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A “Holiday” Wish for You: Every Customer Receives Amazing Customer Service

Top Ten List

As usual, this customer service article is being published on Wednesday.  However this particular Wednesday is Christmas day.  So, in the spirit of the holiday season, I thought it would be nice to share my holiday wish for you and your company.

In addition to health, happiness and peace on earth, my wish for you this holiday season is that your company delivers amazing customer service to every customer every time.

That is a simple wish, and most likely you will agree, a good wish.  I checked with Santa, and he said that I should be more realistic with my wishes.  I really did ask Santa.  Okay, it was at a company Christmas party, and though the guy looked like Santa, and he dressed like Santa, his real name is Bob and he is the VP of Customer Service for the company.

Is customer service hard?

Most people would say, “NO.”  Then why don’t more companies, if not all companies, deliver better customer service?

The answer is that customer service is hard.  It is the concept of customer service that is easy.

Everyone knows what they are supposed to do.  I have said it before “Customer service is common sense that unfortunately is not always so common.”  As simple as some of the strategies and tactics that go in to creating a customer centric culture, it takes effort to execute.  That said, here is a Top Ten list of the common sense things that might go into fulfilling my holiday wish that every company deliver amazing customer service.

Everybody is nice.
The company hires the right people, with the right attitude and the right personality.
Everybody knows that their internal customers are as important as the outside customers.
The company’s leadership act as role models for what customer service should be.
Everybody treats their fellow employees like they are customers, maybe even better.
Employees are engaged.
Employees are empowered to think “outside of the box” to come up with ways to better serve the customer.
Employees are fulfilled.
Employees are knowledgeable and trained – both in technical and soft skills, like customer service.
Employees are enthusiastic about their jobs, what the company does and about their customers.

And, if Santa would only grant me one wish, it would be that every company Amaze Every Customer Every Time!

Happy Holidays, and may 2014 be your most amazing year yet!

What would you add to my list of how to deliver amazing customer service?

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of December 23, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

Customer service: which brands really get it? by Ben Davis

(Econsultancy) Aside from the web giants making a virtue of customer experience, which brands have made recent commitments to customer service?

Let’s take a look at a few of them. Thanks here to Steven Van Belleghem, as I found these examples from this slideshare of his.

My Comment: One of the things I like about this article is that the companies used as role models for the concepts listed here aren’t your typical customer service rock stars. The other thing I like about this article is the lessons we can learn from these companies.

Can You Recognize a Customer Service Culture? Do You Have One? by Flavio Martins

(WinTheCustomer!) Employees and customers experience your customer service culture in different ways and it’s that complex nature of culture actually drives its power in transforming and inspiring people.

My Comment: This article made me think of culture in a different way: the culture and the brand promise are connected. Most would agree that leadership tries to define the culture, and if they are successful, it is what helps drive a company’s long term success. We want a good culture that makes our company a good place to work. Ultimately that is felt on the outside by the customer. But, maybe culture is a little like a brand. Leadership may try and create it, but the employees and customers define it. It’s the employees’ and customers’ perceptions that count. The best companies have a culture that is congruent with their brand promise.

A Look Back: 5 Customer Experience Trends from 2013 by Noreen Seebacher

(CMSWire) In retrospect, 2013 may go down as the year marketers shifted their focus from broad, amorphous groups of customers to targeted, personalized, omnichannel, shared experiences for each one. It was, in many ways, a seismic shift in attitude, powered by five key customer experience trends.

My Comment: All five of these customer experience trends (together) may not apply to every business, but I bet there isn’t a business out there that isn’t impacted by at least one of the them. One that I think that most businesses can latch on to is the concept of “personalization.” Customers want to feel appreciated, respected and recognized for their business, and one powerful way to get there, that will also create customer loyalty, is personalization.

Customer Service can Make or Break a Company [Infographic] by Brian Wallace

(Business2Community) Offering quality service can be a competitive advantage that translates into increased sales and greater customer loyalty.

