The need to be heard, the need to be recognized, is one of the most powerful motive forces in human nature. We define and sustain ourselves in conversations with others. The recognition of being listened to is the response from another person which tells us that our feelings, actions, and intentions are meaningful.
It is especially hurtful not to be listened to in those relationships you count on for understanding.
No one likes to feel invisible.
A colleague of mine is working with a dealer group to improve their customer service scores and overall customer experience. One of the ways that they gather data to determine the current status is to review recordings of incoming calls at each dealership. If you’ve never seen this in action, it’s quite eye-opening, especially if you’re in management.
Like the title of the Dr Seuss book, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!,” observing first hand how staff interacts with customers can send you to some places. It can be shocking, causing audible gasps in the room and possibly take your blood pressure to new heights. And sometimes, you’re completely blown away with the genuine empathy and fantastic care that an employee gave to a customer.
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Don’t let your team create invisible customers.
As my colleague was gathering data, they noticed a pattern happening and it’s illustrated best if I tell you the quick story.
A customer, let’s call him Mr. Miller, experiences a car breakdown and calls the dealership to schedule a service. He explains in great detail the symptoms his car exhibited before it stopped working. After a detailed 3-minute explanation, the store employee responds with a curt, “Hold, please,” and transfers him to a queue where he waits for several minutes. This response is not only frustrating but also dismissive of Mr. Miller’s immediate concerns.
A Service Advisor finally picks up. Mr. Miller again shares details of his car’s demise and even though he is clearly concerned and probably just needs someone to listen and understand, the service advisor says, “Last name?”
Customer care is in crisis
I feel there is a crisis in customer care right now and it’s not just at car dealerships. Have you done any grocery shopping lately? Have you noticed that the store employees see nothing wrong with moving their huge carts filled with 10-20 filled cardboard boxes, into the aisle making it nearly impossible to shop, let alone get a cart or even your body past them?
Here’s a scenario I witness often: A customer, Ms. Anderson, goes shopping at her local grocery store during a busy weekend. She finds it difficult to navigate the aisles as disinterested employees stock shelves without acknowledging her, and they carry on conversations with co-workers who happen to walk by. The workers, focused on their tasks, treat her as if she’s invisible, making her shopping experience stressful and unpleasant.
Both of these stories illustrate management’s prioritizing of operational tasks over customer interaction (customer experience) and a lack of proper training on customer engagement. But that’s only the half of it.
Creating lasting impressions.
Instilling a culture that puts the customer first and is backed up with thoughtful management processes and techniques, means you’ve got a potential customer for life.
These two stories highlight the importance of delivering a memorable customer experience as a cornerstone of an organization’s success. Improving service quality creates lasting impressions. It enhances your reputation in the community and fosters customer loyalty in a competitive market.
The Economics of Customer Loyalty
Your most loyal customers (your Raving Fans)…
- Are less price sensitive
- Will pay a premium for a better experience
- Stay longer, spend more, churn less
- Expand their purchases/relationships to other/new products or services you offer
- May overlook product shortcomings
- Are more likely to forgive occasional/infrequent service shortcomings (just make it right, though!)
- Cost less (in marketing, advertising, promotions)
- Have fewer complaints
- Provide feedback and want to help you improve and succeed
- Become technical support for you by helping other customers (answer questions, solve problems)
- Will evangelize the brand for you
Customer loyalty is an asset that creates ongoing company value and higher profits.
All of this adds up to a strong case for building a culture around customer experience. It’s key to cultivating your online reputation, upon which many buying decisions are made.
It’s not easy to create positive lasting impressions.
It was once a rare occasion to see grocery store employees stocking shelves but now it’s commonplace. I’ve had many friends in the grocery business and stocking shelves was just something you didn’t do in front of the customer. Why? Because it makes it difficult for the customer to shop! Why would you knowingly promote processes that create obstacles for your customer to complete their purchase?
The point is to treat the customer as the most important person in the world when they are in your store. Welcome them as though they are a guest in your home.
This approach not only resolves immediate customer service issues but also fosters a culture of respect and responsiveness that can set a company apart in the marketplace.
The case of the invisible customer: what’s happened to the focus on the customer?
The disregard for customers, as seen in scenarios like the car dealership and grocery store, can often be traced back to the underlying company culture. This culture is shaped by several key factors that collectively influence how employees interact with customers.
Employee Attitudes and Values
Frontline employees’ attitudes significantly affect customer interactions. If employees are not valued or are constantly under pressure without adequate support, they may adopt a transactional approach to customer interactions, focusing on task completion rather than customer satisfaction. This attitude is often a reflection of the company’s internal values, where metrics and efficiency are prioritized over quality customer service.
Management Practices
Leadership plays a crucial role in setting the tone for the organizational culture. In companies where disregard for customers is prevalent, management may fail to lead by example or provide clear customer experience policies. The absence of effective training and recognition for excellent customer service leads to employees feeling undervalued and disconnected from the company’s mission, which in turn affects their interactions with customers.
Internal Communication
Inadequate communication within the company contributes to poor customer service. If employees aren’t kept informed about policies, product updates, or changes in procedures, they cannot communicate effectively with customers. Moreover, if there is no mechanism for feedback or open communication between staff and management, issues related to customer service go unaddressed.
Organizational Values and Priorities
A company’s core values are crucial. When these values do not align with customer-centric principles, it sets a foundation for neglecting customer needs. Organizations that focus solely on profit margins, cutting costs, or meeting quotas without considering the customer experience cultivate a culture where customers are seen as secondary.
Manifestation in Employee Behavior
These cultural issues manifest in behaviors such as indifference towards customer queries, reluctance to go beyond the basic job requirements, or ignoring customer discomfort. For example, in the grocery store scenario, employees focusing solely on stocking shelves during peak hours without acknowledging customers is a direct result of prioritizing operational tasks over customer service.
This is also present in the car dealership scenario. The first person to greet the customer was focused solely on the task of transferring him to someone else. The second person, who works on commission(!), also prioritized the task by starting the Repair Order (the transaction), rather than acknowledging the customer’s immediate need to be heard.
Nobody likes to feel unheard. No body.
Impact on Customer Experience and Company Relationship
The cumulative effect of these inadequate cultural factors results in a degraded customer experience, leading to frustration, dissatisfaction, and often a loss of loyalty and sales. Companies with such a culture often see high turnover rates, both among customers and employees, and struggle to maintain a positive public image.
In a winning organizations, transforming company culture to prioritize and respect customer needs is essential. Businesses must cultivate an environment where positive attitudes toward their customers’ experience are nurtured, management practices are aligned with care and service excellence, effective communication is standard, and organizational values celebrate customer satisfaction as a key to success.
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