I have been in quite a number of situations where I have received average to poor customer service.  Not to sound negative but I have received good customer service on a very few occasions.  Unlike most people who have a go at an agent for bad service I usually just try to get what I need, walk away or I just end the relationship with the firm.  I seldom blame the agent at the front desk though because what I know is the lack of good customer service probably began before that agent was even hired.  Let me highlight a few factors that determine whether or not a firm can provide good customer service and make more money in the process.

Could Hitler ever have changed to be a Mother Theresa type of person?  Can Messi ever be Ronaldo?  It is hard to change a person in terms of how they think and approach issues because how a person behaves is usually a part of their natural self.  There are different types of CEOs and how they operate is usually based on their natural characteristics.  Some are ‘corporate ambassadors’ who focus on the impact that a firm has on the society and they are concerned with issues of corporate social responsibility.  There are ‘corporate entrepreneurs’ whose main focus is on the cash flow issues.  The issue that I am driving at is that you need to have a CEO who is naturally biased towards good customer service where customer service falls under.  To have a good customer service culture it would be ideal if the CEO is a ‘people champion’ whose main focus is on people and culture.  Such a CEO believes that the organisation will succeed as long as it has the right people on all facets of the organisation.  He will also ensure that the agents have the right environment and supporting systems to ensure that they work at optimal levels.  A CEO has the power to enforce almost any policy and having a customer service oriented CEO will go a long way in a firm providing good customer service.

I had just left school and I was at this other company submitting my CV.  I was sitting in the human resources office to be specific.  A manager walked out, cool as a cucumber and said, “Does anyone have a clever nephew or niece who can take this graduate trainee position?”  People then flocked to him with their recommendations.  I did not get a job at that firm and I did not have any trouble figuring out why.  The fact that someone could do such a thing was not the problem but it was a symptom of the problem.  That firm’s Human Resources Department (HR) was the problem.  For a firm to provide good customer service HR should use scientific methods like psychometrics in order to screen people better.  It should be ethical and nepotism should not be tolerated.  The department should look past CVs and focus on the job requirements instead as they always risk losing diamonds as a result of looking for glitter.  I have been to interviews and the questions that are asked at times have no relation to what is required.  The result is firms end up with the wrong agents at their contact points as a result of using the wrong recruitment methods.  Having a capable and ethical HR department is critical in delivering good customer service.

Once you have the people in your firm the next important aspect is how you train people.  When I am evaluating a trainer after a session I am most concerned about the metric ‘Relevance to work situation’.   I believe that this is the most important aspect of training as the purpose of training is to disseminate information or influence behavior in a way that will affect the organisation’s results.  Keys issues include having the right materials i.e. theory and to balance it with the practice.   If you are training customer service agents concentrate on issues that affect the agents on a daily basis.  I have been to trainings where the trainer has never done the job that he or she is training on.  The risk associated with this is that the exercise will not only contain the wrong theoretical material but the practical aspect will also be affected.  So in training ensure that the trainer has exposure to the job they are training on and the materials are largely biased towards the job itself as opposed to general knowledge.

For those who watch soccer you will know of Captain John Terry, Captain ‘Fantastic’ Steven Gerrard and Captain Dunga.  These were and are regarded as good captains whose leadership played a large part in the success of Chelsea, Liverpool and the Brazil National Team.  On the other hand there is Captain Joey Barton of Queens Park Rangers, enough said?  Good leaders are known to spearhead initiatives and inspire actions that lead to success and bad leaders will get you relegated, literally.  Supervisors play a large part in ensuring that a firm provides good customer care so choose them wisely.  Choosing the wrong supervisor is akin to putting salt in a cup of tea, he or she will mess up the whole bunch and have you wasting a lot of money.  Yes, wasting a lot of money because paying people to treat your customers badly is wasting money and you will lose more than their ‘wasted’ salaries as churn and other undesirable effects of bad customer service set in.  Choose a supervisor who will ensure that agents will always have good product knowledge, service quality, will learn continuously and is good at man management among other aspects.  Such supervisors will keep the organisation on track in terms of customer acquisition and retention.

As they say you cannot turn a crow into a dove.  I say you cannot turn a Citroen into a Ferrari.  You cannot buy a Lear jet and expect a toddler to fly it.   The agents in your firm have to possess certain characteristics in order for the firm to provide good customer service.  Product knowledge can be taught.  The same can be said of cognitive abilities though with great difficulty.  One thing that cannot be changed is someone’s personality.  Do you agree?  You can even tell when you look at someone that this person is suited to customer service and this one is not.  Have you ever come across someone with a stern looking face and is a sweet person at the same time?  For customer service you need someone who is conscientious, agreeable, and open and has good emotional management abilities among other qualities.  What is more important is you can never monitor all of the agent’s moves so you need to ensure that the people you have in your team are noble.  Do not compromise on these qualities as people who do not possess them are hard to put in line so to speak.  Do this and you will get very good results at your contact points.

If you manage to address these 5 issues we will read about your firm in the press as people give testimonies of the wonderful service that you provide.  Customer service is however a complex art and science and you probably will never find yourself in a situation where all these factors balance.  One way to do so though is to choose the right CEO (or organisational leader) who will use his influence to ensure that everything else is in place.   Until next time.

Thanks

Ruvimbo