"Peggy" and his staff... at your service!

Saw this this morning and had to post it. Pretty telling, and, frankly, these ads should be effective… and it’s all about service. Go figure. How many of us have gotten to speak to “Peggy?!?”

Too many… Enjoy the article, and be sure to view the new spots at the link at the end of it. You’ll laugh… you’ll cry… and you will RELATE…

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Discover Launches New Advertisements Featuring Customer Service

“Peggy” Ads Highlight Discover’s Superior Service, Taps into Consumer Frustration with Industry

RIVERWOODS, Ill., Aug 16, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Discover Financial Services today launched a new advertising campaign that highlights the superior, award-winning customer service Discover offers its cardmembers. The new advertisements will strike a chord with consumers who have endured poor customer service across industries while highlighting the best-in-class customer service that Discover cardmembers experience.

“Customer service is a key component of Discover’s long-standing commitment to delivering the best rewards, service and value,” said Julie Loeger, senior vice president of brand and product management at Discover. “These ads portray the common, frustrating experiences we’ve all faced with customer service calls and emphasize the difference good service can make. We believe that by featuring our promise to answer calls in 60 seconds or less by real people who are trained to solve problems on the first call, we will continue to differentiate ourselves to existing and prospective cardmembers.”

The television advertisements, which portray a likable but incapable customer service representative named “Peggy,” are the focal point of a marketing and communications strategy designed to convey the value of Discover’s superior customer service. The ads will remind viewers of some of the most common and frustrating experiences with customer service calls, such as long hold times, excessive call transfers and the inability to solve problems.

The ads, which will debut on August 16, will run on all four major networks on popular shows such as America’s Got Talent, The Office, Parenthood and the Emmy Awards. The ads will also run during the season premieres of The Amazing Race, Mike & Molly, Undercover Boss, The Event, Chase, Outsourced and Outlaw. The ads will also be featured throughout Discover’s sponsorship of all Notre Dame home football games on NBC, as well as during the Discover Halftime Report.

In contrast to Peggy’s inept approach, Discover will be introducing featured videos of real Discover customer service representatives sharing stories about their experiences helping cardmembers to solve problems. Highlights and content from this campaign, as well as from the Peggy television advertisements, will be shared via Discover’s social media channels.

“We believe, particularly at this moment in time, that customers are re-thinking what they look for in a credit card partner,” said Loeger. “Ultimately, they have a choice and do not have to settle for bad customer service. Our goal with these ads is to demonstrate to consumers that we understand their frustration with poor customer service and to encourage them to switch to Discover.”

The advertising was developed in collaboration with The Martin Agency and can be viewed at http://mcdpartners.com/discoveradvertising/indexq3-2010-peggy.php.

I have taken up the revered mens pastime of shaving with a “real” razor over the past few months. The Double Edge, or DE razor has been around for a loooong time, and gives me a better shave – closer, less razor burn, and more fun than what I’ve been doing for the last twenty or so years – using a Gillette Sensor in the shower.

As with any hobby or niche, you find that the internet is a vast wealth of information on about everything. I quickly realized this with traditional wet shaving, and with a process called “Method Shaving.” Method Shaving is basically a pattern of shaving that is supported by a series of unique products that, bottom line, will give you the closest, most comfortable shave of your life. Seriously. I won’t get more in to it here, but will give you this link if you want to learn more: Clickety.

Charles Roberts, the man who created the Method Shaving system (or the RMWS, Robert’s Method of Wet Shaving) and the Hydrolast products is passionate about his craft and his business. Charles is a paramount example of how true passion about one’s work contributes exponentially to exceptional service. He and his wife Jean own Enchante, a store devoted to Mens wet shaving, Womens fine fragrances, candles, and other related items.

