Customer Servces
Your Call Is Important to Us - Really? Then Answer the Phone!by John Tschohl
"Thank you for calling Safeco. If you know the extension of the person you are calling, enter it. If not, press 1 for more options."
I was calling Safeco Insurance Company of America, because I was in the market for a homeowner’s insurance policy. I had read an article Consumer Reports in which the results of a reader survey on insurance companies were published. Readers gave Safeco a high rating, so I added the company to my list of potentials. I don’t know what kind of experiences those readers had with Safeco, but mine was definitely not a positive one.
I called Safeco in anticipation of talking to a sales person and getting a quote on an insurance policy. I never got the opportunity to talk with anyone or to leave a message. I listened to a list of nine options, none of which was for buying homeowner’s insurance. At the end of the message, the voice said "good-bye" and I was disconnected. Apparently no one buys homeowner’s insurance from Safeco. It was telephone technology at its worst. That disconnection told me the company didn’t want my business--and they didn’t get it.
Safeco joins a growing list of companies that is driving customers away by making it virtually impossible to have a two-way conversation with a company representative. Many companies spend thousands of dollars to advertise their products and services, then make it almost impossible for potential customers to contact them and make a purchase. The invention of the telephone did much to improve and increase communication, but with the addition of voice mail and other computer components, it is wreaking havoc and leaving customers frustrated and angry. I am one of those customers.
I have been developing and presenting customer service training programs to businesses throughout the world for more than 20 years now. Customer service, I tell my clients, is doing whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. It’s clear to me that company executives who install elaborate telephone systems have something other than customer service in mind. They say their goal is to make communication with the company faster and more efficient. I think their goal is to eliminate a receptionist’s salary and benefits.
Too many executives don’t understand that their business isn’t really selling cars or computers, shoes or shampoo. What they’re really selling is service. A key factor in providing good customer service is response time. The more quickly you respond to a customer, the better your chance of making a sale.
When selling anything, you have a specific window of opportunity. It might be 30 minutes, a day, or even a week. If you don’t respond to the customer within that time period, you won’t make the sale.
Increasing competition means most companies don’t have the luxury of being the only source of a product or service. Thanks to technology, particularly the Internet, customers today can search the world and make purchases any time of the day--or night. It’s no secret that most consumers, when planning a purchase, contact several companies. Response time, whether verbally or via the Internet, is critical when it comes to making a sale. Often, the first company to respond will get that customer’s business.
Amazon.com is a great example of how a company can use technology to provide superior customer service and gain an edge over its competitors. In fact, it is a rare occasion when a customer actually talks with an employee at amazon.com. But, customers are able to place orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week and receive, within minutes, an acknowledgment of their orders. Business is conducted via the Internet--and, oh, what a business it is. Amazon.com had sales of $610 million during fiscal 1998, a 313 percent increase over net sales of $147.8 million during fiscal 1997.
In another search, this one for life insurance, I contacted Itech Corporation, but I did so via the Internet. Within 15 seconds, that company provided me with price quotes that were substantially less than any written quotes I had received. It was technology at its best.
Amazon.com and Itech know how to use technology to serve its customers. Safeco, on the other hand, does not. Out of curiosity, I called Safeco again, this time to check on life insurance. There was a option for life insurance, but when I pressed it, it was for agents only. The voice mail message again said "good-bye," and I was disconnected.
If you think your company is doing a good job of serving customers, test it. Act like a customer. Call the company’s main telephone number and see what customers must go through to be connected to a real person and get an answer to a question. Or, log onto the company’s web site through the Internet. Is your system user-friendly? How long does it take to reach someone who can help you? If you must leave a message, how long does it take that person to respond to you? Use your findings to makes changes that will make it easy for customers to do business with you.
Then make a commitment to customer service. Train your employees in the art of customer service, and reinforce that training every six months. Look for ways you can make it easy for people to do business with you. Identify ways you can improve your response time. Then do whatever it takes to satisfy your customers.
In the meantime, if you have to call a company, and you get a recorded message, followed by what I call "option hell," try this: Immediately hit "0". In some cases, this will allow you to skip through all the options and be connected with a live body. (This didn’t work with Safeco.) Or, dial up one digit. For example, if the company’s main number is 123-4567, dial 123-4568. Chances are that number belongs to someone inside the company, who can then connect you to the person you are attempting to reach.
Happy dialing.
-----------------
John Tschohl is president of Service Quality Institute, speaks all over the world, is author of four best-selling books & a leading authority on customer service. TIME refers to him as a "customer service guru." Contact John at www.customer-service.com
