The Manager - 124 - Become a customer
THE MANAGER - BY ROB LAMBERT
Hi,
I hope you are all doing well and are safe. I’ve been busy creating one of my most involved videos to date for the channel. It’s taken me AGES. I’m super proud of it so far. I just need to put some voice overs on it and some music to get it finished. Coming soon hopefully!
This last week I was lucky enough to work with a great leader whose customers were telling her that the product her company makes “stinks”.
She knew she had a problem. A real problem. A big problem. And she knew she had the wrong Head of Customer Support in place. She couldn’t quite bring herself to deal with this, so we put a plan in place.
It turns out her Head of Customer Support hated the customers. He hated the complaints and frustration. He even had a list on the wall of the “top ten worst customers”. Her product team knew nothing of the complaints. Her sales team faced objections, but they overcame them and often got the sale. It was easy for customers to become a customer, not so easy to be a customer. It was carnage.
It’s not uncommon. My Arch Nemesis at a company once (don’t we all have an arch nemesis?) was the Head of Support. She prided herself in how many cases they could get through as a team (which was impressive), without realising the goal is not more cases….it’s less. She treated her staff badly and detested the customers.
Customers are the lifeblood of a business. They keep the lights on. The whole point of being in business is to provide value to customers. So to hate on them is madness. Yet it happens a lot.
The state of customer service is pretty bad. Customers often have to abide by the company policies, rather than get the service they need. They often have to jump through hoops to get problems resolved and they are often seen a cost to be managed. It’s wrong headed.
In this particular company they needed someone who cared for the customers. Someone who wanted to make the customer happy. Someone who would deal with the complaints and look at the root cause – then break through the political barriers to get the root cause addressed. And the barriers are always political…. This leader had some work to do to change the behaviours of the Head of Support or face the reality that a new head of the “support table” may be needed.
I could wax lyrical here about how to address it, but I figured I’d include a good little list from “Growing A Business” by Paul Hawken. It sums up nicely what to do as a customer. Whether the business do anything with your feedback is another thing.
As much as this is from the perspective of a customer, I think it sums up the ethos managers and leaders could adopt. An ethos of using the feedback from customers to make the product and business better. I wonder when so many companies lost this ethos?
Complain – if you don’t, who will?
Praise – This is just as important as criticism.
Be articulate – You know what you want, the company may not.
Demand quick service – There is no excuse for slow service today.
Be quick yourself – If something is wrong, pounce.
Be kind – When you reach the company, assume the voice on the other end is a human being like yourself.
Be persistent – If necessary, go upstairs. Then go higher. In many companies, the top has no idea what mayhem transpires down below.
Customer service is marketing. It’s a way to stand out, for the right reasons. We’re all in customer service. Customers are the lifeblood of the business.
So today, even if you’re not in a customer facing role, how can you find out what bugs, frustrates and annoys the customer? Speaking to front line staff is a good start. Speaking to customers is even better. Then making the product or service better is the most joyful part.
Until next week
Rob..
Latest Video
Part 3 of meditations on management - music and lessons.
FOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN
1 - Remote meetings are a pain in the backside. They seem to dominate many people's days. Here are some ideas on how to fix the fundamental problems with meetings.
2 - I have good and bad weeks when it comes to feeling "motivated". I'm lucky in a sense, that I've trained myself to just get up and do what's on my list, whether I feel like it or not. But there are some days when I just don't feel like doing anything. Here's some advice on how to find motivation.
3 - I struggle a little with articles about how to be more "empathetic". I'm torn as to whether it's natural or learned - and if learned does that mean people's "feelings" change towards others - or just their actions? Bit deep. Anyhow, here's an article on how to be more empathetic during lockdown. Let's face it....let's be empathetic all the time (if we can).
4 - I've made many mistakes. Many. Some more painful than others. I wish I'd had this handy guide on how to deal with a mistake that's gone public.
5 - We are what we remember.
6 - Fun little videos and text on what it's like to be a leader - a day in the life.
7 - Sad how the business world flits between supporting politicians with shady, dubious and morally wrong views. Support them office when we get tax breaks, disown them when the outrage about their ideas gets out of hand. Sad reality is I've worked for so many companies where I've not even known what their political support is. More transparency needed.
8 - Can you succeed without being a terrible person? I hope so. (if you run out of free views - try a private tab)
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Thanks
Rob..