Brilliant Carat #48
“I Stopped Buying But Forgot To Tell You”
I realize another Carat about customer service may seem like the same song, different verse. But here’s the truth: across the board, in all industries, customer service simply is not what it used to be. And I don’t know if those days will ever come back. But I do know this: I’ll keep shining the light on the customer service issue until more people experience the best service from the best people.
I’m divorcing the airline I’ve been traveling on for 20 years, and they don’t even know it. The relationship has been on the rocks for awhile. Every time I had a bad experience with this company, I looked the other way. I made excuses for them because they were in bankruptcy, laying off employees, cutting salaries and slashing pension plans. I’d been married to them for so long that I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I believed they’d turn things around and return to the glory days when I felt they appreciated me and valued the hard-earned dollars I spent with them.
But I recently had an experience with this airline that withdrew every last cent – and then some – from our relationship bank account. I’d flown into Atlanta on a puddle jumper (50-seater airplane) and had to change planes to catch a flight to Washington, D.C. After landing in Atlanta, we sat on the tarmac for 15 minutes, waiting for the ground crew to retrieve the stairs so we could exit the plane. Finally, the pilot said over the PA system, “Ladies and gentlemen, we've called for the ground crew to retrieve the stairs, but it seems as if they’re all in use.” Well, as you can imagine, by the time the stairs arrived and I got to the connecting gate, I – along with several other passengers from my flight – had missed the flight to D.C.
I took a deep breath and proceeded to ask the gate agent what could be done. She said the only option was to get on a flight leaving two hours later. When I brought up the fact that the reason I’d missed the flight was because her airline didn’t have enough stairs, she gave me that look that says, “Talk to the hand because the ears aren’t listening!” Okay. So, I admit, I pulled rank by stating that I was a 20-year customer and a platinum-level member and suggested that certainly there was something else that could be done. She never answered and proceeded to shoo me away.
I was appalled by the behavior of this agent who neither cared about the problem her company had created nor was interested in identifying other potential solutions. For crying out loud, at least throw me a bone – a Starbucks coupon, a meal voucher or something. It’s the principle of the thing! I’ve been married to this airline for 20 years, and all she could tell me was to get the next flight?
Soon, I discovered that U.S. Airways had a flight to Washington leaving in 20 minutes. Of course, the U.S. Airways ticket agent informed me that I had to either purchase a ticket or get my airline to book me with them. I ran back over to my airline’s desk to explain my situation, only to have that agent tell me, “We don’t switch passengers to another airline unless a flight has been canceled.” I again pointed out that I was in this situation because her airline didn’t have enough stairs to get me off their plane in an expeditious fashion. She looked at me and said, “Sir, we have rules….” Well, by then I was turning red (imagine that!). Finally, after 17 minutes of haggling with this airline, they switched me over to the U.S. Airways flight, and I made it to D.C. Believe me, as I was living through this experience, I was already thinking about writing it up for this week’s ezine.
Now, let’s analyze this experience for a moment: This airline doesn’t have the foresight and/or the money to ensure they have enough stairs to take care of arriving flights. That’s cheap. While we sat on the tarmac waiting for the stairs, they turned off the air. That’s cheap. Agents not being properly trained or having a giveaway drawer to provide a small token of appreciation to premium travelers who’ve been inconvenienced…once again, cheap. This airline used to feed me, but then the price of groceries went up. So I agreed to pay for my food. And yet, at 30,000 feet when I’m trapped and famished, they give me food you wouldn’t feed your mother. Cheap! They laid off long-time employees who understood exceptional customer service, and turned around and hired workers who don’t “get it” for a fraction of the cost, all in the name of saving money. Cheap, cheap, cheap!
The glory days of this airline are long gone when customers are treated like a herd of cattle because the airline is too cheap to care. The bottom-line kissing up to Wall Street on a quarterly basis became more important than showing the core customers who carried the airline for years that they were still important.