My Comment: This would be a good infographic to print out and hang up for every employee to see. It makes the case for customer service. However, making the case doesn’t mean the employees will deliver. That still takes training and more. And understanding the importance and power of customer service is great place to start.

Richard Branson on Finding Talented People Who Can Grow Your Business by Richard Branson

(Entrepreneur) The long process of building up your company’s bench strength starts with the daily practice of letting employees take on challenging responsibilities beyond their current roles. All you have to do is listen to their ideas and give them the power to make the best ones a reality. Building their skills is essential to your company’s long-term success.

My Comment: I think the point of this article is clear. If people have talent in a particular area of business, and it is combined with a passion for it, that is a winning combination. Nurture that to grow and watch the people succeed. This is what creates fulfilled and engaged employees, which is good for the company and its customers.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

 

 

 

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Guest Blog: Never Reward Employees for Outstanding Survey Scores

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Jeff Toister writes about employee motivation.  Taking care of your employees is key to success.  As I always say, what’s happening on the inside of an organization is being felt by the customer on the outside! – Shep Hyken

The Westin Portland is one of my favorite hotels. Their warm and attentive associates always make me feel welcome and you can’t beat their location in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon. I’ve stayed their many times over the years and have come to feel like the hotel is my home away from home.

When I started writing my customer service book in 2011, I interviewed then General Manager Chris Lorino to learn some of the hotel’s service secrets. One of Lorino’s strongest beliefs was that you should never reward employees for achieving outstanding survey scores. He felt it was important to build a team of people who naturally wanted to serve guests at the highest level. In Lorino’s opinion, a reward system would inevitably get in the way.

Both leading research on employee motivation and Lorino’s own success as a General Manager suggest that he is absolutely correct.

Rewards vs. Recognition

It’s important to differentiate between rewards and recognition. The purpose of this post is to demonstrate that employees shouldn’t be rewarded for outstanding service, but go ahead and recognize them all you want.

Rewards are if-then propositions. The prize and the criteria for earning the prize are spelled out ahead of time. For example, if you average a certain score on your customer service survey, then you will get a gift card.

Recognition is unexpected reinforcement of results that have already been achieved. An example would be giving an employee a gift card out of the blue to thank them for achieving a high average score on their customer service survey.

Eyes on the Prize

The biggest problem with rewarding employees for good customer service is it takes their attention away from providing outstanding service and re-focuses them on winning the prize.

We’ve probably all seen examples of the behavior changes this can cause:

Directly asking customers to provide the top score on a survey
Selectively encouraging only highly satisfied customers to complete a survey
Submitting phony surveys to bolster scores (yes, this happens)

The Goal is not the Goal

What’s the purpose of conducting a customer service survey?

When employees are rewarded for achieving a certain score they may act as though achieving that score is the ultimate goal. However, most customer service professionals will tell you that the survey is really a tool that can be used for continuous improvement.

Here are a few ways that focusing solely on a survey goal might prevent continuous improvement:

Employees may care less about service failures if the average looks good.
It lessens the need for analysis to identify customer pain points.
Employees may stop trying if they feel there’s nothing left to prove.

Let’s imagine a survey of 100 customers where 90 are satisfied and 10 are unhappy. If my employees are focused on achieving a specific target, they may feel great about a 90% customer satisfaction level. However, they’ll be much more eager to find out how to win over the other 10% if their true focus is continuous improvement.

So, how do I motivate the team?

If you want to learn more about the science behind rewards and employee motivation, check out Daniel Pink’s fascinating book, Drive. Pink’s biggest point is that the true motivating factors are purpose, autonomy, and mastery. Let’s look at each one in a customer service context:

Purpose

The very best organizations have a clear and compelling customer service vision that describes the type of service they’re hoping to provide. It’s amazing what happens when the whole team is unified around a common objective.

Autonomy

Nobody wants to be micromanaged. Give people the resources, training, and authority to get the job done right and then get out of their way and you’ll see people taking responsibility for the results they achieve.

Mastery

We all want to be good at what we do. Help bring out the best in employees through coaching, training, and continuous feedback and you’ll find that people will step up to the challenge of becoming the very best they can be.

