Mostly I think customer service is a matter of common sense; but as we all know common sense can be a surprisingly rare commodity.

One of the biggest problems I encounter with customer service people is the procedures they’re shackled to.  Not only are those procedures infuriatingly short-sighted at times, they also tend to have the effect of causing the customer service agent to turn his or her brain off. 

A customer service  encounter I experienced today didn’t run into trouble for any of these reasons though.  The person at the (small) company was clearly bright, sensible and not tied to any procedures; it may very well have been her own company.

But when I asked when I could expect delivery of a product I’d ordered four weeks ago that they’d told me would be delivered in about four week’s time I was told that, “We’re doing a collection from the manufacturer on Friday but I can’t say if your order will be on it.”

No offer to find out.  No suggestion that it was unusual that something could be manufactured to order and yet the manufacturer not be able to say when it was ready.  Nothing in her tone suggested that anything was amiss at all.

In fact, when I said that I was “disappointed” that she couldn’t tell me, she was mildly aggrieved.  She explained that this was the process, that this was how the manufacturer did things, and that they ordered a lot of products from this manufacturer.

We ended up discussing whether this was a reasonable way of managing supply chains for quite some time, perhaps ten minutes; my view was that it was not.

Eventually I found out that it all came down to one thing.  The manufacturer was unreliable.  All the companies that manufactured this product were small, old, unreliable companies.  The retailer had tried to provide more specific delivery timing in the past and ended up constantly disappointing customers when orders weren’t fulfilled as expected.

The error that the person I spoke to made was simply to assume that a situation she had assimilated over time would make as much sense to me as it did to her.  It never occurred to me that, in this day and age, someone would have no option but to use unreliable suppliers.

They’d arrived at a compromise that was the best of a bad set of alternatives, as far as minimising customer disappointment was concerned, but that didn’t mean it made any sense to me.  Their process for providing delivery dates made sense to them, but not to me.

I’m glad I expressed my disappointment, and I’m glad I pushed and pushed until I’d uncovered the assumptions that, despite seeming obvious to the retailer, were unknown to me.

So, if you want to avoid upsetting your customers:

  • Try and put yourself in their position, they don’t have your knowledge.
  • Don’t take offense when a customer challenges what you say; if you’re sure it’s reasonable they evidently don’t have the same perspective and you have the chance to provide it.
  • A customer that tells you he’s “disappointed” is giving you opportunity to set the record straight, not attacking you personally.
  • Avoid procedures that suit your organisation but make it harder for customers and turn off your customer service people’s brains!.
  • Empower people providing customer service to do whatever they need to (within reason) to address and satisfy customer issues.

Philip Graves

16 Comments

  1. John Ho

    Phil,

    We are usually so hung up on our understanding and perspective that it’s hard to see the other side of the coin.

    So putting ourselves into customers’ shoes can rally reduce misunderstanding and facilitates better communication.

    John Ho
    Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
    Numerology Expert Daily Numeroscope (Vox Blog)
    Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion (Money Page)

    reply to comment→
  4. JJ Jalopy

    Like so many things in life it’s a really asset to be able to empathise with your customer. This is the first step in any successful venture, really.

    This sentence made me laugh. The clarification at the end is comedy gold! 🙂

    “We ended up discussing whether this was a reasonable way of managing supply chains for quite some time, perhaps ten minutes; my view was that it was not.”

    Cool post, Phil.

    JJ Jalopy.
    Coaching Business Advice with JJ Jalopy
    How to become a coach

    reply to comment→
  11. Pam Schulz

    Philip – Another great post on consumer behaviour. I’ve learned so much from your information. The points you raise are very good ones to remember as we are all moving into the arena of having to deal with customer service.

    Once I asked my brother who was at the time a manager for Lowe’s, a home improvement chain at the time how he dealt with angry customers, he gave me what I thought to be an interesting answer. He said he always lets them rant and then responded empathetically with something like, “I can certainly understand why you are upset. What can we do to make the situation right or acceptable for you?” He said more often than not peoples’ anger was diffused and their requests were then rational and reasonable. It was a win-win for everyone. I guess his strategy was effective – he’s now in a fairly senior position at Lowe’s corporate offices – and living not too far from JC and family in NC.

    Pam
    Invest in Your Future

    reply to comment→
  12. Duane Cunningham

    Hi Phil,

    Unfortunately this is the common approach to customer service and though it pisses me off that this happens it does pave the way for those of us who do know how to service clients to prosper!

    Duane

    Super-ADVANCED Persuasion Techniques & Influence Training Proven to Quickly Create a Flood of Money
Constantly & Continuously Flowing into YOUR
Bank Account Like the Niagara Falls…
100% GUARANTEED!!

    Discover Secret Persuading Skills that Work Like Magic by Tapping Into the Psychology of the Mind with The Worlds Leading Persuasion Expert Duane Cunningham!

    reply to comment→

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Learning from Bus Buddhists
Learning from Bus Buddhists

In psychological terms, context is almost everything. Much as we like to think that we know how we will act and react in a given situation, without the richness of...

The Customer Loyalty Myth
The Customer Loyalty Myth

The suggestion that customers can be loyal is odd. Think about it for a moment; who are you really loyal towards?  Your family, your friends, your colleagues?  Loyalty exists for...