The stories are legendary when it comes to poor customer service received at DMV offices. I suggest the same can be said about cable companies.
Just last week my wife and I visited the local cable service office. It was a simple visit....upgrade some services. We picked a perfect time (if there really is one) to go as there was no one in the Melbourne office. Our lucky day...two customer service representatives at the counter and no line.
Great start as they acknowledge our presence. Then the clerk proceeded to cleaning her workstation while telling us she would be us in a minute. No problem as who knows there could have been a previous customer with a cold or cough.
Finally we are ready to do business. We explained we were returning a digital converter box so we could add another digital recorder. As there were a couple of options she stated she would research and let us know the comparisons.
I understood what was happening. My wife understood the conversation.
And then the lingo got confusing. We struggled through it but I knew this was not going well when she remarked to my wife "It's OK, your husband understands."
In the end the original comparison was never delivered. I guess we did not need it.
We left with the service we intended to get although the process was less than ideal and not short of frustration.
As a consumer I recognized what I considered to be poor service or, at a minimum, a customer service experience that was below my expectations.
For those of us in the customer service business we should take our own experiences and apply lessons learned to our daily routine.
So what are my lessons learned?
1. Understand what the customer is seeking from us. Do not assume the consumer has a thorough knowledge of the products and processes involved.
2. Deliver what you say and confirm the consumer understood and got answers they were seeking.
3. Use language and terms you are certain your customer understands. This includes not changing to synonyms later on assuming the customer understands them as well (i.e. short sale, distressed sale, CMA, FHA 203(k), escrow, etc.)
4. Never assume all is well because one of the parties to the transaction understands! Above all else this was particularly the worst part of the experience in my opinion. If your customer ever feels like you are being condescending its game over.
5. Know who the decision maker really is... When the clerk told my wife it is OK it was not. I really was not too concerned about the new equipment nor its capabilities because all I need is my remote.
6. There are always other options. In this case the product was cable services and not real estate. Unlike cable and cell phone, service in real estate alternative resources are common. I went back to the provider because I had few options.
Of all the above items number six is key.
In real estate just because you closed a deal with a consumer does not mean they will ever call on you again or recommend you to another consumer.
It is all about the customer experience.
Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Comments(73)