October 12, 2014
For The Love Of Pizza
I order a sandwich, and I must've been in a little mood.
The waiter says to me, "Do you want it with everything?"
And I smiled and said, "Yeah, especially the everything!"
Then when we were done eating, I get up to pay at the counter, and pull out my plastic.
The cashier says to me, "We only take cash."
I smile again and now playing with her respond, "Well, I only pay plastic, now what do we do?"
I was only joking around as I pull out the few bucks of cash I happen to have in my pocket (note: I rarely even carry paper money in the age of technology).
As I left, I thought about the brief exchanges and sort of laughed to myself.
It doesn't pay to take a hard and fast line with people...
Much better to be flexible like, "What would you like on your sandwich (we have X, Y, and Z)?" or "Cash or credit today Sir?"
Being all or nothing just provokes an occasional smart aleck to pay a little back. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
September 29, 2014
Talk To The Hand
Well IPSoft has an artificial intelligence agent called Amelia that handles service requests.
Instead of talking to a human customer service rep, you get to talk to a computer.
The question is whether Amelia is like talking to a hand or is someone really home when using IA to adroitly address your service issues?
Now apparently, according to the Wall Street Journal, this computer is pretty smart and can ingest every single manual and prior service request and learn how to answer a myriad of questions from people.
On one hand, maybe you'll get better technical knowledge and more consistent responses by talking to a computerized service representative.
But on the other hand, if the interactive voice response systems with the dead end menus of call options, endless maze of "If you want to reach X, press Y now" along with all the disconnects after being on for 10 minutes already are any indication of what this, I am leery to say the least.
The Telegraph does says that Amelia can service customers in 20 languages and after 2 months, can resolve 64% of "the most common queries" independently, so this is hopeful and maybe even inspiring of what is to come.
These days, based on how much time we spend online in the virtual world, I think most people would actually prefer to talk to a knowledgeable computer than a smart alec human who doesn't want to be handling annoying customer calls all day, anyway.
The key to whether Amelia and her computerized brothers and sisters of the future will be successful is not only how quickly they can find the correct answer to a problem, but also how well they can understand and address new issues that haven't necessarily come up the same way before, and how they handle the emotions of the customer on the line who wishes they didn't have the problem needing this call to begin with. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Vernon Chen)
Talk To The Hand
July 12, 2014
Robots Reach The Clouds
Bloomberg Businessweek reports how robotic activities are being stored in the cloud and are then accessible to other robots to learn from and repeat as necessary.
The "cloud servers essentially [are] a shared brain" where memories and experiences are uploaded and accessed by other robots with a need to know the same thing.
The cloud is the means of transfer learning from one robot to the other.
It serves like a master neural network where the Internet provides the how-to for everything from serving juice to patients in a hospital to functioning as autonomous warbots in battle.
Like the Borg on Star Trek with a collective brain, the cloud may become the mastermind for everything from day-to-day functioning to taking over the species of the universe.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Robots Reach The Clouds
June 28, 2014
Service From Yourself
Someone had run out of toner and they had put in a help desk ticket to get it replaced.
In the meantime, there was a large order of toner on order, but it was still a day or two out from delivery.
So my colleague responsible for this area took his own toner out of his printer and gave it to the person who was out.
I got a wonderful email thanking us for the unbelievable customer service.
Honestly, there are other printers that the person could have used in the meantime, but this person went above and beyond to keep the customer working and happy.
Great lesson in customer service and exemplary behavior here. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Service From Yourself
April 9, 2014
Hey Abrham!
Apparently, religious sterotypes are alive and well with you.
How about a little sensitivity training for your staff or do you guess biblical names for all your customers?
Don't worry though, it turns out that is my Hebrew name (and I'm Jewish and proud of it), although it's spelled like this: Avraham. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Hey Abrham!
April 5, 2014
Archaic Federal Hiring Practices
Some common critiques of the system:
- While gone are the dreaded KSAs (knowledge, Skills, and ability essays), in it's place are what many could consider meaningless multiple choice questions that enable applicants to game the system and answer what they think or know is the right answer just to get the highest points.
- Also, there is always the potential (however infrequently) that there is a favorite candidate of someone or someone who knows someone, but knowing doesn't necessarily mean best qualified, but rather well-networked or connected.
To be fair, there are protections in the hiring system to include an oath of truthfulness on the application as well as security clearances which are used to help ensure accuracy. Additionally, there are the Merit System Principles that prohibit favoritism and nepotism of any sort.
However, when it comes to hiring, what you can't really do in the government is just plain and simple see and recognize talent and bring someone on board.