Jeff  Toister is the author of Service Failure: The Real Reasons Employees Struggle with Customer Service and What You Can Do About It, a book that reveals hidden obstacles to outstanding service. His company, Toister Performance Solutions Inc. helps clients identify these obstacles so they can improve customer service.

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An Amazing Customer Service Idea: The Five Dollar Lifeboat

Celebrate the Success

Tom Glenn, a second generation owner of a chain of Ace Hardware stores, tells a wonderful story about his father, Elder Glenn.

One day an agitated customer came in the store and walked up to Elder and stated, “I have a problem.”  It turns out the customer bought two items that each had a $5.00 rebate.  The customer claimed he did exactly what he was supposed to do to get his rebates, which was to mail the receipt and the code on the package to the manufacturer.  The rebates never showed up, and the customer was upset.

Now, it wasn’t Elder’s fault.  It may have been lost in the mail, or perhaps the customer did make an error.  However, it became Elder’s problem – a problem he planned to solve.  And, he did so quickly, easily and with no hassle to his customer.  Elder simply went over to the cashier and asked her to take two five dollar bills out of the cash register.  He handed them over to a surprised customer, who had obviously expected a confrontation.

From that point on Elder had a customer – and a friend – for life.  Every time the customer came in the store he would seek out Elder to just say, “Hello.”

Elder would go on to use this example in one of his team meetings.  He shared this story and referred to it as the “Five Dollar Lifeboat.”  The lesson to his associates was that for just five dollars he turned an unhappy customer who might never come back that might be worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars into a loyal fan of the store.  He gave permission to his employees to use the Five Dollar Lifeboat whenever necessary to take care of a customer.

There are plenty of companies who have similar Five Dollar Lifeboat procedures.  The Ritz-Carlton comes to mind with their Two Thousand Dollar Lifeboat.  Okay, they don’t call it a lifeboat, but similar to Elder Glenn’s concept, an employee of the Ritz-Carlton has the ability to spend up to two thousand dollars to take care of a guest who has been wronged.

Both Ace Hardware associates and the Ritz-Carlton employees have been trained to understand how and when to put this tool into action.  In order for this, and just about any other customer focused concept to be effective you must:

Properly train employees.
Empower, which means trust, the employees to do it right.
When they do it right, celebrate the success.  If they do it wrong, make it a teachable moment that doesn’t erode their confidence and trust in the system.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of December 16, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

4 Brilliant Ways to Maintain Customer Loyalty by Comm100

(Business2Community) According to a report from Flowtown, it is 6 to 7 times more costly to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing customer. Therefore, it’s equally important, if not more, to cultivate and maintain loyal customers while attracting new customers. Here are some tips for your reference.

My Comment: If customer loyalty is important to you (and I know it is), then you can’t go wrong by paying close attention to the four points brought up in this article. Great information!

What Makes Amazon Customer Service So Satisfying? by Tricia Morris

(Parature) So what makes Amazon’s customer experience so satisfying? With more than 225 million customers, what does the big brand deliver (by drone or the old-fashioned way) that others don’t? Here are five items that create the total package for Amazon.

My Comment: There is so much to learn from Amazon, and this great article form Parature teaches us a few of the tactics and strategies that Amazon uses to create customer evangelists. While I agree that the five things listed here are important, and may be exactly what Amazon does to be so successful, a sixth strategy could have been added regarding a focus on employees. That’s a big part of driving a positive customer experience. That said, this article is a must read for anyone interested in creating an amazing customer experience that turns satisfied customers into customer evangelists.

7 Employee Engagement Mistakes to Avoid in Uncertain Times by Vicki Hess

(Becker’s Hospital Review) Here are seven engagement-crushing mistakes to avoid from healthcare leaders across the country. Focus on employee engagement today so that your organization is still prospering in the future.

