On Customer Service, Collaboration, and Wedding Cakes

A Brief Note from Me (Jeremiah!)

Welcome! It’s Vol. 3 of this endeavor, and I’m back to bring a few minutes of value to your day.

I recently had a suboptimal customer service incident that has me thinking about challenges I sometimes see while working with my clients. Processes or policies and procedures fall out of alignment over time and create conflicting environments. Here’s the fact pattern for this incident:

• An online transaction did not “cross populate” in a partner’s system.
• An error was made by both firms that resulted in a fee.
• The frontline staff had only partial transparency into the issue and minimal authority and autonomy to rectify their own mistake.?

There are a few pieces to consider here:

• Are your partners doing the right things for your partnership and/or your stakeholders?
• Do all who need access to information have it? And is it the right information?
• Do your systems and procedures match those needs?

So what's the point? A frequent review of your customer and client journey is warranted. As growth happens, we sometimes forget to revisit the foundational blocks of what we’re trying to accomplish. Keep it top of mind for your firm.

Let’s Figure It Out together,

Js

Something I've Written

Have you considered the power of proactive collaboration with public relations professionals? Let’s stop calling the PR pros in to clean up messes and instead partner from the beginning for maximum benefit and impact to our operations. Read my latest blog post The Power of Collaboration - Achieving Operational Excellence Through Public Relations Partnerships and tell me what you think. Agree? Disagree?

Throwing it back: The topic of public relations also reminds me of last fall when I collaborated on this article with Anna Stallmann for PRNEWS on How to Foster a Culture of Authentic Internal Communicators. It’s an oldie-but-goodie. Lots of nuggets that I think you might enjoy from it. How do you foster a culture of authentic communicators?

Someone Who's Figured It Out

While I’m fired up about poor customer service, let's celebrate someone who has figured it out: Sitka Seafood Market . Not only does their frontline staff have the ability to make immediate adjustments to your account as life throws itself in the way, but they are constantly looking to increase their resilience for customers & stakeholders.??

Recently, they surveyed their customers about their delivery service. And no, I don’t mean delivery to your door. They asked questions about how their product is packaged and delivered. The intent was to find out what is important to customers as they find appropriate ways to cut costs, while also continuing to provide the quality of service their brand is known for.

A small example: shipments of their incredible seafood come with a monthly recipe card. Is this card important to folks? If it wasn't present and only offered in digital form, would the customer service of that delivery be diminished? Is there another way to incorporate a recipe that provides a meaningful experience?

It’s a good reminder to be data informed and systems powered.

Five Favorites

Welcome to my Five Favorites - a place for me to share a few things I’ve been enjoying lately. Maybe you have some favorites, too?

• QR Codes: An easy way for people to opt into information, communication and shared experiences. Also, who isn’t intrigued by a QR code?
• Zing Coach: A new fitness app I’ve been using to build workouts powered by AI. Get out there and move everyday, people!
• A good wedding cake: I mean, look at this beauty. And guess what? It tasted even better than it looks.

• Canva: Truly one of the easiest ways to build anything you can dream up. What’s on my workbench right now? A new proposal for a new client.

• Etsy: Most recently, I used it to curate a very cool gift for a client. My guess is they won’t forget that one anytime soon.

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