Advantage - Great Service

I'm feeling a bit guilty about my last blog article (or should I say rant) which as you may recall, was aimed at the 'Stupid' Store.

It's not that they didn't deserve it. In fact, I've had occasion to be in touch since the 'cans' incident and they were no more helpful than they'd been on my last visit.

You see, I was craving Dungeness crab, as one does, and called to see if they had any in stock. I'll admit it - this was less about me giving them second chance and more about my need for a reasonably priced crab fix.

In any event, after the usual call transfer delays, I finally got through to someone in the fish department who informed me they had crabs (so to speak) but refused to tell me the price per pound. Apparently, it's their policy not to give prices over the phone. No doubt this one was written by the same lamebrain who can up with the 24 can return policy.

But I digress. The reason I am feeling guilty is because not because I comparison shop, or because despite the cholesterol count, I love fresh steamed crab dipped in hot butter. The reason I am feeling guilty is because I realize I tend to write more about bad customer experiences than good ones and I know that sharing the occasional example of a great customer experience might be refreshing, if not helpful. The problem is that in my experience great customer experiences are all too rare.

Fortunately, Jim Foster, a good friend of mine was lucky enough to have one and kind enough to allow me to share it with you.

What follows is Jim's story:

We had the misfortune to have our hot water tank pack it in on Tuesday. Our first call was to the company who supplied it, who suggested they could come in about 6 days. Not prepared to wait that long between showers, our second call was to Advantage. They could come between 3 and 5 pm that same day! Needless to say, we booked the appointment.

To make a long story short, I received a call from the office when the van was dispatched, the technician gave a firm quote before doing the job, then did it in less than the estimated time and at what I believe was a reasonable cost.

Today we received a follow up letter from the President of the company, thanking us for the business, asking if we were happy with the service and advising us of what to do if we had any problems in the future. It also contained a copy of their service philosophy, a detailed explanation of their cost structure and an invitation to drop by for a coffee if we happen to be in the neighborhood!

Now that's great service, something so very rare these days!So there you have it. Doesn't it warm your heart to know that while rare, there are still some companies out there delivering great service? And if you happen to live in the Greater Vancouver area, here's a bonus - now you know who to call if your hot water tank ever decides to pack it in.

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Go Figure?

In the name of fairness and to keep the peace in the family, it is important that all members of the household share a bit of the domestic workload; or at least that's what my wife tells me.

At our house, I have as one my chores the all important responsibility of returning the recyclables such as the empty pop cans and the like.


It's not a bad job really. It gets me out of the house and I can either pocket the proceeds, or use them to buy those necessities like ice cream, cookies and potato chips which are all to often 'forgotten' by she who does most of the grocery shopping.

One day, while returning a rather large quantity of empties (I save them up not out of laziness, but rather in the name of efficiency) to a big box store I not so affectionately call 'The Stupid Store', I was 'greeted' at the 'Customer Service' counter by a rather surly clerk who bluntly advised me I could only return 24 cans on any given day.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I replied "No one told me that when I bought several cases of pop a few weeks back."

"Well that's our policy." she said as if that explained everything.

Being a dedicated student of human behaviour, I quickly sensed there was no winning with this 'lady' so I resisted the urge to further protest, diligently counted out 24cans and placed them on the counter. She then selected two of those cans, handed them back and said "We don't sell this brand here, you'll have to take them back where you got them."

While tempted to ask "What difference does it make, don't they all get crushed and go to the same place in the end?" I knew the likelihood of my question yielding any reasonable explanation was just about on par with the likelihood of me getting a genuine smile out of this field hardened battle axe, so I obediently replaced the two cans in question with ones bearing their store brand.

Then something happened that totally blew me away. Before relinquishing my meager proceeds, the clerk, hereafter know as 'Attila the Hen', produced a rather unofficial looking form, filled in the date and asked me for my name, phone number and signature.

