Good Intent
In this age of strongly emerging customer capitalism, no company can be unaware of the fact that the customer has firmly placed himself on a pedestal and that he demands to be treated like a proverbial king. Many companies, therefore, find it appropriate to make up-beat promises for delivering strong customer support. Some companies may be switching over to ‘customer first’ policy for mere public posturing but many, indeed, have been moved to do so out of genuine belief that customer satisfaction has to be handled as a matter of topmost priority. Accordingly, they have equipped themselves with the right kind of resources—people, knowledge, skills, processes and the right organisational structure—to deliver on their commitments.
Good Technology
Continually improved, customised CRM software packages and other enabling systems are now in common use. Implemented with a rigour of discipline these systems are capable of enhancing a company’s responsiveness to the highest practical level. Since ‘Responsiveness’is an all-inclusive measure combining all forms of interpersonal transactions, including complaints resolution it really is a measure of customer satisfaction with the company and not with the product. It has, therefore, the biggest impact on customers’ perception of quality of delivered service.
Best Practices
Many well-known thinkers and professionals have engaged themselves in research, consulting, training, writing and speaking for many years on various aspects of customer service. Best practices in current use by companies both in service and manufacturing sectors are a fairly common knowledge. Many companies known for excellent customer service have used these practices to their best advantage.
All Said and Done
It is difficult to refute that well-meaning companies can easily put necessary wherewithal together to deliver a quality of service that will fully meet their customers’ expectations. However, it is equally difficult to challenge the existence of an all-too-common phenomenon that reveals:
- Unpredictability of people’s behaviour as a sign of cultural drift,
- Lack of initiative as a safe haven,
- A subtle and gradual drift of practices away from declared policy,
- Mission statements downgraded to mere signs of public posturing,
- Wide gaps between promise and performance.
So, Why this Paradox?
At the conclusion of a targeted empirical research spanning 200 customer service and other professionals at various levels of hierarchy I found that the paradox—best described as ‘organisational schizophrenia’—does not lie in the declared policy and nor does it reside in the operating processes. It germinates in the organisational and human dynamics set into motion by incessant obsession—despite declared policy that places customer first—by overzealous executives to pursue short term gains for the company at the expense of long term customer relationship. Over a period of time this obsessive pursuit of more tangible short term ‘profitability’ gains wide-spread acceptance as the real top priority KPA. This happens because the top management fails to rigorously apply exacting standards of performance and compliance at all levels and at all times specially in the case of senior management.
If hard facts of wrong doing are not faced squarely and If violation of company’s core values is not severely dealt with the employees’ psyche suffers from a great sense of distrust and de-motivation. The employees’ behaviour changes in many ways but two distinct features end up in serious chaos for quality of customer service.
- The perception of self-interest, particularly of those involved in the process of delivery of service gets distorted and is no longer consistent with the declared customer policy. And self-interest is a great driver of good performance and initiative.
- Employee engagement is dented very seriously undermining customer service associates’ willingness to put in strive effort or to walk the extra mile so very essential for delivering excellent customer service.
Based on the findings of this research, my book Organisational Schizophrenia: Impact on Customer Service Quality, deals at length with eight operational areas as fertile grounds for organisationally-induced drift between practice and declared policy. The book also suggests many ways to stop this drift well in time.
The 8th Note
If I were to have my say as part of Marek Didak’s great blog, I would add the following note of caution for the company leadership.
Optimisation Theory makes it impossible for any company to maximise customer satisfaction and shareholders’ value at the same time. You have to decide upfront and make an unequivocal statement: Customer First! Period. You also need to imbibe a strong culture of discipline and follow it up with all the rigour to ensure that your core values are not violated and your company stays on the chosen course.
That is the only way all your resources would produce the best possible service you wish to deliver to your customers to serve shareholders’ long time interest.
[i] The customer service influencers who responded to Marek request include: Shep Hyken, Bill Quiseng, Tristen Bishop, Roy Atkinson, Steve Curtin, Becky Carrol and Matt Dixon. visit www.gkgureja.com for the blog containing 7 pieces of advice.