In the world of customer service there is one reality you can't escape. Customer service is an emotional experience and you want to embrace it. There I said it; customer service is not a logical but rather an emotional experience. You want to understand the ramifications of each emotion and how each impacts the moments of truth with your customers.
I always get a kick out of those you try and apply logic to customer service. They love to hang up the numbers. I was in a car dealership, a painful experience most of the time. Sometimes after going to car lots I'd feel so dirty I'd have to shower as soon as I got home. I was in this dealership that was decorated with customer service slogans. One sign bragged of a 96% customer approval rating. When I asked the manager what that meant he told me that only 4% of the dealerships customers complained. Are you kidding me? I was born at night but not last night! Do you think they always tell you? When they tell you you're lucky; when they tell others you won't be. The silent killer of your business is out to get you.
Delivering quality customer service that meets or exceeds you customer's expectations is more challenging now than ever before. I realize that your business is unique. I have worked in many industries to find customer service solutions. From a customer service perspective I believe there are two kinds of service businesses. I refer to them as simply 'feel good' and 'feel bad'. The feel good businesses sell or service vacations, dinner, jewelry, real estate, automobiles and other forms of retail therapy. In a feel good business customers are generally excited to book that cruise, buy that diamond ring, buying that new car or look forward to that special dinner on Saturday night.
It takes a lot more effort to make a customer unhappy in a feel good business. You have to let the phone ring forever, answer the phone like you don't care, put customers on hold without asking permission. When they come in you need to avoid them and act like they don't exist. When they line up you have to pretend they are invisible. You also must avoid smiling. Some customer service people are really good at that. Then if they complain you must act like you don't care. I've seen many stores in the feel good business that has perfected this. I'll bet you have as well.
In a feel bad business delivering quality customer service is more challenging. Someone breaks your windshield, vandalizes your home or you have a flat tire. It is a total inconvenience, costs you money and when the broken item is fixed, it merely returns to its original form. Although meeting customer service expectations is always difficult it is more so in feel bad businesses. These customers are unhappy before they make contact. Most customers don't get excited when something breaks or worse still is broken by someone else. That is unless you think customers act in the following manner.
Picture this. One night some dirt bag puts a knife in your tire. You look outside the next morning and think to yourself "What an opportunity. I can go down to my local tire shop and spend some money. I can sit in that dirty, cluttered sitting area and listen to the shrieking sound of air tools. If I'm lucky they'll have some of that black tar they call coffee. Maybe they'll have some of that white, powdered crap and some hard sugar cubes as well. I might choose an old porcelain cup imbedded with grease or perhaps I'll have one of those plastic cups. That way I can drink coffee and feel like I'm flossing my teeth at the same time. While I'm waiting I'll go into the washroom that looks like a breeding ground for the next pandemic. Perhaps if I bring my daughter and we can look through the dirty glass at all the pornography stapled to the walls". Do you get my point?
What kind of business are you in? You may be in a 'feel good' business or you may be in a 'feel bad' business' both have one thing in common. In each case customer service is an emotional reaction.
Emotions aren't like numbers, they are harder to manipulate and considerably more difficult to manage. The next time your spouse asks you how much you love her tell her on a scale of one to ten she's a seven. Then watch the emotional reaction you'll get. Emotions are much less predictable and usually spontaneous. These emotions happen in the now and your ability to prepare for, and manage these emotions, will ultimately define your customer service success. In my next article we'll get into the emotions customers feel and how can structure your customer service strategy more effectively. I'll see you then.
