Genuine Caring – Part 1

December 22, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

I spent the afternoon and then dinner with one of my favorite customers. He’s an important vice president at a very large communications and media company, one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Over the years, we’ve spent many hours talking about the service business, which both of us are in, and today we talked about the idea and the practice of service differentiation, one of my favorite topics.

In product and technology, almost everything is a commodity at this point. Everything. You can always find someone who will give it to you cheaper (and sometimes, even, better).

So what can never be commoditized?

Genuine Caring.

What is ‘Genuine Caring’?

It basically means giving customers a feeling that your concern for their satisfaction is something beyond the ‘same old, same old’.  It’s not just a post-service survey. It’s making that survey count. It’s not just asking what was good and bad or wrong and right in the service – it’s letting them know how their experience will change the way you’ll do business with them in the future. It means asking them what they think and then giving them a sense that what they said REALLY matters. A tall order when you have millions of customers.

And how do you do this?

Well what did that old Dean Witter ad say?

“One customer at a time.”

To be continued….

Preparing for my joint webinar with Aberdeen Research

December 13, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

Getting ready for my joint webinar with Aberdeen this coming Thursday (12/18/09)  -  organizing my slides and my thoughts… and it got me to thinking about the things I was going to focus on in my talk. I was again struck by how important managing customer expectations is to sustaining a great relationship with customers.

I always think of my own experiences as a customer:  The more I know about what to expect – the less anxiety I feel.  The more I am communicated with about what to expect – the less unknown and  the less worry I have.

Pro-active, continuous, relevant and actionable communications throughout the  process is key to a good relationship – in life with the people around you and in the vendor/service provider to customer relationship, as well. It’s really that simple. Why is it so hard then for most vendors/service providers to do?

Who’s to Blame?

September 15, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

TOA and Harris Interactive just conducted a nationwide survey to understand the ‘waiting problem’ better. To see what real effect it had on peoples lives…

One of the questions asked was: Who is to blame for keeping you waiting at home or for not arriving on time…is it the field employee (technician, driver, delivery person) or is it the company that is employing him. What was the overwhelming answer?

Very few people blamed the actual person delivering the good or the service. The majority cited the company as the chief culprit in late arrivals. Why?

“The Cog in the Machine Syndrome” strikes again.

The delivery person, the technician, the service person… if they are reasonably nice… they are humanized.

In fact, they are also a victims of your organization. They don’t make the rules, they don’t provide the technology and the tools. They are just the messenger. People aren’t stupid. They KNOW that. So why kill the messenger? It’s not his or her fault. It’s your fault. You the company executive that decides where to spend the money those very same customers provide you with every time they buy, every time they use your service. You have a chance to hear and heed the cry.

Remember: The revolution will not be televised.

You can get a free copy of the survey results here.

Chicken or Beef 2: …and the answer is…

July 1, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

Here  the moment you have all been waiting for…:

Did you guess?

Continental is the airline I fly most, being that they are the hub airline in two of the places that I live – New York (at Newark) and Cleveland. And maybe familiarity breeds contempt… but what can I say?…I have come to call that airline between you and me…

The Borg’!!!
Yes. The Borg. Efficient, mechanical but soulless. Especially the customer service and the attitude of Continental’s onboard staff.  I know this is a terrible indictment, and probably a superficial generalization but believe me, this is not an anecdotal observation. In flight after flight after flight, I have seen a consistent deterioration of the quality of what they serve (coach is my measure — not business or BusinessFirst)  and how they serve it.

For example, they used to carry a great Asian Vegetarian meal, that I ordered even when I wasn’t. Two months ago, I ordered one, and they rudely told me that not only was it gone… but they never had one!!!! And despite my protestations, a flight attendant told me that I didn’t know what I was talking about. So now they replaced that great vegetarian meal with a shameful veggie burger in box, not only reducing the meal size and type but also ridding it of any amenities that their meal on the tray used to have (desert, salad, as weak as they were, they were there…). So those ordering vegetarian are left with a box for dinner while everyone else has a tray, reduced to second class citizens.

Second big issue is what I would call: “The SMILE”…

Or lack of it.

How hard is it to tell your staff to be sunny and nice and SMILE. Make it a rule. Southwest did. And what a difference it is to get on a Southwest plane. You KNOW people are going to be nice to you. You KNOW that’s part of that company’s culture.

Contrast that with the cold, robotic attitude and frowning faces I see on almost every Continental flight, as the attendants unhappily unload the meals with disdain on to passenger’s tables – with not even a minimal attempt to be nice. It seems people are just not happy to work there…

The Borg!

And so… Lufthansa wins The Golden Chicken – my Best Customer Experience of the Week Award , this week. Why?
Because to paraphrase an old musical I love…the planes were beautiful, the people were beautiful, the service was beautiful… Really!

And I thought this German animal was cold! WRONG!

The attendants went out of their way to be gently smiling and thoughtful. They remembered every request, went out of their way to do something extra and the atmosphere was just perfect. German engineering done right.
For example, I ordered an Asian Vegetarian….yes Lufthansa still carries it!!! And they came and asked me if I did in fact order it. Just making sure that I knew it was on its way. Then when I saw that it didn’t have a salad, I asked for one and the attendant didn’t frown or forget…she said “I will bring you a whole extra tray with a salad and desert” and she said it with The SMILE.

How much did that cost Lufthansa? The proper meal not that much, the extra tray, not that much, the SMILE -nothing. The result-I will certainly look to spend my next $1000 expenditure on a flight to Europe and beyond here, not with The Borg,

And all it took was a smile.