Looking Through The Lens of The Customer
Focus On The Objective
Last week I had to go for a contact lens check. I was contacted the day before by a member of the optician staff to remind me, or confirm the appointment. This was a conversation that could or should have taken 30 seconds or 2 minutes.
In reality, what happened was that they tried to cram 2 minutes worth of conversation into 30 seconds! The person at the opticians was clearly not confident, or had not been trained, on how to get their message across, just what the message was! They spoke at such a pace they could hardly be understood.
I did pick up however that their message included “did I know anyone who might benefit from a sight test and or contact lens check?”
Like so many things, when it comes to communication you have to focus on the objective. In this case, was it confirming my appointment, ensuring I was going to turn up so they had no empty spaces in their diary and utilisation was maintained? Or were they were looking to use this ‘check’ as client touch point to gain a referral?
I wasn’t clear and I am not convinced they were either!
If you are looking to achieve these two things then prepare, align your communication and allow the time to do so.
Surely a better way to do this would be through a follow up to see if I was satisfied with the service I had received after the check and as a result I would be more minded to provide that referral. ?A clear objective for another touch point!
Engaging Is Easy
Fast forward to the next day and I am in the opticians.
I approach the counter say “hello” give my name, the time of my appointment and my reason for being there. Everything they need to make the process go smoothly.
At this point the staff member has all the information they need and more, to engage with me, there is no one behind me. They know it is a check up so they could say hello and ask me something as simple as “how is everything?”
They could really go for it and let me know that everything is running to time with appointments, remind me of the 50% discount I get on other purchases as a result of being part of the contact lens scheme. I am a captive client as a result!
They could let me know that I am going to get a follow up call to see how everything went. Perhaps even let me know that if everything went well I have the opportunity to provide a referral!
Note: this is a follow up, I have not had!
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For the next few minutes they have control over what I do and how it can benefit both of us. They have a window of opportunity to communicate whatever message they want.
What they chose to do was say “follow me” walk round the corner, point to a row of chairs and say “someone will be with you shortly!”
Fit The Process To The Customer
Is the process bad for the business? No. In the short term, they have got their customer in the store, checked in and ready to be seen on the day and time they wanted.
Could the customer experience of the same process be better? Yes, absolutely. Would I have been more likely to make a referral based on how I felt about my experience, yes. Would I have been tempted to write an article about getting it right, definitely! Would I have been tempted to look at making an additional purchase with 50% off, possibly!
Am I more tempted to see what else is on offer from other providers? Potentially.
Is the process bad for the business? In the medium term. Yes. It is not capitalising on the opportunity for referrals, it is potentially impacting customer spend in store and is giving people reason to, quite literally look elsewhere!
I know they are seeing lots of people every day and they are moving them through a process, it just doesn’t have to feel that way!
Service is Delivered Individually
It is important to remember that customer service training might often be bought centrally but it is delivered individually, based on the confidence and ability of the person to actively listen to the customer, respond and execute the process as a result.
I recently changed some sunglasses, which were both over time and more expensive and despite the fact there was quite a long process to go through, I left the Hut feeling fantastic!
If you want to change your customer experience, then focus on the customer, try and make them feel it is all about them while at the same time, giving you everything you want.
If you want to deliver improved customer service and to learn about the Powering Your Potential ‘Bell Curves of Momentum!’ Then please get in touch.