Are you thinking like a Customer?

Over the past week, I had three interactions that stood out and reminded me how the little things in Customer Support can have the largest impact on the Customer Journey. Consider the following questions:

What do customers to say about your organization

Are your customers advocates of your goods or services?

Is your Customer Support function enhancing your brand?

Interaction one – medical / mobility product needed service and parts replaced. Odd because of the light use and relatively young age of the product. After five days of no response to email, I reached out via TXT and was told I needed to call to resolve my issue, I was provided the ‘direct number’ – three calls and five internal transfers later, I reached someone who helped me order the replacement parts. I found the service and support functions lacking, and a striking contrast to the friendly and knowledgeable sales process I experienced a little over a year earlier. I had to repeat my information and restate my need on every transfer. I did not get the feeling the agents I was interacting with were trained or following a set process for identification and resolution. My overall feeling for this organization dropped and I would be hesitant to recommend it to others if asked. This organization appeared to be focused inward, with processes designed to fit the needs of the organization. The various agents I interacted with knew I was not satisfied with the quality of the service but did nothing to recover the experience or change my perception.

Interaction two – Technology equipment not working properly. I reached out via detailed email to support describing my issue and received a quick response. After some troubleshooting and evaluating the photos I sent, the replacement part was shipped to me. Unfortunately, this did not resolve my issue. I communicated that to the agent, she immediately generated a case for my unit to be returned and serviced by the manufacturer. There was never a question of warrantee or cost to me for this service. I was provided a FedEx label, and returned the unit. I received emails form the agent at each step of the process, including what was done to repair my unit and the shipping info for its return to me. In about 5 days, I was back in service. This organization demonstrated a concern for the customer, had processes in place to meet those needs and reinforced the reputation of the company. I will have no problem recommending them in the future. This organization was customer focused. They communicated and followed up. Each interaction was designed to minimize my disruption and return my unit to full service. The actions this organization took reinforced my positive perception of them.

The third interaction surprised me – An organization I had ordered from in the past sent me a discount code for a consumable product I normally use. I went online and the specific SKU (100 count) was out of stock. I needed the product, so I purchased two 48 count SKUs at regular price. I also sent an email asking the company to let me know when the 100 count SKU was back in stock. The next day I received a credit on my account for the difference in price between the discounted 100 count SKU, and the two full price 48 count SKU I ordered.  I had no expectation of a discount being applied.  I am not a large customer for this organization. I only interacted with them via automation and email. It was a small amount financially, but it demonstrated the organizations commitment to putting customers first and it appears this organization empowers agents to take the best course of action for the customer. This simple, customer first act changed my perception of the organization and they now have me as a long term repeat customer.

What are you doing to recover the experience and change the customers perception of your organization?