My Comment: Just seven mistakes? There are many mistakes that managers and leaders make when it comes to employee engagement – actually non-engagement. The best companies know how important it is to engage and motivate employees. The benefits are that employees are happier, work harder and do a better job of taking care of customers. How many of these mistakes are we guilty of? I love it when a perfect score is ZERO.

The 9 Dreaded Words Of Any Customer Service Director by Jeremy Watkin

(Communicate Better Bog) The 9 dreaded words of any customer service director are “Let me speak with the head of customer service.”  A while back I wrote a post titled The 6 Dreaded Words Of Any Contact Center Agent: “Let Me Speak With Your Supervisor.”  Little did I know I would have a second part to that post one day.

My Comment: The customers are getting smarter. They no longer want to speak to a supervisor. They want to talk to an executive. This article maps out a conversation that should never take place. However the reason it might in any organization is because the employees haven’t been empowered to deliver customer focused solutions. They have to get approval, or in some cases, have to say “no” to the customer. One solution is to have a culture that is about “One person to say YES. Two to say NO.” That means that the front line is empowered to come up with solutions. The reason to see a supervisor (or VP of customer service – or even the CEO), is because they have to say “NO” to the customer. It takes good training to show an employee the range of opportunity they have to take care of a customer. This strategy could eliminate those dreaded words.

How to Deal with Unhappy Customers by Nunzia Falco Simeone

(Zopim Blog) Having unhappy customers might be a second chance in disguise. Here are some tips to help you deal with unhappy costumers.

My Comment: Here is a refreshing and simple reminder about what to do when you have an unhappy customer. I file this one under common sense that isn’t always so common.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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Guest Blog: How a Poor Manager can Sabotage a Strong Employee’s Ability to Provide Great Service

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my friend and colleague Eric Chester shares an experience that illustrates how important it is for management to support the front lines. The three considerations he shares at the end of the article are important for a successful customer service experience. – Shep Hyken

Kyle (age 21) handles the scheduling, appointments, estimates, and all payment transactions for the auto service center near my office.  On a weekday morning at 8:16, I call to inquire about getting my vehicle in for shocks and an alignment.  Kyle politely tells me that if I can bring it in within the next 30 minutes, he’ll have it out by 11:45, in time for me to make my lunch appointment.

I agree and head out immediately.

I arrive at 8:37 and notice that there are already three customers in the waiting area in front of me. Kyle is working fast and furious to make certain each gets their questions answered, receives an accurate estimate, and signs the required paperwork to begin the job.  With so much to do, Kyle is multitasking like a one-armed paperhanger in a stiff breeze, and he’s trying to make everyone feel like they are important and will attend to them shortly.

Kyle’s friendly, knowledgeable, and he seems to be very competent at keeping so many plates spinning at once. However, as I observe him more carefully, I can detect a subtle level of frustration brewing under the surface.

He’s working solo throughout this rush and it’s got to be incredibly stressful to take such good care of the four customers in the showroom while, at the same time, being constantly interrupted with questions from his service techs, while, at the same time, handling an endless stream of phone calls from prospective customers.

Eventually, it’s my turn and Kyle begins by apologizing to me for the delay while looking over my shoulder to acknowledge the two additional customers that just walked in.

“I don’t know too many people that are working harder than you are today, Kyle.” I said to him.

Something about my statement must have made me appear like a therapist, as Kyle took a deep breath, shook his head, and began to offload his stress.

“I’ve been here for over a year and it’s like this every day.  Every day, man!  They tell me to give friendly personal service to every customer and to suggest other things we can do for their car, but when they don’t staff anyone else to help you, and they don’t provide a voice mail system to help handle the barrage of calls that come in from the ads they place, you wind up playing the incompetent fool. Ultimately, no one gets the service they expect or deserve…I say I’m sorry a thousand times a day…and I can’t wait for my shift to end.”

I’m no therapist, but it doesn’t take Dr. Phil to realize that Kyle is not going to be working here in six months.  (Heck, I’d be surprised if he made it six more days.)  And when he finally quits, this national big box retailer will attempt to find another Kyle to plug into that position.

