| "Hello. Jeff speaking, how may I help you?"
"Yeah. I can't get my files to go up to my site?
Can you do it for me?"
"I'd like to help you, ma'am, but I'm afraid
I can't FTP files from your computer to here. I can tell you how
to do it, though."
"Never mind. I'll do it myself," she says and
hangs up the phone.
I later find it she has written a bad review
of my hosting company and our customer service department. Sometimes,
no matter how hard you try, you just can't make folks happy. As
the old saying goes, "You can please all of the people some of the
time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't please
all of the people all of the time." How true! This is my life as
a web host customer service representative!
Nevertheless, it is our job as web host customer
service and tech-support staff to do our best, and to make people
happy - to have them stay with us, and best of all, to have them
refer others to us. With the widely varying range of customer skills
and abilities, experience and education, it sometimes seems like
you have to be half-psychologist to do this job, sort of like an
online bartender.
Customer service online is not an easy job,
and there are not enough of us to go around, so sometimes it may
seem like we're rushing you or even a little rude, but the fact
of the matter is that there is often a queue of 25 other people
waiting for two of us to solve their problems. Definitely a high-stress
job! About which I'd like to say a few things, since our side of
the customer service equation is not often heard.
First, in the hosting and online world, knowing
who our customers are and making sure you have the products and
services you want is even more critical than it is in the so-called
"brick and mortar" world. For example, your local corner store need
only estimate or make educated guesses about what their customers
really want. Why? Because the convenience factor brings in the business
by itself - they are there, which in itself wins half the battle.
But when you eliminate this advantage - when
potential customers can go anywhere in the world (literally!) in
a few seconds to get what you want, to shop around - then we'd better
know what you're looking for and how to talk to you. Otherwise,
we know you can be gone with a click of the mouse, never to return!
There are thousands of online convenience stores!
Before we answer the telephone, we tell ourselves
the old business philosophy: "Every call is a sales call. Every
contact is a sales opportunity." We know that a few regular customers
can generate more revenue for us than hundreds of temporary or passing
customers, so our regulars really do deserve special care and handling.
We know that for many companies, unfortunately
for them and you, tech-support calls never do become sales
opportunities; and calls from a host's most important customers
can wait in line behind calls for free screen savers and mouse pads.
No wonder customers get so upset. Believe me, we understand, and
it is hard for even the best of us to please everyone all the time.
It seems that people expect much more from their Internet companies
than they ever do from the brick-and-mortar folks. I'm not sure
whay that is - I'm only half-psychologist, remember!
Second, many new companies online are a bit
of a mess, frankly. Marketing doesn't know how many sales resulted
from a promotional campaign, and tech-support isn't aware that a
good customer missed a firmware upgrade. The main question for us
then becomes, "How can we integrate our marketing, sales, and support
activities to differentiate and distinguish our company (from the
admittedly high number of shoddy companies out there) through our
customer relationships? Any answers?
Third, managing the entire customer experience
is often referred to as "customer relationship management" (CRM),
and is handled by specific CRM software. CRM software keeps track
of all aspects of one's customers, including our interactions with
them, what products they have bought, and any problems they reported.
Once upon a time, this level of technology was limited to large
companies with large client bases and complex customer needs. The
amazing Internet, however, makes it easy for even the smallest companies
to track all customer interactions. I'm not sure all the start-ups
are aware of this.
Business (and life in general for that matter)
is - or should be - a learning experience, not only for management
and personnel, but for customers as well. With such a large growth
in the world economy, customer satisfaction is a necessity for making
a company grow. We know this and try our best under what are often
very difficult circumstances.
Competition is intense and sometimes ruthless,
creating the need for a business to stand out in the buyer's eye.
Closely related to customer satisfaction is reliability, which is
an essential issue that has seemed to vanish in the philosophies
of many companies in their headlong rush for quick profits. Life
is full of mysteries, but finding a reliable host that cares about
its customers shouldn't be one of them. Where would we be without
you, our customers, anyway? Don't forget we know what it's like
also, since everyone, including us, is a customer sometimes!
A business fact that many employers are only
coming to recognize is that if their customers are not happy, then
their company will not be successful. In fact, success begins with
the employees as well as the customers. When a company's customers
are happy with the service and the product, and find enthusiastic
and knowledgeable personnel who are eager to help them, chances
are that that company will continue to enjoy the lucrative support
of those customers for a long time. If the customer is not happy,
your business will not grow. Quite simple, really. So, what's the
problem?
Well, you see, as technology increases, so do
the options. No longer is it door-to-door selling; instead, we work
through impersonal machines - these all-pervasive computers. It
is no longer a sale through a persuasive smile and a firm handshake,
but rather by how well you can show and inform the customer of your
product on a computer monitor.
Remember Dale Carnegie (or someone like him),
who said, "You never have a second chance to make a first impression,
and unfortunately, first impressions are the most lasting in a customer's
mind."
Finally, as you've read above, the acceptance
of the importance of customer satisfaction has been recognized for
ages. The focus of businesses today needs to be customer satisfaction
- we know this. The success of many companies is the continued concentration
on what it is that makes a company grow.
Real customer service is about reaching out
and satisfying customers in every retail environment - not only
online and not only in the brick-and-mortar world. No matter if
your sales are through personal contact, over the telephone, or
through the Web - customer satisfaction is the key to success. So,
again, what's the problem? Consider this.
There are the "three C's" in business, much
like "the three L's" of real estate. In business, especially online
business where "location" does not matter, the three C's stand for
customers, customers, customers. A hosting business like ours needs
to establish a good name to succeed and thrive. To create this good
name, any business needs to be flexible on price, on returns, in
fact on everything, This is difficult to do once a business expands,
as is the case with so many hosting companies.
Then, to keep the good name, good managers are
needed. Managers must treat the employees - like me! - with respect,
and stress the importance of keeping the customers more than happy.
Customers need to see the name of a business and know they can trust
the product. If something goes wrong, the business must make it
right - promptly, courteously, and efficiently. With the amount
of machines, customers, and technology involved, this can be a daunting
and difficult job sometimes. Do I have your sympathy yet?
If service is bad, the consumer has the right
to complain, and should complain. We understand this all too well
- it's our job! If we the business still cannot make you the consumer
happy, you should really take your business elsewhere - we don't
deserve you! BUT...
On the other hand, from our side we simply ask
that you try to remember that we are actually humans, too. Patience
is required on both sides to sort out, understand, and solve sometimes
quite tricky technical problems.
Next time you call to say "HELP!," please bear
the above in mind, and maybe say, "Hello, how are you today?" first.
Remember, we're all in this together! |
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