2012 Customer Service - Interview With Mohan Nair, PM Nair Consulting Group
The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking
In your opinion, do you believe the customer service you get today from other companies is better or worse than it was say 5 years ago?I believe there are opportunities for customer service to get better with the advances of technology and social media however the needle on providing outstanding customer service remains a challenge. Customers are becoming less patient these days than they were 5 years ago.
Do you believe there is a correlation between the service you receive as a consumer and your loyalty to the supplier?
Absolutely, one of the key drivers for loyalty is how consumers are treated. The customer experience is fundamental to this metric and the organizations that get it are the ones that thrive in the new economic reality.
In your opinion, which industry sectors provide great service and which ones are poor? I believe the hospitality sector (hotels and travel agencies in particular) are getting better at it as well as the retailers. Banks, financial services and airlines still remain stagnant in a competitive environment. It also is worth mentioning that in most regions Banks are slowly starting to listen to their customers.
Can you recall a really good experience recently - where you were WOW'd by the service you received?
I was staying at the Hampton Inn in FL for a 3 day conference in Jan '12 and left behind my some clothes in the bathroom in my rush out the door to make my flight. Upon return, there was a voice mail to contact the hotel concierge who promptly sent at no expense by Fedex my belongings within 3 days. They thanked me for my business and invited us back to the hotel next time. This was a rarity and I was totally blown away as it cost them to send me my clothes at their expense.
Do you believe there is a correlation between the service you receive as a consumer and your loyalty to the supplier?
Absolutely, one of the key drivers for loyalty is how consumers are treated. The customer experience is fundamental to this metric and the organizations that get it are the ones that thrive in the new economic reality.
In your opinion, which industry sectors provide great service and which ones are poor? I believe the hospitality sector (hotels and travel agencies in particular) are getting better at it as well as the retailers. Banks, financial services and airlines still remain stagnant in a competitive environment. It also is worth mentioning that in most regions Banks are slowly starting to listen to their customers.
Can you recall a really good experience recently - where you were WOW'd by the service you received?
I was staying at the Hampton Inn in FL for a 3 day conference in Jan '12 and left behind my some clothes in the bathroom in my rush out the door to make my flight. Upon return, there was a voice mail to contact the hotel concierge who promptly sent at no expense by Fedex my belongings within 3 days. They thanked me for my business and invited us back to the hotel next time. This was a rarity and I was totally blown away as it cost them to send me my clothes at their expense.
Talking about bad experiences, where do companies go wrong with the service they provide?
I would say from my observations, the lack of training and follow through with what they say and what they actually do. For example, hidden charges for routine transactions, drop off fees for rental cars and basic courtesy and etiquette for the phone channel and face to face interactions. I had a bad experience with a rental car agency that "forced" me to take the insurance and the fuel charges at a recent trip to Chicago even after refusing those options...it was a nightmare trying to get the office to clear those charges because the calls were sent to Manila, PH and they had no idea what I was saying nor what I needed done to rectify the problems...they just were not listening to me and I will not use these car rental agency again in the near future and I will tell anyone not to use it either
Have you noticed any differences in service from people from different cultures? Not really, all things being equal I find that people from different cultures may be polite but they ability to go the extra mile is rare. While they may say politely what they can do, they cannot say what they can't do, they talk about policies and procedures to cover their miscues or shortcomings.
If you had to give just 1 tip regarding the use of technology in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Start using more self-service options and keep the IVR simple, too many times, companies complicated the selections in the IVR by providing so many options that are not segmented at all. Often times, these calls are sent to remote parts of the world where these agents have no idea or cultural sensitivities to my world here in North America. We like to talk about the weather and sports and is often frustrating for me to explain who the Blue Jays are for example...that's a pet peeve for me and it immediately tells me that I am speaking to someone who is out of touch.
