Keys to Customer Service

bMost organizations have groups of people that work together to serve customers. Over the last two years we in the Student Financial Services office have learned that there are five keys to providing exceptional customer service:

1. Create a team mentality
2. Define a shared vision
3. Cross-train and empower front-line staff
4. Invest in personal and team training
5. Improve systems and processes

We found that in order to be successful each of the steps must be accomplished in order with a firm foundation laid before an organization can move to the next step. Something to keep in mind, however, is that once you have created a team mentality you are not done with that forever. This mentality must be nurtured, strengthened, and cultivated. The stronger it is the better the service provided. This is the same for each step. It is a continual process of improvement. To ensure that we never forget that, my team and I have two mottos: "There's always a better way" and "Everything we do MUST benefit the customers". These are what we live by. As we make plans, we focus on our mottos. As we are executing those plans, we are constantly evaluating if we are living up to our mottos and how we can continue to improve (there's always a better way).

During October I'll elaborate on each step with some ideas on how to begin working on each. They are all common "cents" but most of us just don't take the time to step back and think about it. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you are thinking anf especially if you have something to contribute.

Shepherding

A large part of customer service is shepherding. Customers often are unsure of what they actually want. They come to you expecting you to help them, to guide them to the answer or solution to their respective question or problem. The trick for those of us serving the customer is to not only help them with what they say they need but ascertain what they REALLY need and help with that too. If we fail to accomplish this, even if we help them with what they requested, they will not be fully satisfied with the interaction. I need to take a moment here and clarify, not every customer will have the underlying need that must be met. Sometimes a request is simply that. We must use wisdom to figure out when a question is simply a question and when it is not.

The simplest way I have found to discover the unspoken need is to ask questions and then actually LISTEN to the responses. Listening is probably the hardest customer service skill to master. If you are unsure what questions to ask just ask the first relevant, kind thing that comes to mind. With practice you'll quickly learn what questions to ask and when to ask them. Don't be afraid of the customer, most are very patient when they can tell that you are trying to help and that you care.

To tie this post in with its title I'll use a parable. Shepherds spend more time listening to their sheep than talking to them. When a lamb gets lost it will bleat for help. If the shepherd is listening to its lambs (the customers) it will hear their cries for help and come to the rescue. The sheep trusts the shepherd because it knows that he cares and is there to help. The same is true for our customers. If they know that we care and are there to help (which they learn by our listening and helping them solve what they REALLY need) they will trust us and will come back again and again. It's common "cents" really, and that's how we make our pennies.

Miracle on 34th Street

One of my favorite parts in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" is when Kris Kringle, acting as the Macy's Santa Claus, begins directing parents to other stores to purchase toys that Macy's doesn't carry. The parents love and appreciate this. Macy's management is at first upset and then realize all of the goodwill it is creating with their customers and adopt the practice throughout the store.

I remembered this part of the movie this afternoon as I was speaking with a friend. He was recounting to me an experience that one of his friends had recently with a college admissions office. This friend is thinking about going back to school to finish their bachelor's degree. They were speaking to an admissions representative at the college they were originally planning to attend. The two were discussing prior credits, plans for the future, and the reason for going back to school. After discussing all of this the admissions representative did something out of the ordinary: he recommended that they attend another university to complete the bachelor's degree. He explained his reasoning: at the other college it would only take a year and a half to complete and would be cheaper (there may have been another reason or two but these were the main ones). He also mentioned one of the cons: that at the other school there were only a few majors to choose from. However, this didn't matter too much because they did have a teaching program which is what the prospective student wanted to study. The friend of a friend was very thankful for the help that the admissions counselor provided and highly satisfied with the interaction. There are no hard feelings or animosity toward the original school. Sure they may have lost one student this year but the good things that could come of this down the road (i.e. possible referrals, future donations, positive word of mouth, etc) far outweigh losing one student.

Congratulations to the school that hired such a down to earth, friendly, and helpful admissions counselor. That's idea behind customer service: to help the customer get what they want (even if sometimes they don't yet know what they want).

Cory and Shawn

I was watching an episode of one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Boy Meets World, the other day with my wife. The two main characters, Cory and Shawn, get internships at this company working in the mailroom. One day they are delivering mail on the floor where all of the company's executive officers' offices are located and they walk by a phone that's ringing. Shawn stops to answer the phone and Cory tries to talk him out of it. Shawn replies: "I may not know much about business, but I know that when the phone rings you answer it." After that Shawn gets appointed to be an assistant to one of the vice-presidents. As I watched this episode I realized that most of the time customer service really is that simple, just pick up the phone when it rings. We should be polite and helpful when we answer the phone but it all starts with answering it. Customer service associates can be trained by world-class professionals how to answer the phone but if it rings and goes unanswered all of the training was a waste. WE MUST ANSWER THE PHONE WHEN IT RINGS. It's that simple and is where it all starts.

The episode of Boy Meets World continues with Cory working in the mailroom bitter that Shawn was promoted. He looks at his supervisor, Phil (who appears to be in his 70's), and the following interchange occurs:

Cory: "I don't get it Phil, all he did was pick up the phone."
Phil: "Was it ringing?"
Cory: "Yeah."
Phil: "He's a smart kid."

That really was a smart move. Let's follow suit and answer the phone when it rings.

(the above mentioned episode is "Boy Meets World," Season 5, Episode 9)