I used this outside vendor for the past 12 months, with no issues. However, I was not deriving the necessary ROI (Return on Investment) for this service. Therefore I cancelled this service, compliant with the understanding they needed 30 days prior notification. While looking at my business account some 45 days later, I noticed a recent charge that should not have been there- for this very service. Therefore, I notified the company and requested reversal of the charges.
I received the following email as a reply to my request for
the reversal of charges . . .
“When you cancel, we
do require a 30 day notification, so if you're notifying us today that you do
wish to cancel your agreement with us, that would technically start the 30 day
notification as of now, and September would be your final payment due to us.”
After wasting my time researching and providing previous
emails to this company, I received the following response . . .
“I wasn't privy to
these emails, so my apologies. I will instruct accounting to reimburse you
immediately.”
As of today, over one week later, I am STILL waiting for the
reimbursement into my account. In fact I am thinking that my next email will be
to question the timeliness of their commitment to the word ‘immediately’.
What went wrong?
This business is not a terribly large, with only 15
employees, but (whether they admit it or not) they have significant challenges
with their customer service.
1-
Communication.
All communication needs to be shared with all people in their customer
service area, by customer account is preferred. 2- Never write an email with a confrontational tone. There should be Systems and Procedures that have an approved email template that customer service personnel can use without deviation. Remember, the objective for Customer Service is to help the customer not anger the customer.
3- In an apology, there are three critical parts that need to be addressed:
a.
We made a mistake.
b.
We are sorry for this mistake.
c.
What can we do make it up to you?
4- The cost of acquiring a new client is six times more than maintaining an existing client. I am NOT a satisfied (previous) customer, therefore the ultimate cost of a dis-satisfied customer has an huge exponential (and largely unknown) cost to your business.
5- Every customer service break-down, represents the opportunity to identify and improve the level of the customer experience.
What to do?
You need to get into your customers’ heads. Unfortunately, you can’t read minds. The Technician in you accepts this and tries to genuinely meet your customers’ expectations. Unfortunately, this doesn’t cut it.
The business owner wearing the Technician hat takes the easy route and bases the company’s entire customer experience system on the “standard” systems they see everywhere else.
• The automated
hold message says, “Your call is important to us…”
• The customer
service represent asks, “How may I help you?”
• The supervisor
replies in a neutral tone, “I understand your frustration.”
These things might work at times. But they’re not achieving
the desired result. In fact, they’re keeping your business stagnant. If your business is like most, you thrive on
repeat business, loyal customers, excellent customer service and positive
word-of-mouth.
So, if the desired result is a healthy and thriving customer
base that will keep coming back and telling others about you (and it should
be), it’s time to change hats. Many companies have been able to achieve this.
But staggering numbers haven’t, even though it’s entirely within their
reach.
Companies that create a healthy customer base do so by
providing an exceptional customer experience. They create an experience
with a systematic approach and intention to exceed customer expectations. It’s not by accident. It’s by design. The two areas of focus that most business owners tend to
unintentionally overlook are also the two areas that can have the greatest
impact on increased sales and profitability.
Customer Service
and Delivery
“Customer service” is an overused phrase that has little
meaning any more, but customers still want their needs met. To accomplish this
requires that customer service is the responsibility of every employee, whether
they have direct customer contact or not.
Customer service is different from any add-on service you
offer for sale. If you charge money for
a service, it’s part of your product mix.
Customer Service is free.
Customer Service enhances your main offer – it’s not your
main offer – but a pleasantly unexpected bonus that reinforces your message
that you care.
Customer Service opportunities are endless. It is a major area that can give you a
competitive advantage – especially if you are seen as a commodity with numerous
competitors. So when you start thinking
about the customer services you might offer, think beyond the obvious.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What attributes of
your business lend themselves to better customer service? Don’t be afraid to experiment and then elicit
feedback from the people who know best – your customers.
Delivery Experience
There comes that moment in your customer experience where
your customer accepts delivery of your product or service. This really is the
moment of truth. It’s the culminating moment where you either exceed, meet, or
fall short of your customers’ expectations.
The mechanics for delivery are different for every business,
but every business has a process to get the product or service into a
customer’s hands. The question you must ask yourself is: does it “deliver?” Delivery has two main components: transportation and
experience.
Transportation runs from very simple to very complicated -
from handing your customer their product at the time of purchase to outsourcing
to a parcel delivery service. This decision is informed by the nature of the
product or service and the available transportation channels.
One of the keys to building customer loyalty is to regularly
subject your transportation systems to various measureable analytics – making
sure you deliver the result your customers expect at the most reasonable cost.
The delivery experience, on the other hand, is your
opportunity to differentiate your business from every other competitor. In order to do that, you must fully leverage
the marketing principle of “sensory impact.”
In other words, you need to do more than simply hand off
your product or service to your customer; you need to make them feel good about
the value they receive. The way you present your product or service to the customers
who purchase it will have a lasting impact on their experience of your
business.
While your concerns about delivery might be the costs of
shipping, the reliability of your transport company, and whether to ship ground
or air, your customers have their own definition of delivery.
They are focused on convenience, speed, and the cost to
them. And because they look at how the package arrives, having it delivered by
premium shippers like UPS or FedEx can enhance the perceived value to your
clients. Not because those trucks are any better than anyone else’s, but
because they are associated with speed and convenience.
From your clients’ perspective, you cared enough to satisfy
them quickly, even if you had to pay extra for it. The result is a positive
delivery experience. Remember, "the
medium is the message.” How you say or do something often has more impact than
the actual content of the message.
In other words, the way in which you present your product to
your customer may often times have more impact than the product itself.
Doing What It
Takes
As a business owner, you know your resources are
finite. There is only so much equipment,
inventory, cash, workspace, and employee time available.
When considering how to excel in providing an exceptional
customer experience, it’s up to you to get the most value from those resources.
But there’s more to it than just quantifying output.
It is counter-productive to your goals to simply squeeze
more cost-effectiveness from your processes if it dilutes or sacrifices your
customer experience or places undue burdens on your employees.
The key is to manage that delicate balance between
productivity and the expectations that fuel true customer satisfaction.
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