Slashdot Mirror
Setting the Bar for Customer Service?
meburke asks: "Computer repair, copier repair, customer support: It seems to be mostly done the same way for the last 40 years. That is: 'Something breaks, call the repair guy.' But customers expect more, and they can't tell us what they expect, so where do we develop guidelines for customer service and how do we improve? I've searched the net for three days now, and I haven't found a comprehensive list of actions or standards that distinguish the excellent tech from the average tech. Can anyone point me toward some sources?" It seems that as our technology becomes more complex, the service that is offered to customers continues to fall shorter of the mark. What kind of service do you expect from your vendors, and how close is reality to your expectations?
As an aside, shooflot wonders: "If the definition of 'news' includes 'rarity' then good service must be news. My usual experience includes the kind of sulky and dismissive attitude I got from an Apple rep when my new iPod wouldn't charge (I eventually got him to exchange it). However, I was recently surprised by Rogers, my cellphone provider, when I followed up on some charges for ringtones I'd never downloaded. The service rep not only cancelled the charges but discovered I'd been wrongly charged an extra air time fee for the whole last year and credited me for the entire amount plus tax! What great service stories does Slashdot wish to share which (I hope!) may inspire all those other reps in the trenches?"
There are three basic lines of support, which I appreciate - and a methodology that is very important.
Go the extra mile. Thats what I look for in support and customer service.
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Trying to purchase some Dell notebooks this week was an excrutiating excercise. The online credit application initially rejected me and gave me a number to call. The person I spoke to was very polite but had absolutely no authority/ability to assist me in getting my credit line established or switching my order to use a credit card instead of the credit line. The order ended up getting cancelled, and the two notebooks I selected from the Dell Outlet site ended up going to somebody else by the time I ended my fruitless 2 hours on the phone. The problem isn't so much that the call centers are offshored, it's that the staff are not provided with any meaningful mechanisms to address customer concerns. They seem to have a list of things that they are expected to respond to and responses they are allowed to give. There is no "go-to" person that you can speak to that can make decisions or provide intervention if the system behaves unexpectedly. Since the call center is located on the other side of the globe from where the orders are managed and shipped, the call center staff is pretty much powerless to act on a customer's behalf.
A remote call center is fine to talk Joe Average in figuring out why their AOL connection isn't working as expected. But when it comes to making a purchase and spending money, I want to speak to somebody who can take action on my behalf. Having my order cancelled and then getting thanked for choosing Dell does not constitute adequate customer service.
While it's true that a good service attitude has to come from the heart, there are good books to guide one too. I have a copy of IDG Books Customer Service for Dummies, and it's got a lot of good ideas.
I would highly recommend the book: "Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless : How to Make Customers Love You, Keep Them Coming Back and Tell Everyone They Know".
This is required reading at my company. The book has a lot of self-hype, the author can't seem to grasp the concept of ordinal numbers, and is a bit condenscending, but if you get past that it has a LOT of REALLY EXCELLENT customer service advice for all businesses.
I don't want to make a straight comparison between someone who fixes technology and someone who heals people, but I think medical professionals and IT/computer professionals can be evaluated by some of the same basic questions:
:-))
1. Is the problem resolved?
2. Was the resolution as efficient as possible?
3. Will the fix make it harder to help the person/fix the device in the future? (You want a 'no' on that one
4. Did the fix put the person/users of the technology through any unnecessary hardship? (Another 'no', hopefully.)
Good support is like pornography; you know it when you see it, but it's hard to define.
A few points to help:
1) Stand by your work. If the problem is not fixed on the first visit, return to fix it free of charge.
2) Follow up with your customers to make sure that the problems are resolved.
3) Send customers an email detailing the problems they called about, the cause, the resolution, and actions they can take in the future to reduce the need for service calls.
4) Err on the side of the customer when there is a dispute. Note that the customer is NOT always right (after all, if they were, why would they need us), but see disputes as opportunities to build goodwill.
5) Repeat after me: most customers aren't stupid. They feel lost amid the technology and they are frustrated. Try to explain things in everyday language so that they can feel that the mystery of the technology isn't so overwhelming.