It’s a crying shame, too.  Because if Kyle had just a little support from upper management, he’d be a safe bet for long-term employment. Imagine how much better he’d be with five more years’ experience!

If management in this operation would observe what I did, they’d be the ones listening to Kyle, and they’d most certainly provide him with the resources (another counter person, etc.) and the tools (voice mail, etc.) he needs to succeed.

By supporting Kyle, their customers would get a much improved service experience; the kind they’d tell their friends about.  And those referrals from delighted customers would have a substantial impact on revenues, decreasing their reliance on expensive couponing and marketing gimmicks to get new customers into the store. Not to mention the repeat business from their existing customers.

Unfortunately, this story isn’t going to end like that. But yours can.

Here are 3 essential considerations you must act on to ensure that your front line associates are able to provide the customer service experience you desire:

ARM YOUR TROOPS WITH THE 3 T’s – A respected General would never send his troops into battle without the weapons they need to win.  Make certain your foot soldiers have the resources they require (tools, technology, & training) to provide the kind of service your customers deserve.
WHEN IN DOUBT, OVERSTAFF – While you certainly want to keep an eye on your labor costs, don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish by scheduling one front liner to do the work of three.  This is a sure-fire way to disengage your service providers.
LISTEN TO YOUR PEOPLE – You survey your customers, but are you taking the same measures with your front line associates? How are you able to determine if you have frustrated Kyles that are itching to leave, or who have given up trying to delight your customers? Your managers should be asking for feedback from their staff on a weekly basis—and more importantly—acting on that feedback.

POST NOTE: Kyle apologized again when he called at 2:18pm to tell me that service to my car was finally completed.  He said one of his techs went home sick and that he had to install the shocks himself.

Eric Chester is an award-winning keynote speaker and the author of Reviving Work Ethic; A Leader’s Guide to Ending Entitlement and Restoring Pride in the Emerging Workforce.  This is the only book available on the topic of developing work ethic in young employees. Eric can be reached at 303-239-9999 or www.EricChester.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @eric_chester or at Facebook.com/RevivingWorkEthic.

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How to Create a Customer-Centric Culture

Deliver Great Customer Service

Creating a Customer Centric-Culture.  That’s a lot of words that begin in C.  Well, this article is about D’s.  Growing up, in school a D wasn’t a very good grade.  And, where I went to school, sometimes a D was slang terminology for a demerit, which meant I spent a Saturday morning at school in study hall.  Not a great way for a kid to spend a Saturday.  However, you and your company will want the following D’s, especially if customer service and building a customer-centric culture is important to you.  And, I know it is!

The Six D’s of Creating a Customer-Centric Culture

Define it.  Customer service is part of your brand promise.  It is what you want your employees to deliver.  It is what you want the customer to experience. Make it clear and make it simple.  For example, Ace Hardware, known for their customer service, is known as the “Helpful Hardware Place.”  They have defined customer service as being Helpful, and in their hiring, training and customer interactions, they make it clear that Helpful is what they are all about.

Disseminate it.  Don’t keep it a secret.  Just because you’ve defined the customer service experience, at this point it’s just lip service.  Now you must train your employees on how to deliver it.  The Ritz Carlton hotel chain has laminated cards with their “credo” and several other important core values printed on it.  Each employee carries the card with them, and in many cases, has memorized it.

Deploy it.  It’s time to execute.  The employees have been trained.  Now it is time to implement and act on the customer service initiative.  Everyone must know it and be on board with it – even people who don’t have any contact with your customers.  They have internal customers who they support.  Customer service is everyone’s job.

Demonstrate it.  Now that everyone knows it and has been trained, everyone must demonstrate it.  Leaders must, through their actions, show everyone how it’s done.  And, everyone else should do the same.  Everyone becomes a role model for how to deliver amazing customer service.

Defend it.  If you see someone doing anything contrary to what you want the customer to experience, you step in to help.  This isn’t about reprimanding or calling someone out for doing something wrong.  This is a teaching opportunity, and treated as such, creates a culture that comfortably empowers employees to deliver great customer service.

