BACK TO THE FLOOR
Twickenham Stadium April 1st & 2nd, 2009
www.comms-dealer.com
How to improve service
Improving customer
service is a challenge,
but sometimes all it
takes is a change of
perspective to make
a major impact on the
customer experience,
writes Lynne Mills,
Customer Operations
Director at Genesis
Communications.
G
etting senior Be open
management back Once your evaluation is complete,
onto the floor is critical. ensure you share your findings
This not only reminds openly and honestly with the
directors of the challenges faced workforce. Encourage healthy
by the front line, but also ensures Lynne Mills debate about the experience and
that the overall corporate strategy get staff to feedback on how they
has a direct connection to the was very pleased with the level of allow them to make a reasonable believe the customer experience
way customers are dealt with on a service being delivered, but several assessment of timescales. There’s can be improved. Taking a holistic
daily basis. Creating this balance key findings will certainly help to nothing worse than promising and inclusive approach to a
between management and the improve the customer experience a call back and not delivering ‘back to the floor’ evaluation is
workforce is a critical relationship, in any large organisation. – so it’s essential service agents critical to its long-term success.
in which both parties need to can quickly assess the time Staff must feel that progress is
have total understanding of the Arm your front line required to resolve the problem. being made, and that they are
daily challenges both are facing, More often than not, front line part of the process, rather than
and what they need to do to service agents are tasked with Get the company thinking a random test being undertaken
achieve success in their roles. simply taking brief details and like a customer by a senior management team.
passing calls efficiently on to the Encourage role plays across This way, the company can
As Head of Operations, I get a feel correct department or account your workforce to help them put work as a whole towards a
for customer satisfaction from the manager. However, many initial themselves in the customers’ shoes. common purpose. I would highly
regular reports which are produced sales enquiries could easily be It’s an essential way of getting recommend you try similar tests
by the team, but I really wanted handled by the person responding staff to think on their feet and within your business, but be careful
to find out what our customers to the call, providing that they respond to queries, questions or to emphasise to your staff that it’s
actually experience from the have received the right amount of complaints with the right tone and simply a way for management
moment they pick up the phone. training on products and current response. Again, don’t limit this to step into their shoes so that
I decided to undertake a mystery promotions. This will not only give to customer-facing staff. All ranks they can understand the issues
shopper experiment, where I put account managers more time of staff will be able to provide customers raise, with the purpose
myself in our customers’ shoes. to spend working alongside their valuable insight that could help of improving working practices
I wanted to make myself as key clients providing excellent further refine service procedures. and the customer experience.
difficult a customer as possible value for money, but can also
with a variety of scenarios ranging empower and incentivise the What’s our goal? In this day and age it is the service
from billing problems to contract front line, making them feel Once you’ve reviewed the you provide that differentiates you
enquiries. I did this to really test part of the client relationship, realities of the current customer in your market. You can have the
our staff, find out how much rather than just the messenger. experience, it’s important that most fantastic customer satisfaction
product knowledge they had feedback can be related back scores but ‘feeling’ what your
and where the gaps were. Manage expectations to the company’s overall vision. customers experience and
It sounds like a simple step, but Many companies rely on an improving that experience is what
None of the team were warned ensure your staff are providing an annual presentation of the really creates the ‘wow’ factor.
�
about the experiment, so it honest picture of when customers corporate strategy, but unless you
was the perfect opportunity to will expect a resolution. Make sure relate this back to employee’s Genesis recorded a podcast of its
discover how they performed your front line team are aware everyday interactions with the experiment. To find out more go
under pressure and their general of when account managers are customer, it’s all too easy for the to www.genesis.co.uk/media and
attitudes to customer enquiries. I on holiday or out of the office, to message to become diluted. listen to ‘The Customer Knows Best’.
32 COMMS DEALER FEBRUARY 2009 www.comms-dealer.com
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