26 January 2012 - More on Customer Service

In my last blog I said that I would try to find other practical examples of customer service learning points. Well I've got two more - one is not so good and the other is great.

The "not so good" was the result of a recent visit I made to a hospital for a very minor medical issue. I was given a barrage of a clinical tests and I absolutely could not fault the clinical thoroughness. However, I was effectively forgotten as a customer. I was not told what was going to happen to me or how long I would be there. In the event I spent about 3½ hours there for something that I had expected to take about an hour. I was not alone in this; a couple sitting opposite me in the waiting room were similarly astounded by the process. The lessons are obvious and I am sure as relevant to Viridian as for the NHS.

• Explain the process to the customer because it may be clear to you but it almost certainly won't be to the customer.
• Make it clear to the customer that their time is very valuable and that you don't want to waste a minute of it.
• Above all, don’t give the impression that the service provider’s time is more valuable than the customer’s.

And now for the "great" - I spent Thursday last week visiting the customer service centre of the Home Group. Incredibly, they achieved a 98% satisfaction rate with their call handling within six months of setting up. They are clear about how they achieved that. It was because every member of their Customer Service staff had a commitment to achieving an "end-to-end result" for every customer. As a result, they constantly check back with the customer to make sure that the problem really has been addressed. They don't assume that it will be solved once it has been handed on to another department. Developing our own simple but powerful commitment to an "end-to end-result" will surely help us address this.

Do keep more suggestions from your own practical experience as a customer flowing in to me.