Delight in it!  Take pride and delight in the success you have with your customers.  Celebrate the success of the company and individuals who have demonstrated amazing customer service.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of December 9, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

7 Things Stew Leonard’s Can Teach You About Your Customers by Noreen Seebacher 

(CMSWire) Forget data driven decision-making and advanced analytics for a moment. Maybe the best way to measure customer experience is the simplest — and is crystalized in a single cup of lemonade.

My Comment: Stew Leonard’s is a customer service icon. There is much to learn

from the way they do business. Here are some of the classic reasons they

are so successful. Any business can adapt these ideas.

Are Customer Loyalty Programs Right for Your Business? by Ivana Taylor

(QuestionPro Blog) Whether the stores are grocery, retail chains or food establishments, it seems as if customer loyalty programs are more popular than ever. And with the marketplace being more competitive than ever, perhaps customer loyalty programs really do keep customers for the long-term. Let’s look at how the programs work and how you can start one for your business.

My Comment: Are loyalty programs really loyalty programs? Or are they marketing or discount programs? As mentioned in this article, the best companies have a loyalty program that offers more than points and other incentives to come back. They offer value. In the end, it is value that makes a customer truly loyal.

7 Critical Social Media Challenges for Contact Centres by Cassie Bendall

(Sentiment) We’ve also decided to collate our notes, back them up with a wealth of recent statistics and create a really useful infographic (below) which highlights the seven key challenges you’re likely to experience with integrating social into the contact centre.

My Comment: While this article and infographic has a theme of how social media is impacting contact centers, I think it is important for any type of business and every department to understand the impact social media is having on a company’s brand and perception.  Great stats and facts for all businesses to take note.

Happy Birthday! Two Words Customers Love by Chad Brooks

(Business News Daily) Wishing customers “happy birthday” is an easy way to earn their repeat business, new research shows.

My Comment: This is so simple.  Why don’t more companies do it?  Saying “Happy Birthday” by sending a card is a fantastic touch point.  All customers like to feel appreciated – and remembered!  What better way to do it than to say, “Happy Birthday.”

5 Common Mistakes That Derail Your Customer Experience by Flavio Martins

(WinTheCustomer!) It’s always wiser to learn from others’ customer service mistakes and not your own. If you don’t watch for the little customer service traps, you’re bound to fall like the rest.

My Comment: I love a good list of ideas, strategies or tactics that make me think about how to improve, especially when it comes to the customer experience, and this list does exactly that. Many companies fall into the trap of making not just one, but potentially all of these mistakes. And as the fifth “mistake” points out, none of these can be fixed quickly. They will take time to fix, but the effort will be worth it.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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Guest Blog: Actions Really Do Speak Louder Than Words

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my friend and colleague Annette Franz Gleneicki shares a famous quote relating to the customer experience.  I couldn’t agree more with how important honesty, integrity, and trust are in every aspect of business and life in general. – Shep Hyken

It was Mark Twain who said, “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” This has become my favorite saying, both with regards to customer experience and to life in general.

I’ve used this quote recently with my kids, and it’s an important code to live by. It speaks to honesty, integrity, and trust. It’s something that is just as important to your business and how you interact with them as it is to your friends and family and those relationships. As a matter of fact, if we raise our kids on this principle, perhaps they’ll become a part of the solution and never have to question the intentions of businesses of the future. We can only hope.

Why do I bring this up now? I have a few examples that I want to share that, pardon the pun, speak volumes on this topic.

In October, Debbie Laskey wrote a blog post about an experience she had at Office Depot that was celebrating a grand opening; what struck me (and her) was the sign on the outside of the store; it states:

“NOW OPEN. Be a part of our new experience.”

What exactly does that mean? It seems that sign would set an expectation that, perhaps, great things are in store. Based on Debbie’s experience, Office Depot needs to work on various aspects of the experience, not the least of which is the employee training.

The sign reminds us that actions speak louder than words. If you have to say that you have a new experience, a great experience, or focus on your customers, then I’m suspicious. Just show me… don’t tell me. And then disappoint.