My experience with Charles starts with my wonderful wife and kids wanting to get me a new badger hair shaving brush for Christmas. This was an incredibly thoughtful gift, and quality badger brushes are not cheap, and are also somewhat difficult to find. They searched high and low – really low, in some cases, as often, men’s wet shaving supplies are in Pipe, Smoke and Cigar shops… places we do not usually support or visit. They were unsuccessful in their quest for a fine badger brush, until my eldest son came to the realization that Charles Roberts’ shop, Enchante, was actually here in Austin where we live. They decided to take me down there – a sort of pilgrimage to meet the man behind the Method…

My wife called the store one Saturday to see if it was open, as Weekend hours were off-and-on. There was no answer. She was going to try again, when a few minutes after her initial call, the phone rang. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was Charles calling back to let her know they were open, and there. How’s that for personal service?

I was still in the dark, but the family told me to load up and they were going to take me somewhere. We ended up in downtown Austin on Congress and 6th at One American Center, behind the statue of Angelina Eberly firing a cannon. We ended up at Enchante and it clicked for me.  My wife told me I could go in and pick any badger brush I wanted. I had realized where we were and that I could likely get a Shavemaster – the brush of brushes, the apex of badger shaving brushes old and new… OK, suffice it to say I was excited.

Upon meeting Charles, he promptly told us I couldn’t buy anything. “I could sell you a $150 brush and a bunch of other stuff but I’d rather you learn this and decide for yourself if you really need them.” His honesty was surprising and disarming.

What? Wait… Christmas… I want a cool brush… huh?

Charles then began a dialogue about the history of shaving, the philosophy of shaving, the *science* of shaving… we talked for over an hour. His passion, knowledge and experience with something as simple as shaving is contagious. So instead of running in and buying a brush and jamming, we were there while Charles told us of the philosophy of the RMWS old and new, and how it has evolved in to what he uses today, and that it can be done in six minutes… The man is completely engulfed in shaving.

He still wouldn’t sell us anything.

Charles insisted that I watch a video, the one linked above, before I buy anything, and that I come in for a clinic where he would teach me his technique of Method Shaving 1×1 and with real beards and blades. I agreed to come in…

As we were about to leave, Charles just up and gave me a cube of his soap, a little tub of shaving paste and some cutting balm, and told me how to use them… He basically gave me a starter kit of his Hydrolast products and told me to try them before the clinic, and to be sure to come with at least 24 hours of beard and questions.

Service? I went in to spend my money, and he ended up giving me samples of all of his core products, an offer for a free class, and lots to think about. He knew that if I were serious, I’d be back. He wasn’t after my money, he wanted me to enjoy his wares and his process first. THAT is SERVICE.

Needless to say, my son and I went in for a clinic the following week, where we were both taught what I call RMWS2 – the Roberts Method of Wet Shaving v2.0 – Like any good technologist, Charles has morphed and evolved his methods and products to be faster, more comfortable and flexible as time goes on. We had a great time learning… and it was free. Charles shares his exuberance and experience with anyone who wants it.

With my wife’s blessing and as my Christmas present, I purchased a LOT of Charles’ Hydrolast products after the clinic, including each of the things he sampled for me, a new razor, and a Shaving Cloth. I never got that high end badger brush I originally was taken to the store for.

Charles has since asked me how it’s going, and followed up with offers to teach us more… and we will take him up on those.

I can honestly say that I have NEVER received better, more personalized service ANYWHERE from anyone. Charles Roberts and Enchante have become my new benchmark for exemplary personal customer service.

…and my face? Well, let’s just say I have no reason to want a beard any more. I used to want them because I hated shaving. Now I really enjoy shaving, and my kids enjoy Daddy having a face free of “sharp pokies.”

I haven’t bought a car for a decade. For me, my experience with the process of car buying has been akin to a bad root canal given to you by some shady character in a back alley. I detest the whole “let me waste your time and play little emotional sales games with you and go check with my sales manager who’s watching you from the other side of that mirrored glass on that” game. I just don’t enjoy it, but the time had come for us to either keep feeding a ten year old SUV’s aches and pains or get a new vehicle. Through the whole process, I’ve been taking a few notes… of course.

The bottom line, is that sales is a service. A good sales person makes the sale an enjoyable experience for the buyer. Support after the initial sale, however, is what truly makes or breaks a deal.

