employees aren't going to handle every customer interaction exactly the same way you would. Some owners waste time and stifle productivity by over-managing their employees. Other owners risk poor customer service by being too hands off. A good small business owner finds the right balance of leadership and empowerment to get the most out of their employees while still offering the proper coaching and guidance to help their employees grow.

What else should a small business owner know about customer service?

New show Bar Rescue is full of customer service gems

I’m a sucker for just about any TV show that provides an inside glimpse at how companies really work. Bar Rescue on Spike is the latest show in this category. If the first episode is any indication of what’s to come, this show will be a customer service gold mine.

Bar Rescue’s premise is simple. In each episode, bar expert Jon Taffer tries to turn around a struggling bar. Taffer and his team work with the bar owner to quickly build profitability and increase customer loyalty.

Episode one featured a bar called Angels. It was run-down, the food and drinks were terrible, and the service was poor. Unfortunately, the owner and her employees had come to accept these conditions and did nothing to change or improve them.

Enter Taffer. Over the course of the episode, the fiery Taffer and his team whip the bar and its employees into shape. The owner’s biggest problem was she didn’t see the bar from her customers’ perspective. Taffer was able to change this by showing her how even simple changes can improve the customer experience. A better customer experience leads to more revenue, more referrals, and more loyalty in just about any business.

Visit the Bar Rescue website to see for yourself.

Why customer service training is essential for younger workers

Businesses who tend to employ younger employees are doing themselves, their customers, and their employees a disservice if they fail to provide training on basic customer service skills.

Here are three reasons why:

Young employees lack experience
Much of our customer service know-how comes from the experience of seeing what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, young employees are gaining less and less experience. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that only 48.9% of of Americans ages 16 - 24 had a summer job in 2010. That figure is closer to 30% in my home town of San Diego according to Mark Cafferty, the CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership. 

All of this means that young employees will be gaining their customer service experience courtesy of your company. If you don't provide them with training they'll likely learn most of their skills from trial and error. I don't think your customers would appreciate the error part.

Young employees find it harder to empathize
A core customer service skill is the ability to empathize with a customer. This allows employees to see things through their customers' eyes and prevent or resolve problems quickly. Empathy comes from having a similar or relatable experience, but younger employees simply lack many of the life experiences that could allow them to empathize. 

Employees can be taught to empathize through training and coaching. Ironically, one of the qualities younger employees need from their supervisor or customer service trainer is the ability to empathize with being young and inexperienced.

Great customer service isn't obvious
Businesses often fail to provide customer service training to their frontline employees because great customer service seems obvious to business owners, managers, and supervisors. Unfortunately, the steps to providing great customer service may not be obvious to your employees. (Check on my previous post on the subject.)

Younger employees who lack on the job and life experience may have the most difficult time figuring out the right thing to do. Leaders should set clear expectations for customer service and then provide all employees with the required training, tools, and resources to meet those expectations. They should also be especially patient with younger employees who are learning on the job.

Service recovery from Heitz Cellars

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about three wineries that all handled a missing or delayed wine shipment in different ways. (See Good, Bad, and Ugly ways to handle the same problem.) Since then, Heitz Cellars has made a bit of recovery.

Heitz Cellars was my "ugly" example in the post because I had called three times to check the status of some missing wine and they had short shipped my order twice. Yesterday, the last two missing bottles finally arrived. The modest recovery came from the refund they issued to my credit card. This means the end result was I finally had my delicious wine ('07 Zinfandel) and I didn't have to pay for it. Heitz Cellars makes some terrific wine and this gesture was enough to keep me as a customer.

This also serves as another installment in my collection of stories that prove the longer you take to solve a customer service problem, the more expensive recovery will be.

Related posts on expensive service recovery:

• The rising cost of recovery at the Sir Francis Drake
• Cox vs. Brinks: The cost of incompetence
• Avis service recovery

Good, bad, and ugly ways to handle the same problem

My wife, Sally, and I recently returned from a tour of several of California's wine regions. We are huge wine enthusiasts (check out our wine blog!) and used the trip as an excuse to stock up on wine.

Most of our wine was delivered without a hitch but we did experience a problem with orders from three wineries. Each winery chose to handle the problem in a different way. Only one succeeded.

The experience proves that mistakes can and will happen, but it's how you solve them that counts.

The Good - Van Ruiten Family Vineyards
I called the winery to check on our order after a shipment didn't arrive as expected. The person I spoke with explained that the order was delayed because it took extra time to locate two bottles that were in limited supply. She was very apologetic for not contacting us about the delay and promised to get our shipment out immediately. Just as promised, our wine arrived a few days later. The winery included an extra bottle of their delicious Chardonnay along with a handwritten note thanking us for our patience. Just like that, disappointment was turned into delight.

The Bad - Anglim Winery
Like Van Ruiten, I called the winery to check on a shipment that hadn't arrived. I was told that the wine hadn't been shipped yet because it had been hot and there was concern that the heat would hurt the wine. The definition of poor service is failing to meet expectations. I would have been grateful if I had received a call or email asking if it was okay to delay shipment so the wine wouldn't get too hot. Instead, I was disappointed that I had to wait and then had to call. No apology was offered which disappointed me even more. Fortunately, the wine was finally delivered about a week overdue.

The Ugly - Heitz Cellars
I called Heitz after I received a shipment with only one of the four bottles I had ordered. The person agreed to send the missing bottles but a week went by and they hadn't arrived. I called a second time and was told the missing wine had been shipped a couple of days before and would be delivered the next day. A delivery was made the following day, but the package contained only one of the three missing bottles. I called a third time and calmly explained the situation to someone who clearly seemed annoyed. Finally, she agreed to overnight the missing bottles to me. (We'll see if I actually receive them.)

Anyone can make a mistake, but here are all the errors that Heitz made after the initial problem.

• They waited five days to ship the missing wine. It should have been shipped the same day.
• I had to call a second time when the wine still hadn't arrived a week after my first call.
• The second shipment didn't contain all of the missing bottles.
• I had to call a third time to check the status of my missing wine.
• The person I spoke with on the third call was rude.

Van Ruiten provided a great example of how to strengthen customer loyalty by handling a problem with grace and style. Anglim exhibited a lack of caring that hurt their chances of a repeat order. Heitz demonstrated a mind boggling level of incompetency that is almost certainly driving up costs and losing future business.