Anyway, this came to mind today, when we ran again into this amazing lady at Starbucks. She works there right out of college.
She's a barista and has the most amazing customer service skills I've seen in 25 years of professional experience.
She remembers us every time we come in and recalls what we talked about on our last visit. She regularly asks about things like my kids talking their SATs, visiting colleges, and more.
But she doesn't just do this with me, but with all her customers.
She has a big welcoming hello, and smile for all of them, and doesn't just take their orders, but engages them as human beings.
I tell you this young lady would be terrific as a customer service representative in my IT shop or any other...and if I were in the private sector or had my own company, yes, I'd conduct a more thorough interview and background on her, but then I'd probably shake hands on the spot and offer her a job.
I can see her interacting with my customers, capturing their requirements, problem-solving, as well as routine troubleshooting through engagement with the customer and the subject matter experts.
Why?
Because she is a natural with people and intuitively understands how to work with them, engage, and establish trust and good service ethos.
However, if she applied on USAJOBS in the current system of hiring, I think she'd never make "the cert" (the list of qualified applicants that gets referred to the hiring manager), because she's currently working in a coffee shop.
Something is wrong that we can't easily bring in young or old, talented people from the private sector or out of school, and grow them into federal service, even if they don't have the perfect checklist answers.
Unfortunately, this is a problem in many bureaucratic-driven organizations, where if it's not checklist-driven, then it's usually not at all. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Archaic Federal Hiring Practices
March 17, 2014
Time To Spread The Magic
But to me, the rides alternate between fake or nauseating (when they're not broken down), the characters are outdated, the parks are hot, overcrowded, and the lines and wait times are long, and the ticket prices are sort of crazy for what you're getting (not).
Let's see, a day at Disney or day at the beach--uh, I'll take the beach any day!
But Disney is doing something magical these days.
Bloomberg Businessweek reports how Disney's new MagicBands are using technology to make the theme park experience more convenient, even if not more fun.
The MagicBands are like an all-in-one electronic link between you and Disney:
- No need for an admission ticket, because the MagicBand does that.
- Reserve your favorite rides, use your wrist band.
- Hotel room keys, that's right the band unlocks your door.
- Shopping at Disney kingdom, the band functions as your debit/credit card.
- Being greeted by name or wished a happy birthday, the bands make your experience more personal.
What's more Disney uses the bands for "big data" analytics--for capturing your likes and preferences for rides, restaurants, food, and souvenirs--and this adds up to customer service enhancements like restocking shelves, opening up reservations, expedited queues, and even targeted mail and text messaging/advertising.
The bands have radio frequency identification tag/chips (RFID) as well as GPS sensors, so Disney knows who you are, where you are, and even much of what you're doing.
Spooky from a privacy standpoint--sure, you are really sitting there exposed in just about every way.
But this technology has arrived, not just at Disney, but via embedded RFID in your smartphones or your body someday soon.
The synthesis of man and machine...the mystery is gone in the magic kingdom, but maybe the service gets better. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Time To Spread The Magic
January 8, 2014
Amazing Amazon
They are the best online retailer--love 'em!
SELECTION: Amazon has everything.
PRICE: Amazon is reasonably priced.
SPEED: Amazon Prime gets you your goodies delivered in under 48 hours.
RETURNS: Amazon takes returns easily; virtually no questions asked.
Amazon is so customer focused that you can even email Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO himself, at Jeff@Amazon.com.
Aside from their highly successful retail operation, they have the Kindle tablets, Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud computing, Kiva Robots for warehouse operations, and more.
So what's the secret of their success?
One thing, according to the Wall Street Journal, is their tough hiring practices.
Amazon has "several hundred" interviewers called "Bar Raisers" that give candidates extremely thorough interviews.
Bar Raisers typically have conducted "dozens or hundreds of interviews and gained a reputation for asking tough questions and identifying candidates who go on to become stars."
Typically, it "takes five or six employees at least two hours each" to evaluate and vet an applicant.
Amazon makes all this effort in recruiting to weed out people who are the wrong fit for the company.
They believe that it's better to invest in a sophisticated recruiting process than to make costly hiring mistakes.
While this certainly sounds like a well thought out and vigorous hiring process, the article makes little to no mention of performance measures showing that their hires really are better matches, have superior performance, or stay with the company longer.
The one anecdote given was of a Bar Raiser who found a candidate for a programming job that "didn't know much about the specific programming language."
Barring some real statistics though, either you could conclude that Amazon's hiring process is truly superior or perhaps question why it takes them 5 to 6 interviews to do what other successful companies do in 1 or 2.
