Tag Archives: Customer service

April 1, 2016 · 9:40 am

Menu Madness

This Foodie Friday I want to talk about labels. It might sound as if we’re creeping dangerously close to politics in this post but my intent is to maintain a business perspective so please don’t get confused.

I started my business career working for a TV trade group, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TvB). I know that one of the great functions any trade group has is to help the membership with best practices as well as with advocacy. That’s why I’m a little confused about something that took place over the last couple of months. While there aren’t any overt fingerprints from a trade group on it, I’d be shocked if one or more of them wasn’t working behind the scenes.

You can read about this in detail here, but there is a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires chain restaurants to:

  • Disclose, on menus and menu boards, the number of calories in an item as it is usually prepared and offered for sale;
  • Provide written nutrition information and nutrition claim information to consumers upon request;
  • Provide a “prominent, clear, and conspicuous statement” on menus and menu boards about the availability of the written nutrition information; and
  • Provide, on a sign adjacent to each food item, the number of calories in the item or per serving for self-service items and food on display.

Pretty consumer friendly in my opinion. After all, how can transparency and giving customers information about what they’re considering eating be a bad thing? Nevertheless, Congress passed a law as part of a spending bill to prohibit the FDA from using any funds to implement, administer, or enforce the final rule. Do any of you think your favorite Congress-critter woke up one morning and decided to do this on their own? Probably not. I’d guess one or more restaurant trade groups lobbied for this (and probably made a few donations along the way).

Yes, I get that it makes the restaurant chains involved incur expense. But it’s meant to improve consumer health and not to make the business’ lives easier. It reminds me of the papers pushed by the ANA with respect to ad blocking. Those were more about how to preserve ad opportunities and revenues than about fixing the problem that causes ad blocking in the first place.  Putting profits ahead of people – both those that buy from you and those that work for you – rarely is a good idea, at least in my book.  Yours?

Leave a comment

Filed under food, Huh?

Tagged as , , , , ,

March 31, 2016 · 10:31 am

Eye Wanna Scream

I had an appointment with the eye doctor this morning.  It was a familiar experience, one that I wrote about 2.5 years ago in a post called Eye Yi Yi. Not a thing has changed – not the timing, not the staff ignoring patients and chatting over coffee, nothing.  I reread what I wrote then and it still applies.  I wish the doctor himself wasn’t one of the best eye docs in the state.  While the exam went longer this time, the principles haven’t. Great docs obviously don’t make great business experiences.  We can learn from this, however, no matter what our business might be!

Nothing like a bad customer experience with a medical professional to begin one’s day on a happy note!  OK, so I don’t wear sarcasm well, but it’s either snark or anger (it’s a fine line!) so I’m going with the former.  Let’s get your take.

English: A human eye after the pupil was dilat...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I generally schedule my medical appointments early.  In fact, I try to be the first appointment of the day if possible.  In theory (and today proves it’s JUST a theory), I should be able to get in and out quickly so the entire day isn’t disrupted.  As it turned out this morning, not so much.  However, it is a nice lesson on how not to treat your customers.

The doc opens up at 8 which is the time of my appointment.  I present myself on time, walk to the reception desk, and am greeted with…nothing.  Oh, the receptionist is there, but she’s arranging papers, printing out forms (and not the day’s calendar of appointments – that’s sitting in front of her), and generally doing her best to ignore me.  After a minute or so, there’s a mumbled “I’ll be right with you”.  Three minutes later (I only know because it was 5 after 8 when she spoke to me) I get a “yes?”  OK, so I get it’s a little weird that I’m noticing how long I’m waiting, but remember the premise:  first in, no waiting, out quickly.

I tell her “I’m Keith.”  “Last name?”  My immediate response:  “the schedule is right in front of you. How many people named Keith are scheduled to be here at 8?” stayed inside my brain while I told her.  “Have a seat.”  8:06

I know who is going to examine me and she’s right there in the office.  Chatting and drinking coffee.  For the next 10 minutes.  8:16 is when I was called into the exam room.  I don’t generally bill by the quarter-hour, but if I did, these folks would now owe me more than I’ll owe them for the appointment.  It was a 5-minute eye exam, and when I asked about some results she informed me she didn’t have my chart because the doctor had it at his house.  Oh.  But he’d be right in. OK.

