What does love have to do with customer experience? A lot. Why? Because of the truth of this statement: No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. I have been honored to serve as a customer experience consultant and service trainer for a wide variety of organizations. The ones that are the most effective really care about the customer. The customer isn't just the reason for the organization to exist. The customer is someone with needs that the organization can meet, and in that process, make a real difference for someone. The difference really can be love. The wonderful irony? Organizations that promote loving kindness type of service not only keep customers, they keep employees. Longer. Happier. With fewer complaints. Isn't that love that's worth it?
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Experience is a pretty basic word that most of us understand. We use it a lot in the travel industry. It's what happens to us when we go somewhere, visit a place, see something. It's the journey, not just the end, not just the beginning. It's the entire journey, from thinking about it, to returning home. In the travel world, it's easy to understand. You want to take a trip. You get information from a site, look at your options, book your room, plan how to get there, what you'll do when you're there, and how you'll get home again. Every element of that is part of your trip. It's complete, not just a part here or there, it's whole. And to be whole, it must be quality. The travel world understands that well because how visitors are treated determines very much whether they refer places, how much they purchase, and how soon they'll return. All of that impacts revenue in the travel world significantly. The rest of the world is beginning to appreciate customer experience much the same way. One of my first clients after working at South Dakota Tourism was a manufacturing plant. We looked at problems from the customer perspective to find solid solutions. Mapping out the customer experience always shows where the bumps are, where the customer doesn't get what she wanted, where improvements can be made. It's a journey that is incredibly important to take, and beginning of the year is a great time to take it. I am challenging you to make November a month of gratitude. I know. It's already the month of Thanksgiving. And that's great. But I think we can do more. Way more. Every day this month, think of someone whose words, actions and traditions taught you the values that make your journey great. Parents. Grandparents. Teachers. Coaches. Aunts and uncles. Bosses. Co-workers. Customers. Clients. Even your dog. Maybe your cat. Think about what they've said to you that taught you something positive. Think about what they've done for you, that demonstrated the difference that we can all make. Then think about traditions--OK, including Thanksgiving dinner and football--that you cherish because they taught you time with people you love, doing things you love, really matters. OK. You've thought. Now, say thanks. Write a note. Send an email. Make the call. Have the cup of coffee. Share lunch. Go shopping, even if that's not your favorite thing. Do something to show your gratitude. It will really make your journey great, and I bet, it will makes theirs great as well. NOTE: If you need help with this, check out my book, Dear Mom: Remembering, Celebrating, Healing. It's a book of letters expressing loving thanks to my late mom, and it will help you find the amazing things in life for which you can give thanks. Happy Customer Service Week! This is one of my favorite quotes, especially for customer service. Product knowledge is a critical piece of great service. But have you ever had someone who KNEW everything except how to show customer care? Compassion for customers will never go out of style. Compassion says you get it, you know they might not, and you'll stay with them until they do get it. Compassion says you'll never minimize the customer's experience or what they think they know. And compassion says you'll never, ever make the customer feel stupid. Those are the basics. How about instead of Customer Service Week, it becomes a way of life? What if we focused on the customer in ways that made them know we really do care, about them, not just about us? Hmmm........how great can be? As great as you want it to be. And your reward will be loyalty that grows your organization. Again, hmmmmm....... One of my favorite training strategies is helping groups identify ways to solve customer service problems. I call it "Stuff Happens," because it always will, and we need to know what to do when it happens. But closely related to that is what I call "Situations Happen." Those are the scenarios that aren't necessarily a problem, but can become one if not addressed. What scenarios in your world might be a situation that, if left as is, can grow into a problem? Ask co-workers and staff to help identify them, and then discuss actions that can address them. You will empower yourself and others to deliver really great service because you will have been pro-actively thinking, anticipating, and trying very hard to make the service experience the very best it can be. And last time I checked, that's what customers really want. You can deliver it. And by doing so, you'll create loyalty with customers and a higher level of engagement with staff. |
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AuthorDee Dee has helped create and coach "customer care" programs and cultures for healthcare, government, travel, financial services, plumbing, retail, publishing, automotive and entire communities. Archives
April 2020
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