I have a couple customer service sayings I tend to over use. I dont usually speak them outloud. I usually say them to myself as a reminder to always put our customers, in any business first. "Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do." "You have to re-earn your customers business every day" and one that came from YAHOO, which I thought was brilliant. When asked what Yahoo stood for, some folks there responded "You Always Have Other Options".
I personally think that the only way you can connect to your customers, is to put yourself in their shoes. For me personally, if I can't be a customer of my own product, then I probably am not to do a good job running the company. When I go to a Landmark Theater, I don't call ahead and tell them Im coming and ask for special treatment. I stand in line and pay for my ticket like everyone else. I get my popcorn and Diet Coke like everyone else. I get my seat like everyone else.
With the Mavs, I sit in a seat that is for sale to the general public, Its a great seat next to the bench, but I also make sure that I sit in the very top row behind the baskets, our $2 dollar/10 dollar seats during the season as well. Same routine. Im not surrounded by security. I dont get special anything. If the Nachos are slow and the beer is warm, I know it and the people sitting around me also let me know.
Its interesting to watch different CEOs of different companies and how they deal with the issue of making customers happy. You can tell the ones that don't trust their products or services. They travel with big groups of people. There are advance teams to make sure everything is perfect. They bring security to places where their customers are families and kids. They protect themselves from any possible interactions, whether direct, phone or email by having secretaries filter everything, and they respond with formletters or assistants, if at all.
I dont know how they do it. I make my email available to everyone and anyone. Not only that, and more importantly, I make sure that all the customer service emails get forwarded to me. If someone is complaining, I want to know what about, and I want to get it fixed quickly. The best focus groups are your customers telling you what they think. No company is perfect, but the CEO who doesnt listen to direct feedback from customers will not take the company as far as it can go.
But it gets worse from there for CEOs that don't communicate with their customers. There used to be a saying that happy customers might tell one person, but unhappy customers tell 20. In the internet age, one happy customer might make a note in their blog or forward an email. An unhappy customer, starts a blog, writes about how unhappy they are, takes out an ad on search engines to let people who are looking for the product know how made they are, starts an email forwarding chain asking people to boycott the product, does a Youtube video about it and games Youtube to make it one of the top 10 most viewed videos.... You get the picture.
IN this day and age, its a lot easier to proactively communicate than to react.
Success and Motivation - Connecting to your customers
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(Page 1)2. completely agree... great companies usually have great customer service, especially in retail. It's a lot less expensive to retain an existing customer than to attract a new one.
Great CEO's and upper management routinely spend time handling customer service calls and emails.
b
Posted at 1:57PM on Nov 7th 2006 by bobby orbach
3. Guy Kawasaki (former apple evangelist) had a good marketing saying in one of his books, which he attributed to someone else:
"If you make dog food, make sure you eat your own dog food."
Pretty much sums up what you explained in this blog post.
Posted at 2:18PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Bob Wilson
4.
I couldn't agree more w/your notes Mark....You HAVE to earn the customer's trust everyday. Here's an interesting story of terrible customer service.
Today, I spent 1:26:18" to try and resolve an issue w/my internet connection (ComCast who sold to TimeWarner recently in Dallas area). I went from 1st level support assured there's no network outage, to 2nd level support to 3rd level support to 2nd level support again only to be told that I need to have a technician come over to my house tomorrow Wednesday between 11-2pm. The last person who had to make the booking was 1st line support, I was assured by 2nd level support that she'd stay on the line and talk to 1st level guy prior to establishing call. The usual music played, only I was on the phone waiting for 45 minutes!!!! The call got answered by "accident" as another customer got dropped off, I suddenly heard the guy say another name and then "oops! they got disconnected"!
I pay $99 per month for HDTV + 6MPBs Cable internet and this is the customer service they give. Of course I knew there was outage in the area and there was nothing wrong w/my set-up I live in triplex and we have 3 x DSL/WiFi from same company yet none worked. I was just curious to see how incompetent they are.
