"Our Take" - Test Drive Your Contact Center

(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.
 
 
9/4/07 - Test Driving Customer Service
I received a very interesting email last week that I wanted to share with you. It certainly made me think. I'd like to know what you think too. Consider the following:
 
"Since service quality is an intangible, it has very few search properties - you can't test drive a service like a root canal. Tangible products use the five senses - you can test drive a car. Now more and more potential customers are test-driving the company's services before they get trapped into an experience nightmare they will have to live with for at least the warranty period. The service quality test drive will, in the very near future, become a pre-requisite before purchase. It might interest you to know that one survey from Service Quality Partners showed that about 45% now investigate the quality of the company's service before they make a purchase. Many get the number of the company's call center and make a simulated call to investigate the response."
 
Do you think your contact center is getting test driven today?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
9/5/07 - Test Driving Customer Service - II
Yesterday, we talked about the growing trend among prospective customers to test drive customer service by calling into the contact center. Studies suggest that some businesses might expect more than half of their prospects to test drive customers service often without the company's knowledge.
 
But what about your executives or board members? Do you think they are calling in to compare a real life experience to what your Powerpoint presentation or monthly reports suggests? You might be surprised. Consider this: at some point in time, an executive will receive an anecdotal story about customer service prompting them to investigate. They may go through the chain of command or they might want to learn first hand.
 
But does it matter? Should you operate your contact center any differently whether you believe the execs are checking up on you? Of course not. Let me suggest something that might scare many of you. Proactively encourage and remind your executives to anonymously test drive customer service. Regardless of the experience, it shows that you think it is important for them to have first hand knowledge. It also shows that you believe customer service is important to the success of the overall business. When was the last time you suggested this and what happened? Let me know.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
9/6/07 - A Few More Test Driving Thoughts
Yesterday, we talked about encouraging your executives and board members to anonymously test driving customer service. Since more and more prospective customers are test driving customer service as a part of their purchasing decisions, it is important to understand if your contact center is enabling more sales or driving sales away.
 
A few additional comments. Some of you wrote that in addition to executives test driving customer service, some might be wise to consider mystery shoppers. Others suggested offering customers a "try before you buy" program because it brings the test drive out in the open where you have a bit more control of the situation.
 
And here is an interesting thought. Third parties are calling into contact centers to demonstrate service levels to demonstrate to prospects the value of buying support from them rather than the manufacturer. The natural extension to this activity is your competitors calling your contact center to demonstrate why prospects might not want to buy from you. Isn't that scary?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
9/7/07 - Best Practices in Test Drive
I received an email from a reader with a great story prompted by the discussion this week about test driving customer service. Here it goes:
 
"A company has a program for executives consisting of a 'listening room' attached to the call center in which all of the managers in the company at 2nd level and above were required to spend 1 hour a month. It was not to hear what the call center agents were doing, but to listen to the voice of the customer. When confusion, complaints, wish lists, and compliments were heard in the customer's own words and tone of voice, it was very powerful. Many issues were addressed in other departments that might otherwise have gone unresolved for months, just because an executive heard a customer raise an issue."
 
Today we have powerful recording technologies to capture and share customer interactions but there is something very powerful about hearing it first hand and in real time. Has your company ever considered a listening room?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
9/10/07 - Test Drive the Other Guys
Last week, we discussed the growing trend among prospective customers to "test drive" customer service before a purchase decision. Often this happens when customers call into a contact center to see what type of service they can expect as a customer. Furthermore, we discussed the importance of having management also test drive customer support. You know, that "spend time in your customers' shoes" thing.
 
Today, let's extend that thought a bit. Should you and your "C" executives being test driving anyone else's customer service? I'm sure you've already guessed what I'm going to say and you are right. You should be test driving your competitors' customer service. What better way to get a sense for the comparisons your prospects are making?
 
I'll be the first to admit that the comparisons might be anecdotal at best because you are not getting a comprehensive view. However, it is a snapshot and that is better than simply not knowing. And don't get me started on benchmarking as a replacement.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)