A Cable Fable of Customer Service

My Experience at the Cable Company Store

Last night my cable converter went bad.

I'm not a high tech geek by any stretch of imagination. The plug in adapter was cold when it was plugged in instead of feeling warm.

So I got online with my cable provider. Chatting through instant messaging with a customer service representative, I was impressed when she attempted to personalize the conversation, at one point asking me how my new year was going, and sharing her new year's resolution was to jog five or ten miles a day. Once determining my equipment wasn't properly working, she gave me three options: 1. have a service tech do a home visit, 2. ship the replacement product or 3. I could exchange it at a store that was twenty miles from my home.

Once I learned the first two options would cost me, I chose the third option as it was on my way home from a meeting I needed to drive to the next day and because I prefer not to spend money if I don't have to spend it.

Walking into their retail store today I quickly learned what the cable company should be focused doing: making a more positive experience.

I walked by the kiosk where customers are expected to check in.

After a few minutes politely waiting at a comfortable barstool, one of the associates helping another customer before me pointed out that another associate was available but didn't know I was waiting. Apparently I walked right by the devise that would let them know I arrived at the store.

Hmm. Is this the kind of customer service I was expecting?

My associate, Immanuel, assited me. He was cheerful and efficient for sure. He did what management probably told him.

Here was the missed opportunity.

Regardless if I were in the buying mood or not, this is the one opportunity the cable company has to show me something I didn't own, use or perhaps know about their products. And they probably won't have this face-to-face opportunity again for two or maybe five years.

In the banking world, we are seeing our customers fewer times each year. Someday the foot traffic in banks may more resemble that of this cable company's retail store. The point is we need to make the most of every face-to-face customer contact. You may face this same dilemma in your business too. More client interactions are happening online, electronically. The need for human interaction has not changed however. We want to connect with others. We appreciate when others share information with us, especially when it's relevant.

We should rely on everyone who is customer-facing to tell our company's story, products and services. From the customer service person online or by phone to the sales representatives and technicians in the field.

Selling products and services is the lifeblood to companies. It doesn't mean selling what customers do not need or want. It is about selling things they may not have thought or known about; it's helping identify challenges and providing a solution; and it's about adding value to an existing relationship.

Let me ask you: "How well is your company doing this?"