The internet has changed car buying, at least the initial part. We did most of our looking online. Reading countless safety reviews and weeding choices out based on their number of safety stars. That eliminated a LOT of cars, surprisingly. From there, I filled out the online forms – often it seems, auto dealers will not give you a price, even a sticker price online without you providing contact information. For me, that is a disservice – if you want me to save your salespeople the time, give me a price online.

I settled in with three distinctly different sales people on three different dealer sites… and things got interesting.

Act One: The dance…

The first sales-service example I have is the CRM generated email spam guy. After the first contact, I received emails daily (or sometimes twice a day) letting me know that he was here to help. They usually began with “It’s been two days since we last spoke…” or something else similar and time bound. Amazingly, I felt pressure from his mails to reply… and be quietly annoyed. I suppose the service lesson there is to use automated CRM systems with prudence… and from a customer perspective, realize that these mails are coming to both keep you interested and the salesperson in contact with you. One thing to note as well – it doesn’t help if you copy and paste a lot and forget to delete another interested customer’s name and personal note. Thanks, but my Mom doesn’t drive, thus I’m not buying her a car, and nobody has ever called me Joan before.

The second sales-service example I have is the honest and genuine sales guy. He’s a rare breed. Man, he was refreshing. After the first email contact, this sales person did everything and more to get me what I wanted. He kept my best interests first – to the extent of seeing a model come in that he thought would fit my family and shooting me a personal email. All of his mails were personal, no cut and paste, no obvious use of a CRM system. He went over and above to check on things for me, to get a great deal from the man behind the curtain known as his sales manager, and to really connect with me. If I could have picked anyone to buy a car from, this guy was him. Unfortunately his manufacturer/model was not what we needed, and was not available in any configuration that would work for my six-person family. I actually feel bad for not buying a car from him. He truly put my family needs and interests first and appeared honest and genuine. That is key. Joe Mullins at Mazda of Georgetown, I really appreciate all you did for us, and apologize for not being able to buy a car from you! If anyone wants a Mazda in Central Texas, Joe is your guy. Seriously.

Lastly, there is the genuinely good salesperson that is competent at his job and a good guy. This is the one we ended up buying a car from. The sale was more of a function of the particular vehicle and price than anything else, but from a sales perspective, the selling interaction was pleasant. I didn’t get what appeared to be auto-generated emails, but did get prompt responses that addressed my questions. When we decided to go down to the dealership and test drive, the car was ready and waiting. The service during the sale was consistent and easy, and up until the actual “signing of the papers,” which I’ll get to. All in all the initial sales experience was predictable and consistent. I would buy another car from him. Thanks for the help, Cory.

It was later, when we went behind the curtain that things changed.

Act Two: Going behind the curtain

Once the sale was made, it was time for the signing of the papers and whatnot. You know how it is – if you have ever bought a car, you have to deal with the finance people. We were led to a little office where the finance manager had prepared numerous options of upsell warranty coverage on this new vehicle we were trying to purchase. We were two hours in to the transaction already, and the natives were getting hungry. She was as well, and let us know every minute or two that her McDonalds fries were getting cold while she dealt with us. OK. Got it. We’re hungry, too. Get on with it.

We were presented four or five options of additional warranty coverage for this new vehicle that raised the agreed upon monthly commitment upwards of a hundred bucks a month.

Wait. The car has a 3/36 Bumper to Bumper, 5/60 power train warranty, you are also giving me a “lifetime” warranty that has been advertised and you want me to pay more for more warranty insurance? Consider me wavering on this deal.

When I declined all but a simple gap coverage plan, the Finance Manager slyly called in the big guns, hoping we did not catch that quick telephone interaction so she could later play the good cop.

Enter the worst sales service experience I have ever received in the form of Denis Chavez, the Finance Director of San Marcos Honda. He handed me a business card and sat down…

Act Three: In jeopardy

Denis the Finance Director came in to “check on the deal” and thank us for our business. At least that was what he presented, which was not the truth. He was there to scare us in to buying more third party warranties, and he began his job almost immediately.

