WFH. Is it just me or...............

Some interesting discussions around the benefits of ‘Home Working’ v ‘The Office’ and of course ‘hybrid’ models. I currently insert the word ‘hybrid’ into the first line of every conversation. ‘Blended’, ‘aligned’ and ‘holistic’ are soooo pre pandemic.

My wife says she has no idea what I’m talking about.

When I read the arguments for and against remote working, rather than thinking about saving travel time and being able to have coffee while still in your PJ’s, only one thought comes to mind. What about the customers?

Is it just me or has customer service suddenly just become an afterthought?

Let me give you a couple of examples.

My bank has asked me, for the last 17 months, (before I am given 8 button options, security checked and still put through to the wrong department) to be patient as their staff are currently working from home due to the pandemic. The last time I rang them this week the automated message told me it may take up to 45 minutes to answer my call. It did. Exactly 45 mins. And then it put me straight through to an answer machine.

Has working from home robbed staff of their ability to pick up a phone?

Let me give you another example (whilst I am on a roll).

A very large (and profitable) financial institution deals with my pension. Don’t panic or celebrate about me contacting them, I am far too young to retire.

I rang them but couldn’t face their voice message telling me to be patient as their staff were working from home and it would take more than an hour to answer my call. I emailed them instead. 17 days later they responded. Unfortunately, they failed to read my email carefully and gave me completely irrelevant information. I replied pointing out the error. 20 days later they replied again. Still no relevance to my enquiry. I gave up.

At the beginning of the crisis organisations had my sympathy and gratitude for trying their best under testing times. However, 17 months into the crisis my sympathy is waning. How long does it take to put adequate new systems and processes in place? How long does it take to redistribute resources to meet demand? Ever noticed there are no delays when accessing sales?

In my spare time I am proud to volunteer for Samaritans Northumberland. During the first 6 months of the pandemic they managed to operate with no closed shifts. Service as usual. I take no credit for this as I only help keep their training running these days. However, given the average age of a volunteer you will appreciate a good percentage were deemed ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’. They regrouped, changed, adapted and got on with it. Because it was important to be there, they were there.

Have you shopped with Amazon recently? Ever noticed how many times they get it wrong? That’s right. They don’t. They’ve expanded (dominated?) and yet their customer experience remains it’s marvellous self.

Maybe it’s time to have the customer service discussion before the WFH conversation? If you’re in one of those organisations that’s smashing both, then well done you.

If you’re in an organisation that thinks the public will forever listen to the automated ‘staff are working from home, so be patient’ message, think again. Customers are the life blood of organisations. If they are unhappy perhaps you should be prioritising planning for redundancies rather than working from home.