by Wanda Roos, Research Psychologist and Associate Consultant Member of the Phelekeza Team
I write this blog as I reflect on a somewhat traumatic experience I had around an early morning airport shuttle service to catch a 07:00 flight to Cape Town a year or so ago. With the service having been booked for a 05:00 pick-up a few weeks before already, my morning began at 03:00 with my packing the last few things and anxiously awaiting the promised ‘1-hour-before’ call from the shuttle service company to confirm that the driver was on his way. This call was expected by 04:00, and never came…. I was horrified to find an automated response when I started calling the company office around 04:30 for information – and most importantly – confirmation that the driver would pick me up in 30 minutes. No number was answered. Frantic. What if I missed this flight?? I will never use this company’s services again.
This experience made me think how easy it could have been for this otherwise well-respected player in the transport industry to perform so much better on this occasion. What was missing?
Simple concept
Whilst thousands of articles and academic theses have been written on the topic of customer service, and whilst it does constitute a sophisticated area of the business that requires sound systems, resources and in-depth training of those taking responsibility for the function, it remains a very simple concept if viewed from a people angle: know who your customers are, what they want and expect, and give it to them!
Where to start
Clearly customer satisfaction starts with a clear strategic intent and customer service strategy on the part of the organisation. All of this can, however, fall flat if these aspects are not well understood and consistently lived by those personnel tasked with ensuring that every customer walks away from their interaction with the organisation with a sense of satisfaction. This means that customer service resides within the behaviour of front-facing employees. And this means that this is where enormous amounts of energy and resources are to be spent to ensure that customers become totally brand loyal and keep coming back.
The right people
Personnel interacting with customers and clients, whether face-to-face or via the telephone or electronic channel, need to be very special employees. They need to fully understand the company and what it is trying to achieve. They need to associate with the company on an emotional level. For them it cannot simply be a means to a paycheck at the end of the month. They have to see themselves as important instruments through which the company achieves its goals and objectives. Employees like this can be very hard to come by, because there is a combination of critical inherent attributes that they need to possess. One of these personal attributes is a positive, unwavering attitude towards being of service to others. Another key attribute is the ability - and desire - to relate to the often unpleasant and difficult world of the customer. With such an understanding and attitude in place, this kind of employee may be expected to show integrity in the way they deal with clients and customers. So often this would come down to putting in the effort to deliver on a promise made to a customer, even though this person may not have a name or way to find that employee again after an interaction. (Does the Call Centre concept come to mind here, where it is so easy to remain faceless and forget about a customer’s need as soon as the telephone is put down??!).
Making it happen for the customer
Attitude, empathy and integrity come pre-selected in the kinds of employees that excel at customer service. Sadly, these are not attributes that can be trained. The best that an organisation can do is to try to maintain awareness of the importance of key drivers of customer satisfaction. For this reason it is critical that an organisation deploys professional services and protocols in their recruitment initiatives. These services – through their professional service providers and sophisticated scientific instruments - can be very effective in assessing the softer, inherent attributes of a potential employee that would be required in the customer service space. Of course, other relevant key competencies are assessed at the same time, with the difference being that these competencies can be further trained and developed once an employee has been appointed. This is not the case with attitude, integrity and empathy.
The bottom line
If the organisation is lucky enough to attract people with the right attitude, solid personal integrity and a penchant for being empathetic towards clients and customers in its recruitment drive, it follows logically that considerable effort should be expended towards consistent monitoring, training and development of front-facing employees. Of course, along the way there should be fair and meaningful consequences for sub-standard behaviour, should it occur, but there should also be plenty of meaningful and appreciated recognition and reward for a job done right! After all, good customer service has a direct and significant impact on the bottom line….
So, to get back to the traumatic scenario I relayed earlier, the driver did arrive at 05:00 and I did arrive at the airport on time. However, I was feeling ill with worry and anguish, and my blood pressure probably returned to normal much later that day. All the way to the airport I explained to him in a somewhat hysterical state how important it is for the company to deliver on its promises to clients, and to remain contactable at all times. He seemed unperturbed and mentioned repeatedly that once the booking has been made, the driver will arrive, whether the ‘1-hour-before’ call comes or not, and that customers need not worry. A shining example of a company attitude lacking insight in the customer service concept.
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