5 minutes later, in walks the doctor, chartless.  Looks at the results of the exam, takes a quick look at my eyes, and says he’ll call me but if he doesn’t I should call him to discuss the results.  Visit over.

Here are my takeaways that I think apply to any business:

  • An appointment is something that’s binding on both you and your customer.  You expect them to be there on time, you need to be as well.  I totally get that people might be delayed due to traffic or other issues.  Which leads to the second point.
  • When you break the above agreement, a little apology is called for.  I got none.
  • The person greeting customers (and patients are customers!) needs to be personable and customer-focused.  Grumpy, even first thing in the morning, is never acceptable.
  • When you are not prepared, don’t put the onus on your customer to fix your mistake.  Not having the chart is your problem – don’t make it mine by asking me to call you.
  • Finally, no customer should ever leave your business angry.  Not ever.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but compare it to yesterday’s experience.  I walked in at the required time and within 5 minutes I was out of the waiting room (in the middle of the day in a busy office) and into an exam.  Well-run businesses are easy to spot!

That’s my take – what’s yours?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Huh?

Tagged as , , ,

March 22, 2016 · 9:02 am

Frictionless

One of the most basic principles of selling is that when a customer wants to give you money, take it. Take it as quickly and as seamlessly as possible. Any delay or friction is a chance for the customer to reconsider and for you to lose the sale. I saw this in action yesterday and it’s instructive for all of us.

English: Golf balls.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s almost golf season. Rotten golfer and cheap person that I am, I generally buy “recycled” golf balls for my non-tournament play. These are balls that some intrepid soul fished out of a water hazard (nasty work as this article shows) and which are cleaned up and sold by any number of websites. I usually purchase 8 or 10 dozen before the season begins and since I had a couple of discount coupons in my mailbox, I logged on to the site from which I’ve made several purchases before.  I put my purchases in my shopping cart and went to log in so I could check out quickly.  My login credentials are stored in a password manager, which filled in the user name and password automatically.  Unlike the other few times I’ve used the site, a box popped up letting me know that my credentials would be shared with Hubspot, a well-known CRM system.  That’s when the fun began.

I suspect it had to do with the use of a third-party cookie, but I couldn’t log in.  I was told my information was incorrect (it wasn’t) and they couldn’t log me in.  Sure, I could have called their phone number (listed right on the cart – props for that) but who knows how long that would take.  I also could have checked out as a guest, but then I needed to find my credit card and type in all the billing and shipping information that was already on file.  In short, they’d created friction in the sales process, and at the very worst moment to boot.  What was worse is that a chat window popped up (more CRM) asking me if I was finding everything I needed?  I responded immediately, explained the situation and was greeted by a reply that stated “Matt” (the name that popped up) would be with me shortly.  At that point “shortly” was too long.

Since I had a coupon for another site that offered the same balls at a lower price and a 15% discount along with free shipping, I ordered from the competition. Sure, I had to type in the information but at least now I was getting a better price.  While I was willing to pay a bit more to do business with a site I knew in a seamless manner, when it became a hassle, thereby lowering the value, price became an issue.  Interestingly, about an hour later I received an email (automated) asking me if I had forgotten something since there were items in my shopping cart.  I responded to the customer service address with a shorter version of what you’re reading.  Maybe I should have charged them for the consulting?

These guys did a lot of things right.  Their site is  helpful and easy to navigate.  The pricing and costs of shipping are clear.  They clearly are using CRM and lots of it.  But they failed at the most important time. Selling is hard but the process isn’t.  Explain how you’re solving the customer’s problem.  Provide them with great value for the cost.  When they agree, take their money, say thank you, and leave them alone. Prevent friction, provide support.  You with me?

Leave a comment

Filed under Consulting, Helpful Hints, Huh?

Tagged as , , , , ,