At the end of the ordeal I asked to talk to Customer Service and make a complaint. When I did get through, the lady gave me the FCC number LOL instead of their own Customer Service.But wait, the terrible service continues.. Call again, speak to a lady she said we'll reimburse you for one day of service!!!! I ask to talk to her supervisor Joanna. She's arrogant and after I tell her the story and ask where to write a complaint she says "You have to check www.timewarnercable.com" and to my response that I don't have friggin internet somehow you must have the address is "sorry I don't"...
Now, I am sitting at Starbucks using WiFi and log in to RR.COM (RoadRunner service that we're supposedly migrating too and it shows RED service interruption in Dallas since yesterday night).
I even threatened to disconnect my service and the reply was "let me put you through our disconnection department".!!! It's very obvious if I'll ever use their products or services in the future.... 1h and 30 minutes to be played around like an idiot is indeed a joke....
Posted at 2:24PM on Nov 7th 2006 by SM
5. Keeping customers happy is a big part of my business and it's nice to hear that an individual like yourself puts forth the effort even in such a large industry.
Posted at 2:25PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Micah Soelberg
6.
If I was a CEO I would ask my customers what they like
about the company or product and what they dislike as well.
I think the reason most CEO's do not do this is they have too
much pride and ego.
They want all the credit and none of the blame..
They want the customers $$ but not the responsibilities of a long term relationship with the customer.
I wish I could forward mark's post to my CEO..
However, he would take it as a personal jab. Sigh..
I truly want to help, but my ideas and advice just go in one ear & out the other..
Posted at 2:31PM on Nov 7th 2006 by matt
7. Brilliant. As a long-time customer advocate and Manager of Customer Support and Quality I couldn't agree more.
I remember years ago when I had a complaint against a privately owned Radio Shack Retail Store I called information and got a number to some "Chairman's Customer Advocacy" board, or something like that. I told them my complaint and an hour ow two later Charles Tandy himself called be back to tell him how they were going to make things right. Six months later I was managing a Radio Shack store, and did so for several years. I like the attitude of SR MGT.
As a Customer Support Manager I often called customers right after a new software release - better I call them and heard about bugs than waiting for them to call me.
Keep bloggin'
Rob
Posted at 2:32PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Rob La Gesse
8. It's nice to see that there are CEOs of some companies that are willing to get the real facts about how their customers are treated by experiencing it for themselves.
Posted at 2:35PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Chuck
9. I wish we could bottle up your passion, and also include your perspective with that, to then distribute to any "opportunities" that come up where service is not what it should be. Thanks for passing along your experience.
Now, I'm going to go get my Chap Stick.
Posted at 2:38PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Toby Getsch
10. Great post. This is just another reason why you have been successful. The funny thing is that a biz school prof will write a 250 page book discussing what you nailed in a few paragraphs. You'd think this mind-set was just common sense and best practices for every company. Unfortunately it is not.
Posted at 2:45PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Kevin
11. great point made about filtering justifiable complaints from rotten apples with axes to grind.
i'm learning that perception is more important than reality and it's manipulation of perception that is the most proactive thing a firm exec can do. the internet is an excellent tool for this and large firms have the cash to expertly manipulate public perception, AS LONG AS THE FIRM HAS THE RESOURCES AND ACUMEN TO BACK UP THE TALK.
I can think of countless products that I've greatly enjoyed using that I would not have purchased had I paid heed to internet buzz. Awesome products. So often we're not talking about reality when the internet comes into play - it's perception.
Also, I should add, the service industry has a boatload of additional issues to attend to that are often beyond your control which i guess i haven't really addressed. However, separating the really pertinent complaints from the whine-fest that is the internet is critically important. And a proactive approach is paramount.
Posted at 3:00PM on Nov 7th 2006 by blyx
12. When I was rising up through the ranks of the company I now lead, some of my superiors said I should let go of the customers, you don’t need to talk to them as much as you did before, you have other duties. I had one who gave me the opposite advice and it rings true today. As I develop staff into potential managers or managers into potential senior executives I tell them always keep contact with customers.