"What in the world do you need all that for?" I replied "Are you afraid I might sneak back into the store later in the day and try to return another 24 cans... or are you thinking that perhaps some of my cans could be counterfeit?

"Oh no" She said in a tone that implied I was something short of an imbecile, "We ask for this information not because we don't trust our customers, (I'm not convinced) but because we don't trust our employees. After all, they could simply take money from the till and claim it was paid out for returned recyclables."

At this point, I found myself uncharacteristically at a loss for words: which was probably just as well, but what was I to do?

I had no intention of sticking around to hear any more of this nonsense and pushing a shopping cart still half full of cans around the store in search of the previously mentioned necessities had little appeal.

Besides, I certainly didn't want to risk contact with any of the store's other apparently untrustworthy employees. So I left, without spending a dime, in search of a more accommodating grocer. After all, I still had the two cans that had been rejected, and returning home with them, not to mention without the ice cream, would surely signal that I had been negligent in my domestic duties.

To put this little story in perspective and give it meaning in context of the importance of a positive customer experience - I shudder to think how much our family spends in groceries over the course of a week, let alone a month, a year, or a lifetime... and yet, for the sake of a dime (the refund value of two cans) and some very, very stupid rules, this store intentionally choose to send me and my money, directly into the welcoming arms of one of their competitors.

Go Figure?

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Deliver What You Promise

Last week my wife and I took a short break and headed back east to visit family and friends and spend a little time touring Boston and New York City.

While walking through the financial district of The Big Apple, something in a second story window caught my eye.

We stopped and took this picture as I couldn't resist the contradiction of an all important lesson in customer service:

Never create expectations against

which you can't deliver!

I wonder just how long the gentleman (top left) has been waiting for his pizza? But enough said about that. As it happens, both New York and Boston far exceeded our expectations.

While a tad on the warm side at 103 Fahrenheit/39 Celsius, we found New York to be clean, friendly and surprising vibrant, what with the recession and all. With the exception of a little attitude from one poor soul who in all fairness was melting in a half price Broadway ticket booth, the service was exceptional! But then who would expect anything less from the city that knows how to handle adversity like no other.

Boston was equally warm on both fronts. If you're ever out that way, I highly recommend the Duck Tour followed by a taste of the local seafood at The Barking Crab... but be prepared to wait in line. Recession or not, the combination of warm, friendly and funky still draws a crowd.

Could it be the Americans are on to something?


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The Small Print

Is it just me, or is the print on just about everything getting smaller?

The other day I had a little problem with my credit card (worn out from over use I suspect) and needed to call someone. I flipped the card over hoping to find a contact number and sure enough, there it was.


Actually, there were three numbers, all of which were in print approximately the size of ant droppings.

I squinted my eyes, then like a trombone player, held the card at various distances... and alas, they came in to focus; but which to call? I suspect this was explained in the few words which preceded each number, but sadly, those were in even smaller print (think baby ant droppings). Thankfully, at least they were not in the center of the card where a number of similar sized words, saying lord knows what, were totally obscured by the recesses caused by the embossing of the card number.

Eventually, I gave up, called the first number and was unceremoniously put in the queue of a rather annoying automated voice response system... which eventually lead me to some 'customer care centre' in India; but I'll save that story for some future day.

In any event, while waiting in the queue, I decided to check the other cards in my wallet to see if the use of micro print was a common practice. Lo and behold, it pretty much was, with the one exception being my American Express card on which the numbers were sufficiently large, but unfortunately the accompanying words were printed in white, on a light blue background.

Needless to say "I was not amused!"

To my younger readers, all this may sound like the rantings of an old grump. But demographic studies would suggest that in many parts of the world, there are actually more of us old grumps than there are of you; and as much as you may not want to hear this, with every passing day, you get one day closer to being one of us.

The use of small print on credit cards, labels and everything else may seem of little consequence to some, but for me they speak volumes of the competence of those who insist on testing our eyesight, not to mention our patience.

