Measurable Questions

In a recent consulting engagement I have had the opportunity to work with a major financial institution that is an industry leader in Customer Experience.

Going into it I was interested to see just how they had been so successful and to see what we could uncover to assist in improving their operations. Lucky for us the executive sponsor is very supportive of change and constantly challenges the status quo.

There is heavy focus within the organization on Customer Experience. From Senior Executives to Agents people are measured and compensated based on the Customer Experience. An abundance of training is available for all and there is signage and literature everywhere emphasizing the need to focus on the Customer Experience and exceeding their expectations every time (which I hate seeing because it is an unattainable goal to exceed expectations every time).

In their measurement of the Customer Experience however it was interesting to see what I would call very brand focused questions, as opposed to Customer or business focused questioned. For example;

• I want to feel that I am valued
• I want to feel confident with the bank of my choice

This type of questioning is very emotive and has no actionable resolution within it. In answering these questions it is fairly easy for a person to gauge how they feel - which is great and that's about it. What is this company going to do is their customer's feel less confident? What programs or measures are they going to put into place to improve customer confidence?

What companies who are interested in identifying root causes and improving Customer facing areas should do is position questions from a rational perspective. For example;

• I am recognized for my business and tenure at the bank
• I receive accurate statements and consistent information across channels

These questions are measurable and actionable. If a score is decreasing there are clear paths to improvement. Companies should not inundate their customers with every detail, but focus on pain and irritant areas through rational questioning to identify the root cause and improve the Customer Experience.

Perfect 10

On a recent business trip I had the opportunity to stay at a major hotel chain for a couple of nights. While overall I was pleased with my stay and experience, I was a little put off by their surveying technique and request to receive a 'Perfect 10'.

This chain had a program in place asking their guests to please rate them a 10 out of 10 on their survey and to bring any service or stay requests to their attention so that they could make your stay as comfortable as possible. Now as a CRM and Customer Experience Professional I often look for different things when I stay at a hotel or even shop at a grocery store, but I try to remain as objective as possible.
I can only assume that this type of program was launched to increase Customer Satisfaction levels at the hotel by addressing customer issues. What it did for myself and my colleagues however was make us look at each element of our experience and stay and find ways to NOT give them a perfect 10.

As with most people who travel for business, I have seen a lot of hotel rooms and have had some incredible experiences and some bad ones as well. After seeing a poster for the program when I first entered the hotel I began to see if they could live up to expectation that they had inadvertantly set with me. Things that prevented me from giving them a perfect 10 started to creep up:

• I was greeted and addressed by front desk staff over the course of my stay by my first name and last name


• The shower head was ridiculously low


• The air conditioner was archaic and extremely noisy (making it difficult to work and sleep)

What companies, and this hotel chain in particular, should do is take a outside-in view of their operations and the customer visit to measure their customer's experience to see what needs to be done to receive a perfect 10 every time. By looking at things pro-actively from a customer's perspective smaller but easily rectified issues (with some investment) can be addressed.

By passively waiting for customers to provide feedback they are doing nothing to actually improve the customer experience for that customer, it will only be reaped by the next. This of course for some businesses is too late.

And in case you're wondering I scored them a 6.

Built for Customers

The common headlines in the Auto Industry today usually relate to escalating gas prices, reduced demand for SUV's and plant closures. What they don't talk about are the dealers and how they make their money - and more importantly how they make their money from good customer service and a well planned customer experience.

This post is being written from the comfort of my friendly neighbourhood car dealership. The radio / cd player in my car is on the fritz and it was due for an oil change. So last Friday I sent in an online request for an appointment.

The form asked for some customer details (what car) and a description of the problem and also a preferred day / time for me to come in. I received a message back from a representative 30 minutes later confirming my appointment - presto. I also received a personal phone call reminder at the end of the day (I'm going to assume they call the business day before) about the appointment.