Now, I realize I may sound like I’m whining or over reacting. But let me ask you…have you ever found yourself in a customer service nightmare, a situation that could have been completely avoided if the company had invested just a small amount of money to provide quality service? And weren’t you thinking to yourself: “People, this isn’t that hard to figure out! Quality service isn’t rocket science.”
Cheapness is the arch enemy of quality. Being cheap erodes all of the quality initiatives an organization has in place. It sacrifices the service experience to save a few bucks on the operational side. Too many organizations are still convinced they can make more money by acquiring new customers than by retaining the existing ones. However, there are countless studies that show the cost of a lost customer is five times the annual value of the average customer. Consider my value as a customer to this airline. If I’ve taken just 20 trips per year for 20 years, that’s 400 trips at an average price of $500 per ticket. That means just one premium traveler represents $10,000 in revenue per year and $200,000 in revenue over 20 years. Compare that to the average traveler who might spend $2,000 a year with the airline. While this airline is out spending millions in advertising to find more $2,000-per-year customers, they just lost a loyal $10,000-per-year customer because they didn’t have basic equipment. Being cheap simply isn’t smart business.
According to Jean-Noel Kapferer, professor of marketing strategy at HEC School of Management in France, “To triumph in a very competitive environment, brands must continuously develop customer loyalty by innovating, improving quality and maximizing value.” He also said, “Brands give customers a quality guarantee, familiarity and an assurance that the product is the best in its category.” Here are five ideas to ensure that a quality experience for your customers is not eroded in an effort to save a buck here and there.
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Take care of the people who take care of the customer. How? Spend money where it matters. A study of 3,000 organizations by the University of Pennsylvania showed that a 10% investment in capital improvements boosts productivity by 3.9%, while the same 10% investment in developing people increases productivity by 8.5%. Furthermore, according to the American Society of Training & Development, organizations spending an average of $900 per employee on learning had 57% higher net sales per employee, 37% higher gross profits per employee and a 20% higher ratio in market-to-book value. One of my favorite airlines is Singapore Airlines. They spend $100 million annually on training – it’s the largest single component of the company's budget.
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Empower people to fix problems fast instead of waiting for word to come down from on high. I do realize that in certain industries with strict regulations this is next to impossible. However, push the envelope as far as you can. In addition, teach people NOT to just say they’re sorry when a customer experiences a problem. Instead, train them to say something like, “We apologize for your inconvenience, and we’re working as quickly as possible to find a solution.” The customer will likely eventually forget the problem, but they’ll remember the quality service.
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Leaders should ask front-line team members what they need in order to consistently create quality experiences for customers. Keep quality at the front and center of all customer service discussions to ensure your company’s relationship with its customers doesn’t erode over time.
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Load up a group of managers and front-line people and go on a field trip to discover how other companies – both inside and outside of your industry – provide quality service. Experience both poor and exceptional service from the customer’s perspective.
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Treat employees as the quality men and women they are. They, in turn, will treat customers the same way. I started flying the airline in this article because I liked the way its people made me feel. It didn’t matter that the tickets weren’t always the best deal. But now, their service is a reflection of their stinginess, and I’m tired of being on the receiving end.
Ladies and gentlemen, what about your business? Have some of your customers divorced you, and you don't even know it? Do you spend more time and money on your brand than you do listening to your customers? Is there incongruence between what you tell customers and what you do? I invite you today to take a close look at the quality of your service and put your truth on the table.
Simon Says…Quality is priceless. Cheapness is…(I don’t even have to say it; you know the deal!)
Copyright Simon T. Bailey. Simon T. Bailey is the Catalyst of Brilliance of the Imagination Institute, which empowers businesses to sell more goods and services by releasing the brilliance of their people. He presents keynotes on high performance, customer service, engagement and inspiration. To book or enquire about Simon contact Debbie Carr on 61 2 9016 2856 during office hours or email her from the contacts page.
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