Extract from ASP paper - The Great Customer Experience

Jeffrey Tarter kindly included my contribution in the Association of Support Professionals report entitled, "The Great Customer Experience". Here's the extract of my portion:

"Measured response is best; the Wow! factor is unnecessary for most customer support interactions. Only if a situation warrants it, should the customer service experience be delivered in a surprising way. For example, you walk in expecting a fight over a warranty claim; you explain the situation passionately, the store assistant grants you leeway and you get what you wanted. By contrast, in a routine scenario, the measured response should be efficient and consistent. Overdoing the response seems wasteful and a bit like overbearing hosts who over-serve guests in their home. The guests may be unlikely to return. I am personally most impressed by efficiency and clarity coupled with thoughtful policy.

Occasionally you come across examples of innovation in customer service where there is a major step forward in both business and customer goals. Apple’s move to allow returns through stores is a good example of this. Apple gets the opportunity to screen devices using Genius Bar staff before they get shipped to distant repair centers. This disambiguates software issues from hardware issues, reduces unnecessary shipping traffic and gives the customer a feeling that they are being dealt with by well-qualified staff. Apple lined up many stars to make such an innovation possible. Others can emulate this kind of retail experience using remote-control tools, self-service troubleshooters and clear policy.

Research on the topic of service recovery suggests that a customer is more likely to be dissatisfied with your company if you handle an escalation from a customer experience poorly, than if you did nothing at all. Despite the best will in the world, customers will have bad experiences when interacting with support and service; policies are utilitarian by nature and so exclude outlier scenarios. I believe the take-home from both Apple and the research on service recovery is the simple human need for connection with the company; if the product not only functions well but the company officers care enough to provide efficient customer service, then the customer may feel disposed to keep paying their salaries by buying another ‘reliable’ product. Reliability is not just about hardware. If your corporation operationally splits the cost of support, the cost of warranty and the cost of customer retention (and acquisition), then you should create alliances on the back-end to ensure your internal groups are all investing in the customer relationship, in concert.

Great customer support experiences are like small clouds that pass through the sky fleetingly, there and then gone. The direct product experience is the main show."