 | DonCooper |
Today is Nat'l Customer Service Day. Although if you don't act like it every day, you'll lose customers to those who do. | |
Based on my own life as a professional and a consumer, more and more organizations are beginning to "get it." More often than not I see organizations actively trying to understand and measure the customer experience to make constant improvements. But not everyone, consider this recent experience:
Over the weekend, I traveled to Boston for the New England Patriot's playoff game against Denver. Five minutes before I was going to leave for the airport, I received an email (and several phone calls) telling me my flight was canceled! Ugh. Not what I wanted to be dealing with on a Friday afternoon, but I appreciated the effort the airline went through to make sure I knew my flight was canceled. I dial the number in the email to try to get booked on another flight that afternoon. Because the wait was going to be about ten minutes, I took the option for a call back.
While waiting for the call back, I received a second email telling me I'd been rebooked on an earlier flight with a different carrier. I'm sure the airline had a good reason for thinking I could make an earlier flight, but I don't know what it was (I'm hoping it was based in customer research of some kind). I couldn't even make it to the airport in time for that flight.
About 15 minutes later I got a call back, waited on hold for about 30 seconds for the representative to come onto the line (I took this to mean they valued their employee's time more than their customers, as I'm getting more and more stressed out about getting to Boston and making my dinner plans). When I explained I was calling because my flight was canceled and gave the customer service rep my information, her response was to tell me I'd already been rebooked, case closed. I told the customer service rep I couldn't make the flight, she acted like there was little she could do to find me a better flight. Too bad for me. Luckily, I had the airport's departing flights to Boston open in a web browser and found the one I wanted. If not, I have no idea how the conversation would have continued.
To rebook me on the flight I wanted (same flight they atuo-put me on except an hour later), she had to call the other airline. Back on hold I went. After listening to some pretty terrible hold music for about 5 minutes she came back to tell me the other agent didn't know how to add me to the new flight since I was auto-rebooked. I went back on hold for another 10 minutes while they figured it out. By the time everything was settled, over 30 minutes had passed since I first reached out to the airline.
This entire ordeal left me feeling stressed and frazzled about my travels. Everything about my flight was worse because I felt that the rebooking process was a disaster. I ended up with a worse seat assignment because it was a last minute booking, I ended up next to a toddler who screamed the entire flight, and the plane was dirty! I don't blame the airline I actually flew for any of these problems, I blame the airline I originally booked with. In my opinion, if they cancel my flight, I should get priority service and the employee on the other side of the phone should know how to help me in a timely manner.
The part of the story that really put me over the edge? On my way to the airport, I tweeted. I @replied the airline I had booked with asking them to reexamine their customer experience and customer service for canceled flights. Not seven minutes later I got a response back from their customer service account asking for my confirmation number so they could help me. Unfortunately, I'd already taken care of my own problem and didn't need further assistance, but a response in seven minutes when it took me 30 minutes the old fashioned, outsourced way? Clearly there are parts of the corporation that sees the value in prompt customer service and quality customer experiences, but it doesn't seem to all be working in unison. Instead they seem very siloed, which is actually making their customer support activities cost more!
While waiting for the call back, I received a second email telling me I'd been rebooked on an earlier flight with a different carrier. I'm sure the airline had a good reason for thinking I could make an earlier flight, but I don't know what it was (I'm hoping it was based in customer research of some kind). I couldn't even make it to the airport in time for that flight.
About 15 minutes later I got a call back, waited on hold for about 30 seconds for the representative to come onto the line (I took this to mean they valued their employee's time more than their customers, as I'm getting more and more stressed out about getting to Boston and making my dinner plans). When I explained I was calling because my flight was canceled and gave the customer service rep my information, her response was to tell me I'd already been rebooked, case closed. I told the customer service rep I couldn't make the flight, she acted like there was little she could do to find me a better flight. Too bad for me. Luckily, I had the airport's departing flights to Boston open in a web browser and found the one I wanted. If not, I have no idea how the conversation would have continued.
To rebook me on the flight I wanted (same flight they atuo-put me on except an hour later), she had to call the other airline. Back on hold I went. After listening to some pretty terrible hold music for about 5 minutes she came back to tell me the other agent didn't know how to add me to the new flight since I was auto-rebooked. I went back on hold for another 10 minutes while they figured it out. By the time everything was settled, over 30 minutes had passed since I first reached out to the airline.
This entire ordeal left me feeling stressed and frazzled about my travels. Everything about my flight was worse because I felt that the rebooking process was a disaster. I ended up with a worse seat assignment because it was a last minute booking, I ended up next to a toddler who screamed the entire flight, and the plane was dirty! I don't blame the airline I actually flew for any of these problems, I blame the airline I originally booked with. In my opinion, if they cancel my flight, I should get priority service and the employee on the other side of the phone should know how to help me in a timely manner.
The part of the story that really put me over the edge? On my way to the airport, I tweeted. I @replied the airline I had booked with asking them to reexamine their customer experience and customer service for canceled flights. Not seven minutes later I got a response back from their customer service account asking for my confirmation number so they could help me. Unfortunately, I'd already taken care of my own problem and didn't need further assistance, but a response in seven minutes when it took me 30 minutes the old fashioned, outsourced way? Clearly there are parts of the corporation that sees the value in prompt customer service and quality customer experiences, but it doesn't seem to all be working in unison. Instead they seem very siloed, which is actually making their customer support activities cost more!
Technology is altering many of our expectations for our experiences with companies. Not only did I expect the rebooking experience to be better (and had I ended up on a flight that worked for me, it would have. The problem was that they didn't have a good "back up" plan), I also expected to get a feedback survey about the experience. I have not. I also did not receive one after my flight home on Sunday. When you contrast that against the experience I have with JetBlue (the airline I fly the most to and from Boston), where I receive a customer satisfaction survey before I even reach my destination, this one really falls short.
I'm not saying a survey is the only way to collect customer feedback, it's certainly not. In fact, I gave the airline feedback through social media. Whether they take that feedback, compile and analyze it with everything else that's being said online, I will probably never know. But they should. They should be combining data from a number of various sources (inbound emails, social media, customer support phone calls, etc.). By doing this, they would have the tools and analysis necessary to improve the quality of their customer service. It would ensure my one experience isn't replicated across hundreds and thousands of other customers.
Throughout the year, there are various days that we've placed a special focus on customer service in it's many forms, like today. However, I urge you to save your customers from bad experiences by changing the way you think about customer service. It's the single most powerful way to turn normal every day customers into lifetime, loyal customers. Those customers are going to be the ones who tell their friends and families about what a great experience they had. They'll tell their Twitter followers and their blog communities. The power of word of mouth is astounding, good customer service is one of the best ways to earn it.
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