He sat down, and as I reiterated my decision on the offered upsells, he set in on us. Did we know that an A/C unit on these cars cost $2500? Even the extra tire and rim coverage plan – did you know that the rims have electronic sensors that can cost $200 each and the tires cost $300 each?

I reiterated my past love and success with the longevity and quality of Hondas we have had – and he said “Yes, but they were not Pilots. These are much more complex and expensive.”

So, what you are telling me in essence is this complex and expensive car that I have decided upon with significant influence from the brand’s history of making cars that DON’T break is going to break. Plant the seed of fear. Thanks.

It went further. Mr. Chavez actually argued with my bride when she asked him about this and told him he was basically portraying this vehicle as a lemon that was just going to cost us lots of money to repair when it breaks, because it IS going to break and we need to buy additional warranty coverage to be safe.

At this point my wife was done. I was 80% done. We were seconds from getting up and leaving the dealership with no vehicle. Frankly, I’m not sure why we didn’t. This sales as a service interaction had gone completely south, and just as I had experienced before, buying a car become hellish, and we were being abused and scared in to a pressure purchase of an add-on warranty that is basically just cash in the pocket of the dealership. All of the hard work of the salesman was about to vanish due to an overly aggressive old school salesman trying to pad the deal with a few extra bucks.

I don’t know why we signed. We didn’t buy any other additional warranties, but I still don’t know why we even stayed. Had it been any other day of the year or any other circumstance, I would have walked out based on the abuse and fear tactics in that back room, with the smell of cold McDonalds fries lingering in the air.

My wife now has no confidence in this new vehicle because of that interaction. Seriously. What started as a cool, family event to get a new vehicle has now been relegated to driving a car that is brand new, wondering when it’s going to start falling apart on us, because the Finance Director basically said it was going to. We went from being devout brand loyalists to doubting everything this new car is and should be.

Closing Act: Lessons and thoughts

That is how to not conduct a post-sales-service deal. It is a prime example of how the best sales person can be completely undermined by your post sales processes, policies, and even other people in your organization. Service MUST permeate your entire organization, at the expense of a few dollars now and then.

So I challenge you who read this to do one thing – look at your service-support people and their processes. What can you change in your organization that is a level past the sale or service that would both support and enhance the customers’ experience?

I suspect that simple rules like “never argue with a customer” or “respect the customer” are too easy and easily forgotten, or at least easily tossed aside when the rubber is about to meet the road… but they shouldn’t. Make them a part of your service culture and reap the rewards, for there are rewards to be reaped, directly from places like where I spent my Thursday afternoon last week, at San Marcos Honda.

… and my new Honda Pilot will hopefully prove that Honda quality has not declined, and that it is a well built and long-living vehicle in spite of this interaction.

Service – I’ve often thought that it doesn’t matter what the business is, every business is capable of bettering their relationship with their customers. What matters is just that – the relationship. An honest, caring relationship with your customers is an absolute key to success.

My wife and I have a long term relationship with froyo – frozen yogurt. More than twenty years ago, we used to go to Country Culture yogurt in San Luis Obispo in college – that store is still there, a testament to good business… but that’s not what this is about – We live 2500 miles away now, but our love for good frozen yogurt is still there. The trend these days is the self serve, pay by weight frozen yogurt “bar.” There are a number of them in the local area. We had been frequenting one of the more popular ones in a trendy multi-use apartment/restaurant/retail space for a while when our daughter found a new one opening up in Cedar Park TX, just a few miles away via the blessing and curse that is our local toll road. We figured it would be a fun little family dessert to go try… The rest is funny family history, as we have never been back to the other one… Berry Cool is where we get our yogurt. Our daughter had found a gem.

Berry Cool Frozen Yogurt is a franchise – well, sort of. There are two stores (there is another one in California.) Aside from that, the store is what I would call “All Jay.” Jay is the owner/proprietor of Berry Cool. He has a great story about being an unfulfilled corporate attorney looking for meaning in life… and finding it as the owner of a frozen yogurt shop. I firmly believe that is part of the key here – he loves doing what he’s doing.