At the dealership itself they are quick to make note of customer's who wait and those who are leaving. Those who are leaving are quickly offered a ride on the dealership shuttle (comfy with uniformed employee) to the nearest subway stop. Those who wait have a lounge with leather club chairs, a plasma TV, courtesy phones, wireless Internet, complimentary coffee and juice and even a little playground if kids are along for the ride.

To maintain consistent communication and messaging, customers always work through the customer service reps (as opposed to the mechanics) and are greeted and treated professionally.

All of these amenities are obviously built in to pricing and the customer service reps are always looking to add more on to appointment (brakes, filters, etc.). There are also some fairly extensive service packages that are "recommended" by the dealership, but not listed within any formal documentation as required for lease or warranty purposes.

The car business is extremely competitive, and in an urban environment that competition between brands, dealerships, public opinion and public transit is even tougher. Dealerships should invest in customer service and the customer experience to earn the trust of their customers and to make the visit as painless as possible. Customers are more than aware of the typical up sell techniques and "broken"pieces that must be fixed in their cars.

Developing brand loyalty and a positive customer experience may be difficulty across an entire network of dealers, but an individual dealership has tremendous opportunity - and numerous contacts with the customer - to build an excellent customer experience.

Pick you Poison

In an article in yesterdays Wall Street Journal there is a discussion about a study of the impact to Customer Satisfaction when services are outsourced offshore. Interestingly enough the study states that the impact to Customer Service when outsourced is the same whether it is onshore or offshore.

There are typical drawbacks to offshore service - notably language and cultural barriers - but the costs are dramatically lower and tough to resist.

I am not surprised that simply outsourcing customer service impacts overall ratings. The companies that provide these services do not simply have the access the all of the systems that an internal service unit would. They are also not a part of that organization's culture and can not reflect the values of that organization through the service they provide. Often representatives can be a part of a dedicated team servicing clients from a single organization, but at the end of the day they work for the outsourcer (or themselves) and not the organization in question.

Companies who choose outsourcing are faced with a difficult decision. Working with onshore resources maintains language consistency, but still results in an overall drop in satisfaction and has limited savings. Working with offshore resources presents some communication barriers but is provided at a fraction of the cost.

What companies should do is ensure that whatever decision they make is most aligned to the overall values and strategy of the entire organization. Offshoring has other benefits besides cost and is becoming the leading practice. Onshoring maintains a local (by continent) connection with customers if they are on the same continent.

Companies should also ensure that dedicated staff from outsourcers are immersed in their own training, materials and information as much as possible. This will help maintain a consistent experience for customers and result in improved ratings.

Looking from the Outside

Most companies today have developed a viewpoint of their customers as an outside looking in approach to how they do business or use a service, as opposed to the inside looking out from a process and system stand point.

This is a huge mind shift for a lot of organizations and takes a significant amount of corporate change to implement. We've all heard the lines from CSRs who say "My system can't do that", or "We have to do x in order to accomplish y" - this is not a customer viewpoint (outside) and does not improve the customer experience.

In developing this outside-in perspective companies have been able to develop customer lifecycles - the various stages that customers interact with their organizations in being a customer. Learning about the product, buying the product, activating or opening it, receiving service, renewing, recommending, and leaving. All of these major stages are imperative to the lifecycle of the customer and should be monitored.

The next step for companies, particularly those with multiple service offerings in different business units, is to look at service delivery from a life event view of the customer. Life events are things like a new baby or a death in the family - changes in your life. This helps customers move through multiple systems and issues seamlessly and puts their needs first.

A prime example of this is moving. We've all been through it when we've contacted the cable company well in advance to have our old line disconnected when we move out, and have a new one installed and ready to go when we move it to our new place. But despite all of the efforts and pre-planning it never works out. The bill either goes to the wrong place, you pay for the wrong service, or even worse you get no service.

If companies could get out of the mindset of silos (business units) and systems (what do they really mean to the customer?) and think about seamless processes it would provide a true outside looking in perspective. They should let the customer go through what should be a simple thing - that often only adds frustration to an already stressful situation.