Did you ever have one of those days where people and systems conspire to provide a really bad customer service experience? One that becomes a black hole of indifference sucking all your enthusiasm into a vortex of helplessness from which nothing escapes.
Welcome to my world yesterday.
My journey into the void began early. I inconvenienced the inhabitants of a national bread, coffee, lunch and treats chains by wanting to purchase a "coffee to go" for ten and about a dozen assorted pastries. Feeling guilty for tying up the long line of caffeine and calorie seekers forming behind me I realized that the manager assigned only one of the six or seven employees to work the register. At least the treats were tasty.
Later, not recognizing the approaching darkness, I decide to deal with an error message showing up in my payroll software. After entering information twice into online forms, the company finally grants me access to the treasured customer service telephone number.
The automated system asks for the same information before transferring me to a tech support group. The tech support voice system informs me that they are all too busy to help me anytime soon, and then advises me to check their web page. Surprisingly, a techie answered the phone only 30 seconds later and not surprisingly offers a $200 upgrade as the only solution to my problem. (This company recovered by responding to my anguished Twitter post and actually helping me. Cool!)
Blindly going where no man had ever gone before, I travel out to the regional mall to acquire a gift card for an employee anniversary. Four people are in the mall office. None are empowered to sell me a gift card. The anointed employee "would return in an hour and so should I." I went to a bank instead.
My journey reminded me of an important lesson. Many poor customer service experiences are as a result of poor management, training and chosen customer service models.
Managers choose to put employees into situations for which they are not trained or coached. Managers choose the preferred client interface with their company. Managers choose to ignore likely scenarios that may affect the ability of customers to get what they want.
I renewed my vow to not be that kind of manager. I will train my employees. I will not steal time from clients to make my job easier. I will anticipate what may go wrong. I will be Ahead of the Curve!
My clients will not be sucked into the vortex!
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Image courtesy http://www.123rf.com/
great post. Systems are great, but only if they make sense! We need to be seeking to improve people's lives, not make them more complicated
As a manager, I have always felt that I worked for my employees. Training and managerial support are key to everyone's success. When they succeed, I succeed. It sounds like you've got it all together.
Good luck and take care.
Giood place to be, ahead of the curve -- thanks for the "void" experience story!
John,
Christmas is what? 35 days away? Four people are in the mall office. None are empowered to sell me a gift card. That's just amazing!
I hope you have a better day today!
Mike in Tucson
Sean: Yes. Too often the drive to employ systems that lower costs also reduce the customer service.
Cindy: I've concluded that behind every employee providing bad customer service there's usually a manager or supervisor who not managing, supervising or training.
Li: Ahead of the Curve! Words we live by. Thanks for stopping by.
Mike: My thoughts precisely. The next day turned out to be really really bad titles day, but that's another post. lol