The thing that really sets Berry Cool apart from other froyo shops locally is Jay’s enthusiasm and absolute genuine care and concern for his customers’ satisfaction, fun, and even their personal lives. Jay is constantly mingling with customers, handing out sample cups, sitting down and chatting, just being and interacting with the people that are buying his yogurt. You go in, and you are greeted, and if he’s there and in the store proper, you will have a conversation with Jay – don’t try to avoid it, you can’t. He’s been known to follow people out of the store just to chat and ask them how it was, because, well, he cares.

To me, that is the real key here – Jay cares. Service is, at a very primal level, nothing more than caring about your customers as people. That care shines through and permeates this little shop, and you can tell that his employees are treated with the same care and compassion as the customers, so of course, they also provide great levels of service with good attitudes and real enthusiasm.

A great example of this caring was shown a couple weeks ago when we were in there – it was our youngest daughter’s birthday the day before, and Jay found this out in his normal conversation with us – he immediately asked her what her favorite flaver was, and disappeared. A couple minutes later, he comes out with a cup of yogurt, complete with a candle, and shuts the lights off in the busy store, and has everyone sing to her for her birthday.

You want to make a six year old’s day? Give her a cup of dessert with a candle and then get your patrons to sing Happy Birthday to her. You want to make a parent’s day? Same deal. You want to bring people back to your store? You got it… same deal. It’s all about caring.

Don’t just take my word for this one – seriously. I was looking for the address to the store and came across the Yelp reviews… read them for yourself.

Caring service will bring me back to a store. Sometimes two or three times a week in this case…

Why is it so easy for the Jays of the business world to create customer experience and loyalty through caring, and so difficult for others to behave this way? If we could bottle the caring and enthusiasm of people like this, your business would improve. I believe that while it’s not bottleable, it IS trainable. Train your customer facing employees to be empathetic, show genuine caring, and your business will get it’s just desserts – while I am getting mine, at Berry Cool Frozen Yogurt in Cedar Park TX.

Photo from the Austin American Statesman photo blog.

Strip away process and policies that do not allow your employees to serve customers… I say it all of the time.  There are also times when you need to make exceptions to policies that are meant to protect both customers and employees. This is one such example.  See the link below.

Good Deed Gets Punished

Customer loyalty is really important in today’s world. There have been numerous studies done on the cost to source new customers versus the cost to keep the ones you have, and the results are ALWAYS that keeping customers is easier and more profitable. That makes sense, so why is it so difficult to do?

There is a reason I (and thus my family) have been a member customer of AAA for over eighteen years. Way back when, we were brought to the company by a family friend who was an agent in Porterville California. Duane was a guy we went to Church with, that my wife knew since birth, and he took care of us as family. It’s easy, or easier, when you are a friend or family member, but we left California shortly after that and have lived in four or five places since. Oddly enough, every interaction except one over eighteen years has been a good one. The one that wasn’t was more about a phone agent who didn’t know the rules in the state we were in, as she was in another one. The service after we got that runaround was timely, well mannered and accurate, as expected.

Whenever I call, I am thanked for my years of being a customer. I think that’s cool, and more so because, well, I write things like this about serving customers, and IT MATTERS to me as a customer. I like that they recognize I’ve stuck with them. Hopefully my rates reflect that, too. I’ve never checked… hmmmm.

A few weeks ago, my eldest child was involved in a mutual backing parking lot kiss. He was, a bit freaked out, as every driver in their first (however minor) fender bender is. He called and was doing everything he should have, and to make matters worse, the other driver just left, not wanting to exchange the pertinent information (which, by the way, is technically hit-and-run in Texas… but that’s another story.)

His little endeavor has exposed me to another insurance company – I won’t mention any names, but there’s this little green gecko that is on TV… Well, that company’s adjustor and agent have been flat out rude, in writing and in person. Amazingly so. Suffice it to say I will never entertain their services if I ever am in the market for insurance. Ever.