Next, Bernadette Jiwa wrote a post around the same time that elicited the same response.  Her post takes a different angle, but it conveys the same message: “You can market all you want, but in the end it’s your intention, not your marketing that shines through. The truth is that people will know and that’s not a drawback, it’s an opportunity.”

Don’t tell me what you’re going to do to try to make me love your brand, show me. Especially once you tell me, don’t disappoint – or else, game over. Now you’ve lied to me; how am I supposed to trust you in the future?

Here’s a different example. A few days ago, I saw a Blue Shield of California (BSC) commercial where they touted that they were for the second year in a row. What does that mean for the consumer? BSC was awarded for their ethical business practices, but how does that translate to the actual customer experience? Apparently the two are not entirely related, as they received an “about average” rating for overall experience in the latest J.D. Power and Associates rankings.

Customers have their own expectations, but when you influence or raise expectations as a result of your words, your marketing efforts, then you need to deliver.

Expectations – Performance = (Dis)Satisfaction

Last year, Shep broached this topic from a different angle, and I like his closing statement:  Actions do speak louder than words. And when the words make a promise or set an expectation, meeting and exceeding that expectation is the big step toward creating “Customer Amazement.”

Amen to that.

Talk doesn’t cook rice.  -Chinese Proverb

Annette Franz Gleneicki is a customer experience executive focused on improving both customer and employee experiences. Through her blog, CX Journey, Annette shares her passion for helping companies understand the importance of the employee experience and its role in delivering an exceptional customer experience, as well as how to transform their cultures to ensure the customer is at the center of every conversation.

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Charging Your Customer for Loyalty

Loyal Customers

Companies covet customer loyalty.  They understand the benefit to having loyal customers.  Statistics show, over and over again, the financial advantages to customer loyalty, versus the continuous quest for new customers.  So how do some companies achieve customer loyalty? 

The company creates a loyalty program that tracks their customers’ purchases and rewards customers for their repeat business.  For example, airlines give their loyal passengers early boarding privileges, free upgrades and points toward free trips.  Or a sandwich restaurant that gives the customer a free sandwich on their tenth visit.
And, there are companies that build relationships and deliver a level of customer service that is so good that their customers wouldn’t consider going anywhere else.  Personally, this is my favorite.
Then there is a third way. The customer pays the company for the privilege of being a part of their loyalty program. What a concept!  Seriously, this is powerful, if not interesting.

AMC Theatres loyalty program, called AMC Stubs, charges their customers $12 a year to be a member.  That’s just $1 per month.  What do customers get for that?  AMC waives fees for online movie ticket purchases, credits the customer $10 for every $100 spent and gives free upgrades to larger popcorn and drinks.  So, if you are the customer who paid to be part of the loyalty program, why would you waste your money and do business with any other movie theatre?  Most people wouldn’t.

Then there is my favorite, the Amazon.com Prime program.  Amazon actually refers to this as a membership program, but many of their customers, along with industry experts, consider this to be a loyalty program.  For an annual fee of $79, the customer gets free two-day shipping, free movie streaming and Kindle book rentals.  There’s no tracking about how much business the customer does with Amazon.  The benefit is the same for the customer who buys one $10.00 book as for the customer who spends thousands of dollars on merchandise.  So, how can this really be considered a loyalty program?

My take on it is that the customer spends enough money on the program that they will think twice before doing business with one of their competitors.  The customer may even look for reasons to do business with Amazon, just to take advantage of the membership fee.

And, here may be the most important part.  To get customers to pay this fee, Amazon has to do two things so well, that the customer views the $79 fee to be a bargain.  First, they are amazing retailers and sell what customers want.  Second, they deliver amazing customer service. That’s a winning combination.

So, here are two questions for you to consider:

Is your company so good that your customers would be willing to be loyal to you with or without the incentive of a loyalty program – or even be willing to pay to be a part of a loyalty program?

If the answer is “Yes,” you are in some amazing company.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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