SERVICE QUALITY | Measure Only What Matters
December 20, 2009
I was going over a new survey program with a customer recently, and I had requested to see the results from any previous customer surveys. The client proudly pulled out a survey, and the corresponding report.
Proudly, he said, “I created the survey myself, and we’ve used the same version for the past 10 years!” I almost fell off my chair. The survey was four pages long! In 10 point type! There were a total of 129 questions!
I was almost speechless! His main complaint was the low response rate, which translated into a very high cost per survey received. I asked of all the data on the survey, what are the ten items he looked at first. “That’s easy”, he said, “I only really look at the customer satisfaction number.”
My response was swift. I suggested that he basically cut his survey to three to seven questions. Ask only what really matters to his business. Ask no marketing or demographic questions. Only customer satisfaction questions.
If you look at progressive organizations known for their customer service from retailers like Nordstrom, online stores like Zappos.com, to service providers such as Merry Maids and restaurants like Outback and specialty retailers like Honey Baked Ham they all have one thing in common. They only survey customers on what they need and want to know!
For more information on this, and other service quality measurement tools and tips, please visit ServiceQuality.US or Service-Quality.com
SECRET SHOPPERS | So, You Want To Be a Secret Shopper, PART 2
December 19, 2009
Show me the money!
Hey, I would like to think our mystery shoppers are altruistic and interested in bettering the levels of service that all customers receive, but the fact is: they all do it for the money, too!
A general rule of thumb that we use is that we pay our secret shoppers at a rate of $40 to $60 per hour, depending on the complexity of the assignment. (Just as with any other job, you don’t generally start out at the highest level of pay…) That being said, it’s important to understand that we go on the presumption that the jobs are next to each other. For instance, a job that takes 10 minutes, may pay $10.
Another consideration is what you, the secret shopper, gets out of the shop. For instance, if you receive a full meal for four people, there most likely won’t be any additional compensation in addition to the reimbursement of the purchase.
Mystery shopping is best considered a part-time job. While there are a few secret shoppers that make a full-time effort, it is a lot of work and travel to do so. On the other hand, taking a few moments out of an already scheduled trip to the mall or enjoying a dinner for free is a great way to enjoy the perks of mystery shopping.
CSM – CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGEMENT | The Brush Off
December 19, 2009
We’ve all seen it. A customer is “hogging” a sales representative with non-business related conversation. I’m a big fan of talking to your customers. I’m an even bigger fan of actually listening to their answers. However, when you’ve got a customer who is monpololizing a representative’s time, you need to train them how to gently move the customer on.
If you leave it to chance, you’re really taking a big risk. The employee may not be as tactful as you would like. The customers waiting my disappear, and your sales will suffer.
Keep in mind that some people are just chatty. Some people are lonely, and this may be the only human contact they receive. (My Uncle goes to IKEA daily and walks around the place, all floors, daily. He calls it his gym) There’s no need to be rude or impatient. Most reasonable people will step aside and go on with their business once made aware of the developing queue. Work on strategies for all types of customers.
Take a few moments to talk to your employees and see how they handle these situations. You never know, you just might learn a thing or two. If you don’t like what you hear, offer alternatives on how to handle these delicate situations.
CSM CUSTOMER SERIVCE MANAGEMENT | Are You Afraid?
December 18, 2009
There’s a disturbing trend amongst service professionals. A growing number of businesses, such as plumbers, auto repair, and dentists, no longer give a pricing estimate over the phone. The will be happy to come out or have you come in as the case may be, for a price.
The other evening I needed a plumber to assist me on a problem with a rental property. Nothing a good snake wouldn’t cure. I called six local plumbers. All but one, Roto Rooter, refused to give me a price on the phone, but offered to come out to the house for free. Now, I have to tell you, I was tempted to invite them all to come out and give me a price. I wonder what kind of bidding war they could get into? (I bet they would just drive away when they saw the competition’s truck!)
However, Roto Rooter does lend a lot of support to one of my favorite TV shows, Ghost Hunters, and I figured that they would give me a price that was fair, albeit higher than the least expensive. Besides, they were at least willing to let me know the cost of the service before they showed up. They won my business.
So my advise is simple: If you (or the person answering your phone) can’t articulate why you’re better than the competition, then you’ve got some training to do!
SECRET SHOPPERS | So, You Want To Be A Mystery Shopper: Part I
December 18, 2009
Around the holidays, we always see an influx of new mystery shoppers. Some are great, others not so great, and I wanted to give ou and idea of what we look for in our secret shoppers, or service evaluators.
First and foremost, you need to be honest and reliable. If you don’t show up for a assignment, or don’t follow the directions, you’ve cost us both money. In most instances, if you blow off an assignment, you won’t get the chance to do another for us.
Secondly, you need to possess good common sense. This will take care of a number of problems we’ve seen shoppers experience.
Thirdly, you need to pay attention to the details. Every interaction has thousands of points of potential satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Your job is to see them.
Finally, you need to enter each shop with a clear mind and no preconceived notions of the outcome. Your job is to observe, not judge. If you go into an assignment looking for trouble, trouble is what you will find.