Back to AAA. The agents handling the claim were really, really nice and personable, and thankfully, when they talked to my son, were also extremely professional and not condemning or condescending. Thanks for that, Laura Hill and Justin Doby. I appreciate both of you. Your tact and reassurances are appreciated. Laura and Justin were the voice of AAA for us in this last interaction.

Think about it. The insurance business is all about service interactions. Seriously. Insurance is basically solely based on service interaction.

That leads me to the “face” of the insurance company – no, not the salesperson, although they are part of it. Sales is one thing – service is another and embodied the person who you see and shake hands with when you actually NEED the insurance. This interaction is where the rubber meets the road. This face is usually the person we know as “the Adjustor.”

Last year we had a major hail storm like nowhere we’ve ever lived (Welcome to Texas!) Our roof, gutters, and various other house parts got pummeled. Seriously obliterated. A guy named Bruce Lott was our adjustor for that. He made that interaction. His reassurances and ease of doing business made that endeavor tolerable. Thanks Bruce. I should have written before now, but seriously, Thank you. I had some damage to my car then as well, but the interaction with the body shop was a whole different experience.

Why did I not write about AAA before? Well, you know how it goes. There are some things you mean to write about, but you just need someone to push you over the edge to do it.

The face of the insurance company for the last little fender bender was a guy named Jeff Ervin. He is the one who pushed me over the edge. He’s the Adjustor for autos in our area. His business card doesn’t say adjustor, I guess they’re called Material Damage Appraisers now. Whatever. Regardless, Jeff is the most recent face of AAA when I needed my auto insurance.

Jeff scoped the damage to the bumper of our car and chatted with my son and wife. He put my son at ease, and is all about making the customer’s experience a good one. Dealing with a messed up car is stressful. He eased that stress for my son. That’s huge “Customer Service Points” for me, but that was a few weeks ago. I still hadn’t written this, although I had thought about it.

It took one more push to get me writing.

I talked to Jeff again this morning as he assessed the hail damage to my little commuter car. Yeah, we had another storm this past spring. Oddly, on the exact same date as the one that got our home a year earlier. (Note to self: March 25th, 2010, be ready for hail in central Texas. BIG hail.)

The interaction this time started via me ignoring Jeff on my phone (not really) and him following up via email to set up the appointment. Email works for me. In short order we had an appointment. Quick, easy and cordial. We set the time last night, and he was there this morning. On time. We had said between 830 and 9am, and it was like 835 when my doorbell rang. Punctual is good. I like punctual. Showing up on time or providing a service when you say you will is a service interaction in itself.

Fifteen minutes later (max) he had the info he needed, and we chatted about how I would get the damage repaired, and he helped me out by explaining some differences in the way Texas works than the other states we’ve each lived in. Help me navigate these waters of getting my car fixed and make a personal connection. Now I’m sold. That, and I am confident that I’ll be able to take care of this. He told me exactly what to expect, set my expectations for the rest of this service interaction and was off to his next appointment. Personable, personal, friendly, efficient and setting of reasonable expectations. He did it all. So far, this is a textbook good example of a successful service interaction, and I am confident it will end up as one. Thanks Jeff.

So the bottom line? What can we learn here? AAA treats me like a valued customer, and valuable human being. A customer for eighteen years? Yeah, because they treat me like they value my business. I’m not looking to change. What if you could keep customers for eighteen years? How would that affect your business? What could you do to KEEP people happy with your services? Start by letting your employees treat customers like human beings, and tear down anything – attitudes, rules, processes, and policies that inhibit such behavior. That might be a good start.

I found this on the NPR website after reading a little about this book elsewhere. Looks like a must-read.

You can listen to the NPR article there – Head over to NPR and listen!

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Facts And Tips from ‘Your Call Is (Not That) Important To Us’

by Emily Yellin

10 Unexpected Facts About Customer Service

1. Americans make an estimated 43 billion calls to customer service per year. That’s an average of 143 calls per year for every man, woman, and child in the United States. That means every second of every day, 1,363 Americans are making a call to customer service.

2. Mark Twain wrote one of the first letters complaining about customer service in 1890. He called his local telephone service “the very worst on the face of the whole earth.”