Either way though, Amazon is a amazingly great company. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Amazing Amazon
October 24, 2013
Performance and Transparency - 2gether 4ever
Here are their store performance measures prominently displayed.
Not a high-tech solution, but every measure has its place and metrics.
- Looks at friendly customer service.
- Tracks speed of checkout.
- Measures accuracy of transactions.
This lines up well with the management adage that "you can't manage what you don't measure."
Some pointers:
- Identify, collaboratively, your key drivers of performance
- Determine whether/how you can measure them efficiently (i.e. qualitatively, quantitatively)
- Set realistic, stretch targets for the organization
- Communicate the goals and measures, 360 degrees
- Regularly capture the measures and make the metrics transparent
- Recognize and reward success and course correct when necessary
- Reevaluate measures and goals over time to ensure they are still relevant
Wash, rinse, repeat for continuous improvement. ;-)
(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
Performance and Transparency - 2gether 4ever
August 28, 2013
Wheelchair Complexity
Innovating, building things, servicing customers, and communicating needs to be done in a way that is useful and usable--not overly complex and ridiculous.
The other day, I saw a good example of a product that was not very user-centric.
It was a type of wheelchair, pictured here in blue.
And as you can see it is taking 2 men and a lady quite a bit of effort to manipulate this chair.
This little girl standing off to the side is sort of watching amusingly and in amazement.
What is ironic is that the wheelchair is supposed to be made for helping disabled people.
Yet, here the wheelchair can't even be simply opened/closed without a handful of healthy people pulling and pushing on the various bars, levers, and other pieces.
If only Apple could build a wheelchair--it would be simple and intuitive and only take one finger to do everything, including play iTunes in the background. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Wheelchair Complexity
July 26, 2013
Sears Couldn't Sell An Appliance Let Alone A Rolex
The Wall Street Journal (21 July 2013) described how Sears online has started a marketplace where they are now hosting the selling of high-end goods at their low-end department store site.
Sears which normally sells kitchen appliances, tools, and crappy clothing is now trying to market $33,000 Rolex watches and $4,400 Chanel handbags.
Good luck to that after their failed 2005 merger of Sears and Kmart--as if combining two lousy companies make one good one.
Since 2005, the company revenue has steadily declined about 25% from $53 billion to $39.9 billion and they lost $4 billion in 2011-2012. Yeah, that today's Sears!
My own horrible experience with Sears:
I went online to order a range, and Sears botched the order over and over again and kept me holding endlessly throughout the miserable process and at each stage asking for my feedback and apparently doing nothing with it.
Problem #1: It started out pretty simply--I asked for some guidance comparing a couple of models, chose one, and they entered my order. However, when I looked over the order, they had entered the incorrect delivery date--when I wasn't available. So I contacted Sears back to correct the mistake, but they couldn't get their system to reflect the correct date--it would only show the original incorrect date--and this is a multi-billion dollar company? But I shut an eye when a supervisor finally assures me that it will arrive on the correct date.
Problem #2: The next day or so, I get a call from a Sears customer service representative who asks me whether I am the Andy located in XYZ (some G-d forsaken location)--ah, no! Well, they explain that's where they have my order shipping to. They can't explain how that happened, but promise Sears will fix it.
Problem #3: This time, I get a call from the Sear's installation company. They are demanding that they will not come out to do the install unless I pay them a required inspection fee. But I explain that my order from Sear expressly states that shipping and installation are FREE. Sorry, they tell me free is not free, and if I have a problem, here's a number to their national whatever line.
Three strikes, Sears is out--I contact them to review what had happened and to cancel this order. They refuse to cancel it--again, I think to myself this is a multi-billion dollar company? Over and over again this goes on, until finally they agree to cancel the order and refund my money.
All this nonsense literally wasted hours of my time.
Sears is no longer that brilliant mail order catalog of the early 20th century; now they are a dumpster diving junk company trying to sell brand stuff, but they are laggards to the brilliant Amazon and eBay retailers--and soon Sears will be out of business headed to the big retail trash bin of history.
The Rolex watches and Chanel bags are just another Sears circus sideshow. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Sears Couldn't Sell An Appliance Let Alone A Rolex
May 25, 2013
Murderous Customer Service
- From Seinfeld who goes to the trouble of making a reservation, which the company doesn't hold.
- To Steve Martin who waits and waits for customer service, but the attendant keeps yapping obnoxiously on a personal phone call.
- To Michael Douglas who just wants breakfast, but the order taker will only serve him lunch.
- To Rod Farva who can't order a burger without the threat of the fry cook spitting in it.
