AchieveGlobal's blog

Service (Emotional) Intelligence

By Andrew Calvert

I recently had the honour of being a judge in a national experience award competition. I was invited to attend five attractions and grade them in several areas: Business Excellence, Service Quality, and Mystery Shopping to name three.

Every attraction had a good-to-excellent workflow upon entering the attraction, where to pay, where to get information about what to do. Signs were generally clear, queues well managed, routes clearly signed (in more than one language). Once I had my tickets I knew where I wanted to go, what I needed to do to get there. And this was generally consistent for all the attractions. But I observed a few things that really stood out: the people at the point of purchase were without exception totally indifferent to the interactions with their customers. No one asked a question, no one tried to engage me (remember your parents telling you that you only get one chance to make a first impression?) - a missed opportunity for them.

Once into the customer "flow" there were several more opportunities to connect with me (and my kids) to create memorable moments that I would later recall and tell people about (as I am now):

• An usher ignored me and my son (her back to me, staring into the distance) as we waited for a ride to arrive.
• Another usher (with no verbal interaction and no smile) pointed to the "tourist shop" as we disembarked from a ride.
• A man feeding turtles ignored me and my 3-year-old while he was less than 3 feet from us.

Even when there was interaction, the service was essentially passive - I had to ask for help. Very few service providers attempted to understand what I wanted or needed. Ironically, when I asked for help almost all were very knowledgeable.

One attraction, however, did stand out. Their cashiers were as numb to the customers as everywhere else, but that is where the similarities with the other attractions ended. Every staff member in the attraction had a smile or a word or two for me or my son. They asked questions about what areas of the attraction we had been to and mentioned their favourite areas or recommendations. In fact, they were so friendly that my (other) son asked me if somehow they knew I was a judge and were therefore extra nice.

And that was the difference that won my vote. Not the product: Every attraction was world-class. Not the process: They had all managed the journey through their space. It was the emotional connection their staff made to me and my family.

As a judge, I voted. As consumers, we vote all the time - by going back again and again because of how the staff and the attraction make us feel, and by telling those we know (and those, who, for example, read my blog) how much fun we had.  

Avoiding the “CRM Triple-Dog Dare”

By Chris Blauth

Millions have enjoyed A Christmas Story, the iconic 1983 movie about nine-year-old Ralphie Parker, who yearns for a Red Ryder BB gun on Christmas morning. In the classic schoolyard scene, Ralphie's friends Flick and Schwartz debate whether or not a warm tongue will stick to a frozen flagpole. The banter escalates to the most serious of dares: a "triple-dog dare." With his reputation on the line, Flick gives it a try. 

Many organizations, sadly, have fallen for the "CRM triple-dog dare." CRM providers wave the banner of improved customer loyalty, which according to Ekinci, et al, leads to higher shareholder value through "the creation and better utilization of customer knowledge."  Yet for all the promised benefits (and billions spent), companies say their CRM is stuck as painfully as Flick's tongue, largely due to technology and user adoption issues. What's surprising, though, is that business leaders often fail to mention the most vital tool for creating customer value: a culture of service.

If a company lacks a culture that habitually satisfies the needs and wants of customers, no software can improve service or build a strategic advantage. So, before you speak with any CRM provider, consider two of the keys to customer loyalty:

• You earn customer loyalty through a series of defining moments (points in time when a customer forms an impression about your organization).

While a defining moment is not a full interaction, many moments add up to one "customer experience." A defining moment may be positive, negative, or neutral. To create a customer experience that promotes loyalty, you need to create as many positive defining moments as possible.  Organizations with a mature service culture map typical defining moments and find ways to make them positive. Further, they map atypical interactions to anticipate and mitigate or avoid negative moments.

• To build a culture of service, create positive defining moments in every personal interaction.

While few organizations can afford to deliver the same services to every customer segment, no organization can afford NOT to create positive defining moments for every individual customer. A "customer" is anyone who counts on your products or services. A customer, either external or internal, may have more or less value to you, may have a long- or a short-term relationship with you, may interact with you face-to-face, by phone, in print, or online. In a culture of service, every customer experiences positive defining moments in every service encounter.

Taking that "triple-dog dare," Flick suffers a minor blow to his ego. Messing with CRM before embracing a culture of service, you risk more serious consequences. You may even, as Ralphie's mother says, "Shoot your eye out."