Our main objective now is to be proactive to anticipate potential problems. Every single staff member lets me know about any potential for dissatisfaction and I address it right away with the customer. Its funny how one call can go a long way from turning a dissatisfied customer into a very happy customer. Tackling the issue before it festers and becomes too late is the main reason for our continued growth, success, and unparalleled customer service satisfaction.
Mark you are right on about customer satisfaction the only other advice I would include is be proactive rather than reactive.
Robert
Posted at 3:26PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Robert
13. Aw man! I wish I'd had a boss like you!
The one side of the equation those 'other' CEOs don't understand well is that it makes it harder on their staff to do their own jobs well if the CEO is detached...
Rock on dude.
Posted at 4:40PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Daniela Ryan
14. I learned this lesson when I was working for a large(ish) hotel chain. Our CEO would fly into town, everyone would be on their best behavior, Food and Beverage would be brought up (planned out in advance of course), an assistant would check in/out for him and and he wouldn't leave the room (except if he went somewhere else).
He talked a lot about making every guest feel important and giving them a great experience but never had to sit in a long check-in line, wait 10 minutes for an elevator or happened to get a nasty smelling room. From his viewpoint, the hotel ran like a swiss clock (to me it was closer to a sundial).
15. Great Post. Another class of people, almost as important as the customers are your employees. I like to treat them as customers as well. *Real* (paying) customers can tell when an employee hates their job. Employees are a reflection of the organization and you can't simply pay someone to pretend to be happy.
If treated properly, employees can be your best salesmen.
Posted at 6:04PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Damon Henry
16. I think its all about getting your hands dirty as well. Leaders always lead from the front, and the best leaders have mastered each level of operation before them, in turn completely understanding the inner workings of the operation. I think it would be great to see the GM, Owners, Coaches, Players etc calling customers asking if they would like to buy tickets, sponsorships etc. That way they can understand and appreciate the inner workings of their business.
Posted at 7:41PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Matt A.
18. "You can tell the ones that don't trust their products or services. They travel with big groups of people. There are advance teams to make sure everything is perfect. They bring security to places where their customers are families and kids. They protect themselves from any possible interactions, whether direct, phone or email by having secretaries filter everything, and they respond with formletters or assistants, if at all."
Sounds like every public appearance of one CEO I can think of... George W. Bush
Posted at 12:43AM on Nov 8th 2006 by zOOm
19. Mark,
I couldn't agree with you more... and this kind of thing really applies to almost ANY business you try and run. I have worked in large corporate America, and it just leaves me dumbfounded how not only the CEO but the CFO, CTO, COO, just don't have a friggin CLUE as to how their customer's perceive them... simply because they haven't walked a mile in their shoes. Keep sitting with the fans, and eating popcorn from the counter like the rest of us... and you'll not only hang on to your cash, but probably gain a little more to boot. I just wish I worked for a company that had a CEO more like you... and less like the ones with the advanced team.
All the best,
.b
20. Mark
the walls between management and customers are coming down...the problem is that truth can sometimes REALLY hurt.
I have worked for over 20 years in the business world and 3 years ago, struck out on my own. I am reasonably successful, but I don't overextend things - overpromise and underperform and you run the risk of being DEAD MEAT.
The fact is that most beancounters at companies overlook the most important thing that a company can produce - which of course is a customer.
I applaud your efforts and sincerity.
Posted at 9:53AM on Nov 8th 2006 by Michael
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1. Completely agree with what you are saying, but there's an unfortunate side to this as well---it means that one crackpot with a grudge and too much time on his/her hands can help taint your reputation in a way that isn't necessarily fair. Inevitably as an owner you end up having to deal with squeaky wheels who might not even be in the right, just so they don't make you the target of their venom.
But, to your point, the harder you work, the fewer people who will target you and the greater the chance that one dissatisfied customer can't bring down the good reputation you've built through your many other interactions with other, satisfied customers.
Posted at 1:45PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Adam Jusko