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Customer Complaints Shuffled Off to a 3rd Party?
Customer Complaints? Don’t Push Them Off
I recently came across an article that had the perspective that an answering service is a helpful way to diffuse customer complaints. The article, Why An Answering Service is an Excellent Option to Diffuse Customer Dissatisfaction stated that having a 3rd party resource to handle complaints would be advantageous to customers calling outside of normal business hours or for the smaller businesses that may not have the resources.
Their premise is that customers would see how invested the company is in their customers that they are providing a resource for handling issues.
Please take a moment to read the article if you are so inclined.
My thoughts:
While I think the author was well intended, I strongly disagree that a third party is helpful in most situations. Putting myself in the customer’s shoes, my immediate reaction is that I’m having to deal with an outside resource who will most likely not have the authority to fix my problem or offer a solution that is plausible. Recently, many companies are using overseas resources to handle calls and complaints and customers have responded overwhelmingly that this is only adding to their frustration and irritation.
The best way to handle customer complaints is to plan for the resolution process internally. The company itself, not a third party, should be listening to the customer and handling the issues. The customer wants to know that they are being treated as a person, not a numbered consumer that will forever remain anonymous. Internal resources must be properly trained on how to handle complaints, be genuinely empathetic, offer realistic and fair solutions, and follow up with the customer after the issue. Depending on the size of the company, this may be assigned to a designated department, person, or be handled by the business owner themselves.
The only way to get around the impersonality of a third party is to be sure that they understand the way your business works inside and out. They need to understand and have access to customer records or history to get a feel for the specific concern. Above all else, they must be empowered to handle the complaint in a way that will more than satisfy the customer. The customer will likely be already looking for a fight or frustrated by having to deal with an outside resource, but if handled correctly, it can be pulled off with the right resource.
In my personal experience, I’ve never found this to be the case. I truly don’t mean to rant against this particular author or firm. They may very well have excellent training and solutions for their customers. I want to caution customer care teams and business leaders from taking the easy way out in regards to customer complaints. They are an opportunity to make or break trust. By all means, win that customer’s trust!
Okay, I’m off my soapbox. How do you feel about having a third party, or an answering service, handle customer complaints? Are there some areas you feel this would work?
Customer Service Training Needs? Help Me Help You!
Customer Service Training could be your Spring Focus!
April is finished and gone and now it’s the beginning of May. Spring is the time when many of you decided it was time to take a fresh look at your customer mindset. For some of you, that meant it was time to create a customer centered culture. Some of you decided that it was time to really include your staff in the process. Still others created a vision and want to share it with both your team and your customers. Many of you set customer service training as your priority.
Transforming The Customer Experience means that I want to help you create an experience for your customer that is unlike anything else they’ve experienced. It is my mission to help you develop your customer centric focus by making that process simple, sharing tools and strategies on how to do this, and having some fun along the way.
I spend my time listening to you, reading your emails, and working with some of you to inspire you to help you make decisions that will benefit not only your customers who do business with you, but on your bottom line and internal customers as well. From what you’ve been sharing with me, it seems that we are all on the same track, but I’m always looking for ways to make a deeper impact in your business.
Ultimately, I want to be the trusted guide and resource for achieving your customer retention and satisfaction goals, providing training and tools for training your staff in service. I have many ideas and tools that I’m working on, but I’ like to hear your ideas as well. In the long run, no one knows your challenges better than yourself. I understand that it can be difficult to know where to start and that it isn’t always easy. So please tell me, what can I do or provide to help you? Please share your ideas with me by replying to this email. Really – I’d truly like to know and I am looking forward to hearing from you (even if it is just to say hello)!
Helping you focus on your customers,
Kristina
Transforming the Customer Experience
Kristina@KristinaEvey.com
Customer Engagement from a 3rd Grade Perspective
Reaching out to your customers is hands down the best way to build customer loyalty and satisfaction. They will even fall in love with you over it.
Now, this is a story of how an organization has engaged one if it’s customers, but isn’t your typical customer or organization.
My 8 year old daughter recently took a test administered by our school district to see if she qualified for the “Gifted and Talented” program. This is a program geared for those students who demonstrate a strong aptitude for math and science. She regularly receives very high marks in both of these areas, but she is truly a child who excels in reading, writing, and the arts. She writes and sings her own songs for the annual talent show and her drawings are unbelievably detailed.
My daughter recently was told that she didn’t pass the test and wouldn’t be accepted into the program. She was really understanding of that concept, but the title “Gifted and Talented” was bothering her. She truly felt that since she didn’t pass the test, the title told her and the rest of the other students that they were talented in any other areas. She decided to write a letter to the superintendent of the district asking him to consider changing the name of the program to something along the lines of “Advanced Math and Science Program.” She felt this was more appropriate since, in her words, “everyone is gifted and talented in their own way.”
She sent the letter the other day and I was really hoping that she would at least get a form letter thanking her for her suggestion. What she got far exceeded our expectations.
My daughter called me from school yesterday extremely excited. The superintendent drove from his office 12 miles away to visit her at her elementary school. He wanted to meet with her in person to discuss her letter and to thank her for the suggestion. Needless to say, we were all thrilled with the dedication he showed to his students.
He didn’t make any promises about changing the name, but offered to start the conversation with the director of the program.
There was one comment that he made to her that stood out to me. He told her “Since you took the time to hand write me a letter, I didn’t feel it was appropriate for me to just email or call you. I wanted to take the time to get to know you better and find out exactly what made you write the letter.”
