I've just got hold of the pre-published version of the 'Best Practice Guide for Customer Service Managers', written by a highly regarded expert in customer services in the UK. What is interesting is how much more advanced customer services is now than, even say, two years ago.
Customer services is going to be a crucial differentiator in these challenging economic times, so for businesses to survive they really can't ignore the need not only to train their people, but to understand the theory and real application of customer services today. The times are a-changing, and we must, in all aspects, change with them.
Although many people assume that good customer service is a 'no brainer', it still astonishes me how many people just have no sense of customer service at all. The checkout lad who is soooo bored you can just see his disinterest oozing from every pore, the telesales person who sounds cross when you say you don't actually want to take their call right now thank you and perhaps even the traffic warden who swaggers up to you just as you reach your car and the ticket is about to expire...
Are people so secure in their jobs that they think they do not need to treat their customers with respect, and with at least a little dignity? No, of course not, but in these three examples (all real), there is a motivator behind them.
The checkout boy is doing this job just to earn money before he goes to Uni, he has no vested interest in the company's success or desire for a career in this organisation. The telesales girl is on a target! My 'no thank you' is a dent in her performance record, and targets are getting tighter and harder and... The traffic warden sees himself as an enforcer. I am a wrong-doer, not a customer!
Now the book I am reading (I've only just started so no in depth review here) focuses far more on the higher principles of customer service, but you have to take it back to grass roots.
Perhaps, even, it goes deeper than that. Is there a dysfunction in how we interact as people throughout society, not just in the customer/provider situation? There are many who would scream 'yes!' and cite examples of rude behaviour, lack of manners, simple disregard. Oh, and I'm not guiltless, I let a customer wait for a product without contacting them and didn't check that it had (in fact had not) been dispatched. Result: one unhappy customer, one cancelled order. Yes, I have learned from this experience! Personal circumstances are irrelevant, whatever my excuses, I should have got on the phone or emailed and let the client know what was happening, even if it was 'nothing'. People are usually fine if they are kept in the know.
'Fixing' society is a massive challenge and one which will need addressing before we all disappear into our own virtual 'hubs' of existence, and only connect through electronic means. But we can certainly address behaviour issues at work and give that lad who is studying to be an architect a sense of worth, in the value of a job well done whatever he is doing, even if it is just checkout! Who knows, that guy he helped with the cracked eggs may be someone important in his intended industry...
All speculation, true, but by taking control of customer service in our organisations, by applying the premise of respect and understanding (and, of course, training and following the right Best Practice guidelines), it will have a knock-on effect in our whole society. Yes, customer service takes effort, but the rewards are very possibly survival against closure in this harsh economic climate.
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