Often it's the little things (no pun intended) that make or break the brand.


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They're Watching You

Whenever you're shopping at a major retail store, chances are someone is watching your every move... and not just on their security cameras.

I recently read an article in The Economist which explained how several of the larger retailers the likes of Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Abercrombie & Fitch, Price Chopper and Toys "R" Us to name just a few, are using elaborate electronic monitoring devices to track and influence the buying behaviors of their customers.

A relatively simple example would be Tesco who, through sensors at the doors, track the volume of people entering and leaving their stores with the goal of managing the opening of additional tills to reduce wait times - a good thing.

Higher up the food chain (so to speak) others retailers are using multi-lens video camera's and high tech audio recording devices to track traffic patterns, observe shopping behaviors, even listen in on their customers. Some go as far as to categorize or segment customers into stereotypical groups based on these observations.

What they do with all this information varies, but you can bet it won't be long before you'll have walk through a maze of shelves and displays to the very far corners of the store to get any of the things you really need, not just the bread and the milk.

Privacy concerns aside, if all of this 'retail surveillance' were to result in a better customer experience (as would appear to be the intent in the case of Tesco's) I'd be all for it. I suspect however, that in the majority of cases, the objective is about getting people to buy more stuff rather than to improve the customer journey.

Personally, I'm not convinced this is the best use of all this expensive equipment. Perhaps if they turned the cameras on themselves for a while, many retailers would learn something about why so many of their customers are getting fed up and choosing to shop elsewhere, or online.

I'd love to hear your views on this emerging practice, but whatever they might be, next time you get an itch while out shopping, keep in mind - big brother is watching.

To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #32), see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

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America's Most Trusted

According to a just-released study by the Pew Research Center, small businesses are the most trusted institutions in America - more than churches; more than colleges; more than technology companies: more than government agencies and certainly more than financial institutions and large corporations!

Here is a quick recap of some of the high/low lites:

Small business owners and all those that work for them should take pride in these findings, as well as a some assurance their efforts are being recognized and will be rewarded.

While some may disagree over absolute ranking, there are few who would suggest trust is not one of the primary drivers of consumer and employee behavior, especially on the heals of troubled times.

This being the case, small businesses should rightfully expect to see upticks in market share, customer loyalty, employee attraction, employee retention and a bunch of other good stuff.

As per those of us associated with institutions (either as employees or shareholders) further down the list... let's just say perhaps it's time we either convinced the powers that be to reassessed their practices and start looking for ways to win back the trust... or we move on over to the small side.

So much for the old saying "Go big, or go home!"

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If you would like to know more about how Wavemaker Consulting can help your company improve the customer experience you provide (and win back the trust) visit our Website, or email us at wmconsulting@live.com

Who Cares?

The other day I was asked if there was a model or magic formula for delivering good service. My initial reaction was to say "Of course not! It's a very complicated and multifaceted thing. That's why you have to hire someone like me to help you design and deliver a great customer experience!"

My second reaction was to feel guilty for my first reaction.

It's not that I don't believe there is a lot entailed in delivering an exceptional customer experience. I'd be a fool to be in this business if that were the case. However, that's not what was being asked. My colleague simply wanted to know what one needed to do to deliver 'good' service; and to be honest, it doesn't take a model or formula to define that. It can be captured in a single word:

CARE!

Truth is most companies (read the people that work for them) either don't care, or don't care enough. They are so caught up in their own needs and wants, they've lost sight of the needs and wants of the customer. That's why words like "they just don't care" are so often at the root of the ever growing number of customer complaints and horror stories we hear.

How many companies can you think of that really seem to care?

C is for Customers - they always come first
A is for Appreciate - they are the very life blood of your business R is for Respect - their beliefs and mannerisms may be different than yours
E is for Enthusiasm, Energy, Equality, Excitement, Empathy - and all the other 'E' words that define how you should interact with them.

Now I feel better.

To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #30), see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

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