"Our Take" - Get your Execs on the Phone

(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.
 
 
3/14/06 - Can't Get No Satisfaction
I just finished reading a review of a new book entitled, "Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer," by Chris Denove and James D. Power IV. The reviewer summarizes the book by saying that companies still haven't gotten the memo. In short, failure to satisfy the customer results in lost profits.
 
The book makes the argument that companies would treat customers better if executives could see a clear link between satisfaction and profitability. I might be splitting hairs but I believe that most executives get that link. Beyond the easy Dilbert pokes made at corporate executives, most executives are where they are because they are smart enough to recognize that important satisfaction/profit link.
 
I believe the disconnect is more often a case of executives not keeping their eye on the ball. With ever changing customer expectations and an adapting competitive landscape, what was done yesterday might not be good enough today or tomorrow. My advice to those smart and intuitive executives is simple: don't ever, and I mean ever, take your eye off the customer satisfaction ball. Not even for a second.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/15/06 - Get your Execs on the Phone
Yesterday, the discussion point concerned whether or not corporate executives understand the link between customer satisfaction and corporate profitability. Some suggest they don't get it. I am of the belief that most executives get it, but often there is a disconnect between "getting it" and doing the right thing about it.
 
That spawned quite a bit of feedback from readers. One note that caught my attention was an anecdotal story about Michael Dell (of Dell Computer fame) spending time listening to customers that call into the call center. There is certainly the possibility of a mere publicity stunt but the act can be a powerful one.
 
When was the last time your "C" level executives spent time listening or even taking call center calls? Please share your experiences with me. I'd like to summarize best (and worst) practices with all readers. Anonymity guaranteed, of course.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/16/06 - Talking About Disconnects
The last two days, I've used this column to discuss what executives believe regarding the link between customer satisfaction and corporate profitability. More importantly, the real issue is what executives actually do or don’t do about it. One area that has been studied is how executives feel about their customers' level of satisfaction and how that often differs from reality.
 
When I say reality, I mean satisfaction as seen through the customers’ eyes. While actual figures vary from study to study, a general rule of thumb suggests that while executives believe that 80% of customers are satisfied, less than 20% of customers actually feel that way. Now that is a major league disconnect!
 
Why the big disconnect? There are actually a wide range of reasons. Some common reasons include survey incentives that skew results, mismanaged satisfaction surveys, and misinterpretation of survey results. The fact is management is often dumb, fat and happy thinking they know how customers feel the picture is rarely as rosy as they believe (or hope). Of course, at some point there is a wake-up call. Usually that occurs when profits don't meet expectations and everyone scrambles to understand why.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/17/06 - Executive Mystery Shopping
Over the last few days, I have received an extremely large number of responses from people weighing in on the discussion about getting executives to listen to customers. There are some excellent examples and suggestions and I will use today and next week to share some of them with you.
 
One reader wrote, "I worked at an enterprise software firm and the executive management team did some 'mystery shopping' to find out just how easy the company was to do business with. They posed as existing customers and tried to purchase additional products over the phone, get support, and interact with various parts of the organization."
 
The result: "They were appalled at the level of unprofessionalism, long hold times, and poor service that their customers were subjected to on a daily basis. It served as a real wake-up call and they made significant changes as a result. I highly this exercise to anyone who thinks their organization is customer focused!" Mystery shopping by your executives is a great way to see if reality reflects what is reported to them. Very powerful stuff.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/20/06 - Get your Execs on the Phone - Part II
With regard to having your executives spend time in the call center, one consultant wrote, "I recommend this practice to every client, and have done so for many years. The very first time I did it, the CEO took me up on the challenge under some very explicit operating rules. He could take calls directly or jack-in to listen as a rep did the heavy lifting -- but if he took the call himself, he did so as John Q TechRep, not as CEO. If he used his imperial wand of authority to resolve a call, he had to agree that whatever he did would immediately become available to any rep in the center. "
 
Of course, most CEOs don't back down from a challenge. He agreed. Afterwards, he came back up and said "You hear things on that hotline that you just don't hear anyplace else!"
 
This consultant's view: "When a C-level exec takes the time to sit in him/herself in the contact center, their simple presence speaks volumes to the reps. It says that what they are doing is important work, important enough to attract the attention of Senior Management. If they do it regularly, the impact can be huge." Stay tuned for more on this tomorrow.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/21/06 - Who Jacks In?
The other day I mentioned the story about Michael Dell spending time in the call center. Many of you have shared stories of other CEOs that have spent time in the call center. I'll share a few of those stories today.
 
One reader wrote, "Scott Cook, the founder of Intuit, used to have a regularly scheduled shift on the hotline for years, and it paid off very well for him by keeping him in touch with exactly what his customers were saying. Another shared that Charles Schwab himself would put on a headset and listen to calls every time he visited the center. Ned Johnson (the owner of Fidelity) is a person known to listen to calls. He loved hearing how difficult the job was for the CSRs.
 
These are very busy, high profile executives who could easily suggest they didn't have time for such folly. I should also mention that they are also very successful. Coincidence?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/22/06 - It's My Company
In response to the on-going discussion about "C" level executives spending time listening to calls from customers, one CEO weighed in with his thoughts. I thought I would share them with you today.
 
He writes, "I'm a 'C' level, in fact it's my company. I adopted the policy of listening to customer calls but not just for executives but for all departments in order to get a regular dose of reality and experience. It's without question the only way to truly understand what's going on."
 
His conclusion: "It's an eye opening experience. I've made this approach a fundamental part of our R&D process for the software systems we offer. It's amazing just how far off the mark most products really are compared to what gets developed - its sad that a system build for users by users is so uncommon." New product development as well as enhancements and bug fixes can all benefit from this stronger customer link to R&D.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/23/06 - Walk a Mile In Their Shoes
Having your executives spend time in the call center can help you run a better operation. How? Listen to this story from one reader:
 
"Executives made a decision to cut call center headcount. Call center stats tanked and customer satisfaction started to drop. Based on the cut impact to stats and executive hesitancy to hire back, I began working with our CEO to have all VP, Director and Manager staff shadow in the call center 1 hour per quarter. Yes, I have received approval to hire back 8 people."
 
Lessons learned: "The key is shadowing had a "WOW" effect hearing problems with products, supply chain seeing the need for availability information, and IT asking how they could help us more with efficiency tools. It's also a great confidence booster for agents - they see you believe in them if you're willing to have them shadowed. Shadowing stops the FUDD and gets executives on the side of helping us serve our customers."
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
3/24/06 - Downside to Execs in the Call Center
All week, we've shared the advantages of exposing executives to the front lines - the customer interactions. Let me say up front that I believe this is not just a good idea. It's a necessary part of doing business. But like anything, there can be pitfalls or unexpected consequences.
 
One reader wrote, "We executed a retention program, aiming at (and realizing) a 25% increase in retention. One of the projects had the top-50 managers listen to a number of calls (recorded with quality monitoring tool). It was very enlightening and got action going and commitment on the right level. Only problem was that the CEO demanded an agent be fired, which was prohibited due to a covenant we struck about the use of quality monitoring."
 
Have you experienced other consequences associated with having executives listening to customer interactions? Please share.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)