In future posts, I’ll talk about the process and give you some additional helpful hints.
For more information, you can always visit our web sites; www.ServiceQuality.US or www.Service-Quality.com
SECRET SHOPPING | What Time of Day Is Best?
December 17, 2009
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the time of day a mystery shop is performed. In particular, clients want to know if there’s a “best time” to have a secret shopper visit their location. My answer is simple, “All times!”
Now, that’s just not the business owner in me talking. Most businesses have a different look and feel, given a particular time of day. Assuming that you have customers when you’re open, that’s when you should have shoppers present.
Shoppers will notice lights that are out or not working. Shoppers will notice employees who are not quite awake. In general, shoppers will see the forest through the trees.
Just as I advocate having a mystery shopper program 12 months a year, during both the slow and busy times, I commend those organizations that shop morning, noon, and night. Your customers are there, why would you not measure your service skills execution.
You’ll find more useful information at either www.ServiceQuality.US or www.Service-Quality.com, our two main web sites.
MYSTERY SHOPPING | Paint the Picture
December 17, 2009
I was looking at a new client’s previous mystery shopping results. I was really surprised at what I saw. There were a number of training issues that needed to be addressed. However, because there was no tracking of the results over a period of time, just individual reports, there was no easy way to identify trends.
They organization is relatively small, but their provider should have been looking out for them. In a relatively brief period of time, I made a couple of suggestions that are already making a difference in their scores. I would expect that these changes will translate to a better customer experience, higher customer loyalty, and more sales.
If you’re not trending what you’re tracking you may be missing the whole picture!
CSM – CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGEMENT | Are You Using Common Sense?
December 16, 2009
It never fails to amaze me when I am dealing with someone over the phone, or in person, and the only tools they are authorized to use is the “company line”.
I was dealing with a situation, which common sense would say highlighted a simple clerical mistake. “But that couldn’t be” the friendly phone representative said to me. “Well, then how would you explain it?”, I asked. Her answer — “I don’t have any idea, but I’m sure it’s not our fault!” I didn’t care whose fault it was. I just wanted it corrected. I asked if I could speak with someone who would be able to correct the problem, to which she replied that there was nobody who could fix the problem, as none existed.
This went along for awhile, and I finally gave up. I mean, what can you say to that? I’m sure this is the anticipated response, surrender. I didn’t give up, I started writing letters. Until the issue is resolved, regardless of fault, I will keep writing!
Do you empower your employees to use their common sense? Do you encourage it? Take a look at your customer complaints and try to identify which ones could have been solved on-the-spot with a little dose of old fashioned common sense. You’ll save customer relationships, aggravation, and thousands of dollars in wasted time.
CRM CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | When Times Are Tough
December 16, 2009
Perception is reality. A majority of the world, despite what you may hear on the evening news or read in the newspaper, is leery, at best, at the state of the economy. When I read the headlines about mega-financial institutions yanking a bonus trip for the “troops” after public pressure made their phone ring, it makes me sick!
In the first place, a note to all those “talking heads” that love to hammer away at a target like this. The damn trip was already paid for! Anyone who has ever booked group travel will attest that the money is spent a long time before anyone shows up at the door! What’s more, Wells Fargo had to make it up to the employees who had earned the trip in the first place! Frankly, the cost per person of the incentive was minimal in the scheme of things. Bottom line, instead of standing up and saying that the trip was paid for months, or years ago, they slumped down and cancelled the trip. What a crock!
On the other hand, when I hear that a company who needed the TARP funds to survive, has an average salary of $700,000 for 31,000 workers I am appalled. In case you need a math refresher, average is where you add up everyone’s salary and divide by, in this case, 31,000! I don’t care who you are. In this economy, you should be ashamed to accept your check! As for the boards of directors for these free-spending companies, they should all be given permanent residence at a penitentiary near you. Their lack of guidance, and social responsibility makes me sick.
You may be asking yourself, how does this fit into customer relationship management? It’s easy. Your customer’s impressions of your organization are formed on many levels. In this case, I don’t care how nice the person in the local branch is — I’m not going to do business with a bunch of folks that are so out of touch. I’ve heard from many others that feel the same way.
The bottom-line is to watch what’s going on around you and be aware of the impact that it may have on your customer’s and potential customer’s loyalty to your organization.
CSM CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGEMENT | How Do Your Customers Communicate?
December 15, 2009
In the olden days, you would send a postcard or letter acknowledging a birthday or other special recognition for a customer. This was time consuming and expensive. What’s worse, most of these were so generic that they did nothing to convey any sense of personalization, and build loyalty.
Flash forward – the future is here! If you’re not already, you need to study how your customers are communicating. Heck, you can even ask them! Do they constantly check their email? Do they “tweet”? Are they on Facebook? Linked In?
I recommend being where your customers are. Plus, capturing a little information that will allow you to personalize and tailor each and every communication just to that customer. How? It’s easy! Just ask some simple questions to start – birth month and day, favorite menu item, etc. Then, when you communicate, refer back to this information as appropriate.
You’ll be amazed at teh positive response when you send meaningful communication to your customer. Your task really is to build the value into each and every interaction.
