"Our Take" - Don't Live in a Box

(Past Editions by: Date, Title, Topic)

 
About "Our Take" 
"Our Take" is a collection of daily vignettes covering a wide range of CRM topics. It's an attempt to add our own spin to the world of CRM. We will use the column to share our perspectives, opinions, epiphanies, web nuggets, or quite frankly anything that moves us. Get ready to expect the unexpected. And, don't be shy about sharing your thoughts.
 
 
1/3/08 - Happy New Year
This is the first 2008 edition of CRMAdvocate Today and what better way to start than to wish you peace and prosperity in the coming year. There is always something about the changing of the calendars that moves people to reflect on what they did or didn't do in the last year and what they pledge to do in the year ahead. You know the feeling as resolutions.
 
For me, the problem with resolutions is not what I write on my list of goals for the year. It is the length of the list. It seems my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I find myself almost immediately overwhelmed by the number of things I hope to accomplish. With that in mind I want to share with you a single resolution to consider as it relates to creating customer experiences.
 
That's right. I'm going to give you a single resolution that can make the difference for not only the next customer you interact with but each and every one in 2008 and beyond. Before I tell you what the single CRM resolution is, I need to tell you the story about how I came to learn about it. I'll share the story tomorrow. Happy New Year.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
1/4/08 - My CRM Resolution for 2008
Yesterday, I promised that I would share a single CRM resolution you could embrace for 2008. Today, I will tell you that resolution and the story behind it. First, the story.
 
Like many parents with teenagers, I found myself staring at a monstrous cell phone bill. I won't bore you with how my son racked up the charges but I felt wronged that it could have happened. After multiple conversations with multiple agents, I was passed to someone in "retention." Retention means they knew they had lost me and wanted a last chance to win me back.
 
I lamented to the agent that all previous agents told me about the company rules and procedures and there was nothing that could be done. The retention agents retorted, "I don't live in a box." And that is my suggestion for the one resolution to consider for 2008. Don't live in a box. More on that tomorrow.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
1/7/08 - Don't Live in a Box
"Don't live in a box." Those were the valuable words of a call center agent and the ones that I am embracing as the one CRM resolution to make a difference for customer experiences around the world.
 
Consider how often your customers become frustrated with your company's procedures and rules. Examine the way you have done business in the past and how the status quo can become outdated and uncompetitive. Look for ways to work outside the box to delight your customers with the unexpected.
 
If you "live outside the box," you are free to think in more creative ways. It requires one to listen a bit more to what the customer is really saying and really feeling. It may even get the compassionate juices flowing with a focus on the experience and not on the rules. Do you agree?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
1/8/08 - Living Both Inside and Outside the Box
I've started out the year with a suggested CRM resolution of not living in a box. Based on the proud words of an agent that was extremely sensitive and helpful, this resolution brings with it an attitude and a challenge to current perspectives. Consider this reader's response:
 
"I agree that Customer Experience is driven by the ability of our front line staff to meet the needs of callers. We try to talk about the difference between 'Doing the right thing' and 'Doing the thing right': When we 'Do the thing right', we are following procedures, following the script and along the way, meeting the average customer's needs appropriately. When we 'Do the right thing', we step outside procedure to meet the unusual need. The ratio of 'Do the thing right' to 'Do the right thing' may be 95/5, but knowing when to do each and being empowered to do each as appropriate, makes all the difference."
 
The reader eloquently points out there is a time and a place for living inside the box as well as outside the box. It is not a matter of one or the other. It's a matter of judgment and compassion. Do you agree?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
1/9/08 - It's Scary Outside the Box
It's the middle of winter. Right now, it's cold outside and inside is a much more pleasant and safe place to be. So living outside the box can be down right uncomfortable. For many organizations, encouraging employees to work "outside the box" implies a negative hit to the bottom line. Consider these thoughts from one reader:
 
"While I totally agree with 'out of the box' thinking for agents, that takes some empowerment that many manager are not willing to give. Too many centers have very specific scripts and rigid rules that agents must follow, leaving little room to do what the caller needs or wants. Management fears that agents will give away the store, but our experience suggests that empowered agents give away less than supervisors do when calls are referred to them. This improves the customer experience through one call resolution with someone who appears to care and be able to help, reduces transfers to supervisors, and increases agent satisfaction. How bad is that??"
 
In my opinion, that is not bad at all. Here's a thought. Recall my story about the agent that shared her "I don't live in a box" exclamation. She was not the first person I talked to. I was passed to this empowered seasoned pro but it took me 54 minutes to get to the person that could help me. Would I be more loyal if it had been 14 minutes? I think so. Do you think so?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)