Let's Turn Today's Customer Service Model on its Head!

Let’s turn the customer service model on its head.

Let’s not relegate service standards to numbers (so 1990's). Numbers are tools to show trends and areas of improvements not the end-all-be-all measurement of poor, good, great or world class service. #fact

Let’s STOP with the frustrating IVR’s that think every customer has the intelligence of a gnat.

Let’s STOP the wait message infomercials that we think are great marketing tools to a captive audience and realize we are just adding to a customer’s frustration.

Let’s not measure a good IVR platform as one that eliminates calls to a live agent as we think the COST factor is too much, but one that provides a great service to those who CHOOSE it.

Let’s train our agents on not being robots saying FAKE “I certainly understand your concern” or fake “I’m Sorry’s” and think that checks the block for empathy.

Let's not hide our customer service number to force customers to use frustrating online self service platforms...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
While we are at it let’s not say “train” agents at all, let’s educate them. You train animals, you educate people.

Let’s not gouge or trick our customers with fees and “penalty's” because someone in finance saw a way to make a quick buck. Let’s see the bigger picture.

ON THE OTHER HAND...


Let’s think differently about how we service our customers.

Let's allow customer to interact the way they want(voice, email, chat, self-service, social media.....), not the way we want to force them to.

Let's get ready for video chat.
Let’s educate associates to not just know what buttons to push on a computer screen but more importantly to recognize what buttons a customer needs pushed to truly delight them.

Let’s make sure we fully help a customer with any need they have, try to develop a relationship and engage BEFORE we upsell a product.

Let’s understand that talking to our customer is an opportunity to strengthen brand loyalty. It is truly a gift and opportunity if handled properly.

Let’s pay associates a reasonable wage, educate them fully, have a truly fun working environment and allow for advancement. Don’t gouge the customer service staff.

Let’s understand that anyone can fire a person but a true leader works to make stars.

Let’s be visionary and not do what everyone else is when it comes to queues. Let’s rethink wait times and hold music (Pandora anyone?), give real self-service options that save time for a customer, not frustrate them.

Let’s realize that true service is only truly measured by one number. How many customers are actually evangelists for your brand after the experience they just had. That is true brand loyalty which can’t be defined by SLA, FCR, TT…think about it.

Let’s realize we are in a different era, an era of social media so we must offer true service that is not measured by money saved but on money earned from loyal customers who talk and talk and talk….

Let’s be different. Lets be Expivia