He had me at “I wanted to take the time to get to know you better….” Now, this may look like just a story about a 3rd grader in elementary school, but it’s really the story of a customer writing to a business owner or leader.
The customer took the time to write a letter regarding a concern and suggestion. Many businesses never acknowledge or recognize the motivations for these letters, emails, or phone calls. Customers contact us because they have a concern. They are telling us that there is something about the way we do business that they may have a suggestion or issue with. If you are smart, you’ll respond in kind. I would suggest that you reach out in a personal way whenever possible. If a visit isn’t practical, the phone is a great way to accomplish the goal – making personal contact.
Remember, the customer owns your business. They pay your bills and give you a paycheck. When they have a suggestion or concern, take the time to listen and respond appropriately. Most don’t do this. When you do, you’ll be building that loyalty and increasing engagement. To really build engagement, follow the steps clearly outlined here… Five Steps to More Loyal Customers.
Personality Can Make or Break Customer Service & Satisfaction
Personality makes much more of an impact on customer satisfaction than most people realize. While we all are focused on the best way to welcome customers into our businesses, the tones that we set, we often fail to capitalize on the main strength of the people we hire – their unique personalities.
Yesterday I was making a payment on some physical therapy I had to help me get through my last 1/2 marathon. While I’m not in favor of human cloning, the woman who helped me yesterday would be the ideal customer relations representative that all companies wish they could clone.
Right off the bat, she greeted me in a very friendly, yet professional manner. While we were discussing the medical insurance glitch that prompted my original phone call, she started asking questions about the progress of my therapy and training. She asked how long I had been running, how I liked it, and told me how envious she was because of her knee issues that prevented her from running.
She then answered my questions about the bill, assured me that she would personally contact the insurance carrier and provide them with the necessary information.
But here is the piece that really grabbed me. Here are her exact words that she used to close the call…
“Well, it looks like we have everything taken care of now. Please let me know when you get your statement from the insurance carrier. If there are any discrepancies, I’d like to follow up on it myself. Besides, I really enjoyed helping you today. This was not just a billing conversation, but felt more like a chit chat with a friend. Please ask for me next time you need any help.”
I’ve never had a billing clerk treat me so kindly. I then let her know that I’m a consultant for customer service and satisfaction and that I was truly impressed with the way she handled my call. She thanked me and let me know that I just made her day with the compliment. Her last call was with a disgruntled patient who treated her very poorly and took all of his frustrations out on her. She said while that is expected sometimes and part of her job, it get taxing over time and is hard to shake off for the next unsuspecting caller.
I was amazed that she had experienced such a poor call just previous to me calling her. I never would have suspected that. Her personality was the defining factor there. It was in her nature to help and in her nature to connect with the people she was helping every day.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to pay attention to the personalities of the people you hire into your business. You must hire the smile, then train the skill. The “Nice” factor isn’t something that you can, or should, train for. Hire the people who are helpers by nature. They’ll engage with your customers far more successfully than those that may be more skilled or educated.
I’d love to know what personality traits you’ve found your successful or most engaging team members to have and how your customers have benefited because of them.
A Common Customer Satisfaction Mistake – No Customer Definition
I had a very important Customer Engagement Moment reinforced this morning. We have two 9 month old Golden Retriever puppies that needed to be boarded while my family and I were gone last week on Spring Break. This was our first time leaving them overnight and with this boarding kennel.
The owner of the kennel is a wonderful woman. Within 15 seconds of meeting her and seeing her with my dogs, I knew she was the best one to leave them with. Her love of animals is self evident. She loves to share knowledge and information that will help with any training or behavior challenges.
Stay with me here, the point is coming. Now, while I know I tend to be a bit longwinded, I can’t hold a candle to this woman. When she shares her knowledge, she also is the type that doesn’t leave a pause for a polite interruption to move things along. I knew this going into the transaction and was prepared. I soaked up all of the training tips she could pass along.
A funny thing happened toward the end of our conversation today. She suddenly stopped and said…
“I’m so glad that you don’t mind me sharing so much with you and letting me talk. I don’t see many humans during the day and it does me good to have conversations with folks who walk on only two legs. I’ve had inquiries from folks who call and just want to find out how much I charge and if I have room on the days they need. When I can sense that they want to be short and to the point, I politely inform them that I don’t think I’m the best person for them to board their dogs with.
I suppose some folks think I’m crazy for turning away some business for that reason, but it goes against my nature and if I can’t relate to the people, I don’t think I would be able to relate well to their dogs.”
I simply smiled and told her that I think she’s doing a good thing for herself and her customers by being clear who her ideal customer is.
That’s the point of this letter to you today. Be clear about who your ideal customer is. Understand that you won’t be able to be all things to all customers. If you try, you are guaranteed to fail. By focusing on a clear niche or group, you’ll be able to identify and build a rapport with them that is much deeper and sustainable.
Many companies and businesses have made the mistake of trying to do all things for every potential customer. They’ve either failed or not been nearly as successful as they might have been because they didn’t clearly understand who their customers were and how they could help best help them.
Please also discuss this point and train your teams on who your ideal customers are and how to relate to them. Your team will feel much more ownership with their responsibilities and invested in your business.
There is nothing wrong with sending some customer elsewhere. In fact, you’ll be respected because not only are you looking out for your own welfare, but that of those potential customers as well. They may even turn out to be a referral source for your in the long run. I’ve seen it happen.
Please be sure to let me know what questions you have about this point. It’s one that always brings about a lively discussion. I enjoy the discussion and I’m always happy to help and learn.
