Real Business Value to Real Person on the Phone
By Bill Capraro, Jr.
Published August 8, 2005
How many times have you been caught in an automated phone system trying to get a live person to answer your question? It is a particulary frustrating experience that ends up wasting unnecessary time and effort, not to mention the aggravation. Yet each year more and more businesses choose to implement customer service automated phone systems.
If the question is really critical, then your customer is likely to continue the process no matter how long it takes or how frustrating it is to reach someone for help. If the issue is not as crucial, often a customer prematurely ends the call, never actually speaking to a customer service representative to resolve the issue.
Customer service has changed over the years, resulting in a move away from personal service to voice-activated phone prompts. While this shift can reduce personnel costs, it can also increase customer frustration and negatively contribute to a company's churn. The real value of a live person answering your business' phone is a critical component of overall customer service. Customers know choices are available and if their needs are not being met by your company, there is always another one waiting to take care of them.
There is a great quote by Sam Walton that I remind myself on time and time again, "There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."
Walton's statement says it all when you consider how many choices your customer face on a daily basis. It is now rare when local Chicago business owners knew each of their customers by name. Not only is it possible that your customer is located several thousand miles away but your fiercest competitor may be as well. Customer service is critically important when survival is the ultimate goal.
Phil Cooper, president of Cooper Pest Solutions, recently commented, "I was intrigued by the number of comapnies that apparently equate quality service and general marketing with customer service. They're two different things."
While many people tend to lump together marketing efforts with customer service, it is essential when building a successful business model, to recognize the different needs of the two entities. Marketing is based on the promotion of your business as opposed to customer service, which is focused on maintaining a positive and personal relationship with your customers.
Advertising, brand awareness and leading technology are the keys to getting your customers to purchase your service/product but excellent customer service is the key to keeping them.
Two factors tend to influence the ability to provide quality customer service: the climate of the organization and individual personalities. For employees to be albe to provide quality customer service, the organization itself must promote a quality service culture.
With more than 20 years of business ownership experience, I realize the value of speaking with a live person. My formula for success is to challenge my employees to exceed the customer's expectations.
Business strategies and policies progress over time but one detail that sharp business owners know is nothing beats speaking with a knowledgeable, live person whose first priority is to care for the customer's needs.