All this takes discipline, and I even find myself slipping up on it from time to time. There are more points here that I use for my business, but these are the main substantive ones.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
In the past I've avoided rebates like the plague. To the best of my knowledge Staples is the only company that has an option to submit your rebate online AND has a way to track the rebate even if you've mailed it in.
So, this is something studied for years, and companies still don't get it? I guess especially in technical arenas I've seen they really don't, though I can't begin to imagine why not.
It's really about satisfying the customer... treat 'em like they're people, don't lie to them, do any and everything you say you'll do, don't make promises you can't keep.
My best experiences with any support be it on-line, by phone, or in person have little (if anything) to do with final resolution of the problem, but more to do with whether I was treated respectfully. Some of my best "support" experiences have come from people who clearly didn't know the answer to my problem, but knew steps to take to ensure my problem was addressed.
Companies who drive support to "bottom line" criteria are missing the much bigger picture of what an unhappy customer base does to the bottom line. I go out of my way to stay loyal to businesses who care enough to have a relationship with me. On the other, for example, a bank whose exponential growth over the last 10 years has grown at the cost of their local flavor and service has lost me as a customer... I've moved all of my accounts from them to another friendlier local credit union.
Not sure why this is such a hard problem for businesses to solve...
The most recent issue of Consumer Reports gave Apple by far the best scores in customer service for their computers. They got basically double the points of the next best company.
That is: 'Something breaks, call the repair guy.' But customers expect more...
More what exactly? Psychic predictive repair? Technicians dressed as 1950's pop icons? Free balloons for the kids?
Look, it's computer repair. You can talk about making computers more reliable or easier to use, but there's always going to be a need for the "call the repair guy" option. At that point, the customer just wants their computer fixed. Quickly and efficiently, and preferrably cheap or free.
Yes, there are a lot of companies out there who are horrible at computer service, but there are also some good ones as well. The focus needs to be on improving that level of service, not redefining or creating new services.
As a person who has been doing this awhile, the following link was the best article I have ever read on this subject: http://whatexit.org/tal/data/techjob.html/
I'm going to second that. Speakeasy has been overwhelmingly good for me and my connection - They have knowledgable tech staff on the phone, who have a sense of humor, don't talk down to you, and have even given their extensions to me so I can talk with the same person over several days. They returned my phone calls! How many places are like that? Certainly not my cable company, phone company, gas or electric company.
Now, as I type that out, I think therein lies an additional piece of truth - they're able to adjust their skills and apply their knowledge to MY level of geekitude. Since different people are going to have different levels, flexibility in explaining things and providing transparency in what their doing would go a long way in customer service.
So for example:
Me: I have problem X, and have tried solution A, B, and C. Can you help me out with this problem?
Them: Okay, we're going to have a tech look at D, and depending on D's status, we'll do E, F, and G. In the meantime, check H. We'll call you back in an hour with an update.
Me: Great!
Now, if they're talking with say, my parents...
Parents: I'm having a problem with X. Can you help me with that?
Them: Absolutely. We'll send out a tech to check a few things, and get back to you in an hour with some solutions. It's probably just Problem Y, but we'll check over the whole thing for you, just in case.
Parents: Okay, we'll wait for the next update.
"What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
As a Speakeasy support tech I have to say that we have a quite a few things that drive our ability to deliver good support.
1. Flat structure. I'm a 1st tier support tech. at my disposal are tools where I can talk directly to our vendors, handle domains issues, etc. Whatever I need to get the job done.
2. Tools. Speakeasy has a remarkable system called Moses that lets us unbind/rebuild an IP, provision/remove email accounts, tackle all but the more insane billing issues and keep pretty good notes. I've worked other places where the support tools were POS. Speakeasy developed this OSS in house, so it fits our needs exactly, and has proved to be remarkably extensible.
3. Training. The first tier techs over time get training on handling nearly every aspect of account management and troubleshooting. It isn't easy, but very worthwhile.
I've been with Speakeasy for three years now. I love the place.
Jeffrey