- To Judge Reinhold who refuses to give a customer's money back, despite the 100% money back guarantee hanging prominently overhead.
Wow, we've all been there..."mad as hell and not going to take it anymore," but just when you think it can't get any worse, the customer service rep disconnects you and you have to start all over again. ;-)
Murderous Customer Service
December 12, 2012
Lessons Learned on IT Customer Service and Team Building
You've got to serve the mission, solve problems, take care of your customers, while at the time forming a cohesive, high performing team.
Read here for the full article.
Hope you enjoy!
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Dell Inc.)
Lessons Learned on IT Customer Service and Team Building
June 18, 2012
Flying The Miserable Skies
Flying The Miserable Skies
March 17, 2012
Goldman Sachs Reputation Sacked?
It's not that Corporate America is bad, it's just that they frequently get rewarded for doing the wrong things.
All too often, promotions, corner offices, year-end bonuses, and stock options are the rewards for racking in profits, but are not necessarily tied to innovation and/or customer satisfaction.
I believe over the years this has taken many word forms from snake oil salesman, charlatans, spoilers, and many others.
Greg Smith who worked for a dozen years at Goldman--in of all things "recruiting and mentoring"--described the venerable Goldman Sachs as a place where:
- "Interest of clients continue to be sidelined"
- "Decline in the firm's moral fiber represents the single most serious threat to it's long-term survival."
- If you make enough money for the firm...you will be promoted."
- At sales meetings, "not one single minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients."
- Leaders callously "talk about ripping off clients" and call their clients "muppets," a British slang terms for "idiots."
The funny-sad thing is that after all these horrific accusations, Goldman has not come out and full-on-full repudiated these claims.
On March 15, the Wall Street Journal reported "Goldman Plays Damage Control" saying that "it will examine the claims."
Rather than denying the accusations in specific ways and pointing out their true moral fiber, the Chairman in a memo to employees chose to downplay the accuser calling him only one "of nearly 12,000 vice presidents" of 30,000 employees. In other words, this is just the opinion of a lone wolf.
More generally, the Chairman wrote coyly that this does "not reflect our values, our culture, and how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think of the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients."
In another article, in Bloomberg BusinessWeek (19-25 March 2012), it states similarly that "Goldman Sachs would have you believe it's learned from the financial crisis. Don't be fooled."
The article goes on to list a scathing history of scandal from Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation that "blew up" after the stock market crash of 1929 to Goldman's settlement with the SEC for a whopping $550 million in 2010. Further, it describes a current conflict of interest case with El Paso and Kinder Morgan that they call a Goldman "heads-I-win, tails-you-lose approach."
While I have always respected the likes of Goldman Sachs for their unbelievable brainpower and talent, the accusations against them and by extension against others in Corporate America is very concerning.
The notion that customers are but idiots for Corporate America to pillage and plunder is not democracy and capitalism, but greed and evil.
When we no longer value a creed of service above pure profiteering then moral bankruptcy is just a prelude to financial bankruptcy.
No company can stay afloat and be competitive over time, if they do not work to strengthen their balance sheets, income statements, and cash flows.
However, at the same time, no competitor can thrive for long on a culture of greed and duplicity that sees people as victims to spoil, rather than as customers to serve.
While I do not know the details of Greg Smith's accusations, this last part I know in my heart to be truth.
(Source Photo: here)
Goldman Sachs Reputation Sacked?
December 18, 2011
Beyond the Four Seasons
Customer service reins supreme and that's not just good business, it's good corporate values.
But reading about the Indian version of the Four Seasons called the Taj--it seems like they have taken customer service to a whole new level.
The Taj which has been operating for more than 100 years (opened in 1903) has 108 hotels in 12 countries, including of course India, but also Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and even America (Boston, New York, and San Francisco).
Harvard Business Review (December 2011) describes not just the routine day-to-day service provided at the Taj, but rather how they behaved under one of the most trying events, a terrorist attack.
On November 26, 2008, there began a coordinated 10 attacks across India's largest city Mumbai than killed at least 159 and gravely wounded more than 200. The attack now referred to as 26/11 (i.e. 26th of November) included the luxury hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower (i.e. the Taj Mumbai).
The Taj Mumbai suffered at least 6 blasts and "stayed ablaze for two days and three nights" engulfing the beautiful domes and spires of this structure.
But while the hotel suffered significant damage resulting in months of rebuilding, the spirit of service by the workers at the Taj was tested to the extreme and thrived.
HBR describes how Taj staff, hearing the blasts and automatic weapons, safeguarded their guests during the attack going so far as "insisting that husbands and wives separate to reduce the risk to families, offering water and asking people if they needed anything,...[and] evacuating the guests first."