3. The Customer Rage Study found that about 70 percent of customers feel rage toward companies about service problems. And they react in one or more of these ways: 57 percent never do business with the company again; 28 percent yell or raise their voice at a company employee; eight percent curse, eight percent threaten legal action. Fifteen percent say they want revenge on the company, but only one percent report getting it.

4. In 1882, a Cincinnati man’s phone privileges were revoked for shouting “damn your telephone” when an operator connected him to the wrong number. He sued and lost. Swearing at telephone operators became illegal in many places in the U.S. And in 1902, a doctor in St. Louis was arrested, put on trial and found guilty of using abusive language toward an operator. He was fined $5.

5. After India, the Philippines is the second most popular call center outsourcing destination for American companies. Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe are also up-and-coming call center outsourcing destinations for American, Australian, and Western European companies.

6. The average cost to companies for an American-based, customer service agent is approximately $7.50 per phone call. Outsourcing calls to live agents in another country brings the cost down to about $2.35 per call. Having customers take care of the problem themselves, through an automated response phone system, averages around 32 cents per call.

7. Cell phone companies and cable companies generally have some of the lowest customer satisfaction ratings. Internet retailers and overnight shipping companies have some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings.

8. The technology that call centers use to monitor recorded customer phone calls was first used by the National Security Administration and CIA to search international phone lines for terrorist activity. Speech analytics now lets call centers detect what their customers are thinking and feeling during customer service phone calls.

9. One place where live human beings always answer the phone lines and recorded operators are never used is the Vatican’s call center. Switchboards are staffed 24 hours a day by nuns who are members of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master.

10. Amtrak’s automated telephone agent, Julie, answers about 50,000 calls per day, or 18.3 million calls per year. The Boston-based actress who is the voice of Julie, is also the voice of 800-lines at a number of other major companies.

Six Tips for Calling Customer Service

1. Document all calls

Make note of the time you call, are put on hold, and finally get through. Write down everyone’s names, and ask how to spell them, to show you are paying attention. Make notes on all that is agreed. If you have to backtrack with supervisors, saying, “I called at 10:24 on Wednesday the 10th and spoke to Angela,” is stronger than, “I called sometime last week.”

2. Remember your call is a business transaction, not a personal relationship

Even though they are complete strangers, some customer service agents can make us more angry than our closest friends and family. Remind yourself, and the agent, that you don’t know each other. Their insults and disrespect are not really about you. And your criticism or anger is about the company not that agent.

3. Encourage the agent to work with you (not against you) to solve your problem

This one is pretty Zen. And in some cases it may be impossible. But calls often start out with customers and agents on the defensive, because of unpleasant past experiences on both sides. Recognize that potential and don’t get blindsided by a particularly unhelpful agent. There are probably circumstances way beyond your control, or the agent’s, for that agent’s attitude. So work to get the agent on the same team as you, and maybe the company will follow. In the long run it is in the company’s best interest to resolve your issues to your satisfaction as quickly as possible.

4. Recognize your value as a customer, and use it, but don’t abuse it

Figure out how much you spend with the company each year — $100 a month is $1,200 a year. Don’t let the agent or supervisor disregard that worth. State your case unemotionally, and grounded in the facts. You spend money with this company. You are not getting paid to call them with this problem. In fact, you paid to be their customer. But the agent is getting paid to listen to and resolve your problem. Just remember, the agent might have to deal with 100 or more customers in a day. So try not to throw your weight around in a way that alienates the people charged with helping you.

5. Not all companies care as much about customer service as we might want

Some really backward companies still view customer service as merely an inescapable nuisance. Realize that most of the world is moving on from that retro view. You might not get better service, but you probably will be more likely to support companies with a cutting-edge customer service approach. Eventually laggards will be forced to catch up or fade away.

6. If all else fails, appeal to a higher power

Not a divine power necessarily, but when talking with agents and supervisors turns futile, take your story to the top executives — many in large corporations have people in their offices who deal with customer issues. Also, the internet has become an outlet for customer complaints. You can Twitter about the company or visit other consumer complaint sites that some companies monitor, such as Get Satisfaction or Consumerist. The internet can be the way out of a customer service dead end.