If you had to give just 1 tip regarding staff in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Coaching staff to listen and not interrupt the customer no matter how silly the customer may sound. The other element that can be introduced to agents is the option for them to listen to their calls and see how they sound and act for those calls that frustrate us.
If you had to give just 1 tip regarding business processes in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Keep the process customer friendly from the eyes of the customer not the other way around. Most customers find IVR trees and business processes too complicated and filled with legalese. Empower your agents and customers to come up with solutions as they do the heavy lifting and handling complex processes, take this task further and ask the Process Owners and Project Managers to observe how it works, this may be the only way processes can improve within.
In your opinion, how should contact centers measure the level of service they give?It depends on what it is they want to achieve. It comes down to First Call Resolution, Customer Surveys and most importantly revenue as a measure of loyalty. These metrics help senior leaders understand the importance of analytics that are meaningful to the business.
Lastly, can you share with us one of the worst customer service experiences you have experienced recently
A bank that we deal with processed some charges that we were not aware of and upon enquiring they told us they sent it in the statement advising us of these. I was furious and asked them to reverse these charges which amounted to more than $200 for the past two months. It took me more than 4 weeks to get this reversed after I threatened to take my business elsewhere. They apologized but it was too late...I will never do business with this bank again. I went to a competitor of theirs who provided me with some options that helped me save these types of charges.
I would say from my observations, the lack of training and follow through with what they say and what they actually do. For example, hidden charges for routine transactions, drop off fees for rental cars and basic courtesy and etiquette for the phone channel and face to face interactions. I had a bad experience with a rental car agency that "forced" me to take the insurance and the fuel charges at a recent trip to Chicago even after refusing those options...it was a nightmare trying to get the office to clear those charges because the calls were sent to Manila, PH and they had no idea what I was saying nor what I needed done to rectify the problems...they just were not listening to me and I will not use these car rental agency again in the near future and I will tell anyone not to use it either
Have you noticed any differences in service from people from different cultures? Not really, all things being equal I find that people from different cultures may be polite but they ability to go the extra mile is rare. While they may say politely what they can do, they cannot say what they can't do, they talk about policies and procedures to cover their miscues or shortcomings.
If you had to give just 1 tip regarding the use of technology in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Start using more self-service options and keep the IVR simple, too many times, companies complicated the selections in the IVR by providing so many options that are not segmented at all. Often times, these calls are sent to remote parts of the world where these agents have no idea or cultural sensitivities to my world here in North America. We like to talk about the weather and sports and is often frustrating for me to explain who the Blue Jays are for example...that's a pet peeve for me and it immediately tells me that I am speaking to someone who is out of touch.
If you had to give just 1 tip regarding staff in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Coaching staff to listen and not interrupt the customer no matter how silly the customer may sound. The other element that can be introduced to agents is the option for them to listen to their calls and see how they sound and act for those calls that frustrate us.
If you had to give just 1 tip regarding business processes in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Keep the process customer friendly from the eyes of the customer not the other way around. Most customers find IVR trees and business processes too complicated and filled with legalese. Empower your agents and customers to come up with solutions as they do the heavy lifting and handling complex processes, take this task further and ask the Process Owners and Project Managers to observe how it works, this may be the only way processes can improve within.
In your opinion, how should contact centers measure the level of service they give?It depends on what it is they want to achieve. It comes down to First Call Resolution, Customer Surveys and most importantly revenue as a measure of loyalty. These metrics help senior leaders understand the importance of analytics that are meaningful to the business.
Lastly, can you share with us one of the worst customer service experiences you have experienced recently
A bank that we deal with processed some charges that we were not aware of and upon enquiring they told us they sent it in the statement advising us of these. I was furious and asked them to reverse these charges which amounted to more than $200 for the past two months. It took me more than 4 weeks to get this reversed after I threatened to take my business elsewhere. They apologized but it was too late...I will never do business with this bank again. I went to a competitor of theirs who provided me with some options that helped me save these types of charges.
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