The Taj staff did not run out screaming--everyman and woman for themselves, but they not only stayed calm and helpful, but they actually put their guests lives above their own.
This is sort of reminiscent of the firefighters, police, and other emergency first responders on 9-11, who ran up the stairs on the burning World Trade Center to save people--but in this case at the Taj, these were not trained rescuers, they were hotel staff.
In another instance at the hotel, according to the article, hotel employees even "form[ed] a human cordon" around the guests.
This again sounds more like the Secret Service protecting the President of the United States, then waiters and waitresses serving guests.
This is not to say that culture is the driving factor here, for example just this December 9, ABC News reports on how a fire broke out in an Indian hospital and killed at least 89 residents, while the "staff flees" and 6 administrators are subsequently arrested.
So if national culture is not the difference in how organizations and its people treat customers--what is?
HBR explains that it's really a recipe for customer service and user-centricity.
Starting with a "values-driven recruitment system" where the hotel looks for employees with character traits such as respect for elders, cheerfulness, and neediness (this reminds me of a boss I had that used to say she likes to hire employees "who are hungry.").
The Taj follows up their recruitment with a commitment to training and mentoring and empowering employees fully to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of its customers at what it calls "moments of truth."
The values of the Taj go so far toward serving its customers, that they insist that employees actually put customer needs ahead of the company and this is reinforced with a recognition system for those who strive and act for making happy customers.
Is this user-centric orientation limited to just the Taj Mumbai?
Apparently not, when a Tsunami struck at 9:30 AM on December 26, 2004 and killed 185,000 people, the Taj on the Maldives Island affected "rushed to every room and escorted them [the guests] to high ground" and still managed to serve lunch to survivors by 1:00 PM.
Talking about setting the bar high for customer service--how can you beat that?
(Source Photo: here)
Beyond the Four Seasons
October 1, 2011
When a Phone is Not Just a Phone
When a Phone is Not Just a Phone
June 15, 2011
Apple Store "Heaven"
Apple Store "Heaven"
March 11, 2011
Power To The People
Power To The People
October 13, 2010
Customer Service Design
I really liked the article in MIT Sloan Management Review (Fall 2010) called “Designing the Soft Side of Customer Service” by Dasu and Chase.
The authors write: “Even in the most mundane [customer] encounters, emotions are lurking under the surface. Your job is to make those feelings positive.”
Wow! That is a pretty powerful statement.
Think about it. How often do you genuinely deliver on that positive experience for your customers versus how often do they come away feeling slighted, taken advantage of, maybe even cheated of the service they know they deserve.
Sometimes of course, there are justifiable reasons why we can’t make a customer happy—maybe the customer is simply being unreasonable or is a knucklehead or maybe even some sort of nutcase. We have to use good judgment when it comes to this.
But often there are other problems that are getting in the way of us delivering on that positive customer experience:
Problem #1: We get caught up in the policies, processes, personalities, and politics of a situation, rather than focusing on the customer and their satisfaction. We forget who our real customers are.
Problem #2: We don’t think like the customer. We don’t genuinely listen to the customer or try to understand where they are coming from or what they even want. We are too busy talking the “company line,” playing defense, or taking an adversarial role. We don’t put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, not even for a minute.
Problem #3: We often don’t put the customer first; we put ourselves first. We are more concerned with not making a mistake, getting into trouble, or maybe don’t want to even work “that hard.” In general, we should, but don’t go the extra mile for the customer, let along deliver on first mile.
The MIT article tells us that we can improve customer experiences by designing-in how we manage the customer’s emotions, trust, and need for control (ETCs), as follows:
- Emotions—have empathy for customers and generate thoughtful interactions that limit negative customer emotions and accentuate positive ones, so that the customer comes away feeling joy, thrill, happiness rather than anger, anxiety and stress.
- Trust—provide consistent performance, a high-level of engagement and follow-up, and clear and open communication. These contribute to building an enduring relationship.
- Control—provide customers with ample information, so they feel “cognitive control” over what is happening to them, and provide customers with the ability to make significant service delivery decisions, so they experience “behavioral control.”
Designing for positive customer ETCs experiences will go a long way to resolving the problems of poor customer service, where we know and stay focused on who our customers are, can think as they do, and seriously deliver on their needs the way you would want your customer needs addressed.
I suppose if I have to sum it up in a couple of words, it’s about being professionally selfless and not selfish in all our customer interactions.
It takes some maturity to get there, but I think it’s why we are here to serve.
Customer Service Design