Adapted from Your Call Is (Not That) Important To Us, courtesy of Emily Yellin

If you take this place and feed the words in to a word cloud generator, this is what you get…

Make your own word clouds at www.wordle.net

I just had a tweet hit my phone. Okay, I have lots of them hit it… but this one was different. It wasn’t Darth Vader trash talking the Rebels, or McCain commenting on the latest meeting he’s in. It wasn’t the usual prose from a fly fishing writer buddy pondering the meaning of life on a small stream somewhere in the world… or even my daughter’s facebook status update that she posts via twitter.

The tweet I am referring to came from Dan Haseltine (scribblepotamus), who’s job is to sing for Jars of Clay. He has a modest following on the social phenomenon that is twitter of just under 2,700 followers.

The message was simple, and to the point – a factor of the 140 character limit imposed by twitter:

scribblepotamus “Is confident that the airline industry is the least customer friendly and they don’t care… More to come”

So there his subscribers were, hanging on the “more to come…”  Sympathetically pondering something we all likely have experienced in one way or another. Six minutes later, more did come:

scribblepotamus “AA wouldn’t give a flight credit to our crew member who had to change a flight cuz his wife went into labor. Hmmm… Not helpful at all”

That simple message hit roughly 2,700 people within seconds of the event that inspired it. One random act of poor service, and WHAM! We now have a situation, and a company, and the seed has been planted.

This chain of events got me thinking. What is the real implication of the new Social Media and customer service? Can it be measured? Even more importantly, for a truly exceptional service company or provider, can it be LEVERAGED? I recently asked a good friend in the business of studying leadership and the continuum of human behavior about how his company is using Web2.0 media. Then this happens with twitter. I’m not sure where my mind is going, but feel free to join me.

This also jogged my memory – I have my own AA story that I may share someday that would begin with “There’s really no good place to sleep in the airport in New Delhi…”

Social Media and Customer Service. I’ll get back to you on this one. In the mean time, feel free to post or email your thoughts.

Dan, I’m really sorry about the lack of service your crew member received, but really appreciate the tweet. I hope Dad, Mom and baby are well.

This article is relevant… and posted here with permission from my friends at the Center for Leadership Studies (www.situational.com -  the single most influential management and leadership training program I have come across in the seventeen years I’ve been doing this…)

1. Adapt to the “New Normal” —  Eventually all great strategy translates into work – take action before analysis paralysis sets in.  Don’t let a short-term trend or a sudden disconnect derail your strategic thinking.   Innovative companies do not abandon promising strategies; they adjust to the times. Adaptation to the “new normal” is an essential leadership skill.

2. Leadership Wins – The number one reason people stay motivated through tough times is the same as the number one reason why people abandon hope  – the leader.  People are tuned into their boss, not the organization.

3. Identify Customer Pain – If there is a “new normal” your leadership must recognize that pain shifts or new types of pain may arise in your customer base. From the board of directors to the delivery dock, your people must be sensitive to these changes. Your leadership must have the skills to absorb input and take proactive measures to address the changes in customer pain.

4. Stick to Your Values – Do the right thing – short cuts and compromises may be tempting but don’t abandon the values, the quality gains, the core processes that built your business. Play your best strengths better and honor your history.

5. Believe in Your Leadership – Remember that effective leadership training generally focuses on your most talented and valued employees in high-impact roles. These are the key people to lead you out of a recession and the people at the helm during prosperous cycles, but if people don’t believe in your leaders they won’t follow.  You need to believe in them first and show others that you do by investing in them.

6. Believe in Your People – Maintain and support the right staff with the right attitude. If layoffs need to occur, don’t go purely by seniority – now is the time to get rid of the saboteurs and the dementors. Will your people break in the face of adversity…or will they break records?

7. Take Advantage of Opportunities – A downturn in the economy means that many doors are slammed shut. However recessions bring a wealth of opportunities as markets shift. Well trained leaders are able to see the larger picture and drive innovation.

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