 Don’t
Let Your Systems Drive Your Customers Crazy!
Does
your company run like clockwork? Are your accountants
pleased with how everything moves smoothly? Are your
managers content with how customers are managed by your
system?
If so, watch out! Your present methods, regulations,
policies and procedures may be convenient for the company
but utterly frustrating for your customers.
Customers discover these landmines of dissatisfaction
almost by accident, stumbling upon them in the normal
course of business. Dedicated customers will speak up
and complain. Others will just go away.
I am a customer who makes a point of letting companies
know when their policies are frustrating, preposterous
or just plain customer-unfriendly.
Unfortunately, many organizations have built up a thick
layer of resistance and defensiveness towards such feedback.
They have stopped listening to the voice of the customer…especially
the customer with a complaint.
Sometimes I wonder whether anyone is listening at all.
The stories in this book are all true, and many are
entertaining. But they are only valuable if they inspire
you to listen more closely to your customers and to
more carefully examine your policies and procedures.
Key Learning Point
Customers
are often frustrated by standardized and inflexible policies.
This may cause your customers to fume in frustration,
but the rest of your staff and system may quietly conspire
to silence the voice of complaining customers. You have
to make an effort to really listen.
Action Steps
Ask your customers:
`How
can we serve you better? What frustrates you most about
the way we provide our service? Is there anything you
would like us to do more of? less of? start doing? stop
doing? What do other companies do for you that we don't
do here?'
Ask your staff:
`What do
our customers ask for that frustrates you the most?
Are there any special customer requests that drive you
crazy? Is there anything they ask for that is against
our company policy?'
Ask your
managers:
`Is it the
customers that make our staff so mad, or are they driven
to distress by limitations in our systems, policies
and procedures?'
Ask other
service providers:
Whenever
you dine, travel, shop, purchase or rent, make special
requests. Ask for things that are `not on the menu',
slightly different from the routine.
Watch carefully
how each establishment responds. Are they fast, flexible
and friendly? What is it about their policy and systems
that allows them to respond that way?
Learn to
improve your own systems by testing the flexibility
of others.
Finally,
ask yourself:
Are you willing
to make the changes your customers require?
Your accountant
and your managers may be comfortable. But who are you
in business for?
Your Accounting
Department will still be with you tomorrow. Will your
customers be with you, too?
Next Article in Customer Service Improvement >>
Are You Referable?
First Article in Customer Service Innovation >>
In the Spirit of Service
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
He is author of the bestselling series "UP Your Service!" and founder of
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