What’s Happening to Customer Service? with Host Susan Ney | HR 64

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Hi, Susan here. Hey, glad you could join me as we

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reflect on the important topic of customer service. Today on

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the HR Inside Out podcast, I just returned from a truly

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delightful trip to England with my daughter, who isn't my

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daughter. And perhaps it's just that I don't get out enough. But

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I was really quite surprised and disappointed that the

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significant lack of care and attention what we used to call

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customer service that we often received as examples at British

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Airways in London, the weighing of your luggage, the putting the

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baggage tags on the check in are all now completely self service.

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Yes, there are individuals there to help you if you are having

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trouble. But the expectation is that you pay attention to the

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instructions provided and only call them over if you can't

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manage on your own. I'm talking about airlines, Air Canada is

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certainly receiving some very bad press in the news these

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days, are kicking people off the plane when they complained about

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the fact that they were being asked to sit him and recently

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vomited on seats. I know I wouldn't have been happy to sit

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there. And I found that the offering of blankets to cover

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the seats was apparently made after the complaint, quite

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appalling. Another example, my daughter and I, one of whom

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really needed to get to the facilities in our room, entered

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the hotel elevator expecting to quickly arrive at our

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destination. But no, up and down the elevator, we went between

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the ground floor and p3, ground floor and p3, and then up to the

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ninth floor, desperately trying to get the doors open. When we

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finally buzzed the alarm, saying, Hey, we got a problem

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here. We were told, yeah, we were on it, we've got somebody

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coming. When we finally got out, we were very upset. And we're

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simply told we're so sorry for the inconvenience. Now, we

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really felt that they should have roped off that elevator, or

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put a note on there not to use it for the fact that you

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couldn't get out once you bought him a little like being at

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Disneyland him in the elevator. And, you know, so we complaint

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and we wanted to talk to the manager, we really felt that.

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And it's a nice hotel. But their attention to this situation was

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was not appropriate. What we found is that the chill that we

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received from the entire staff for the duration of the time

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that we were there was awful, just awful. Obviously, the fact

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that we wanted to express that they could have done better, was

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not being viewed as a way to improve their service, it was

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just quite frankly an inconvenience to them. Another

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example and I'll get on to more positive in our increasingly

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online world and attempting to book a car service to the

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airport. It appeared that the request had gone through but I

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didn't get a confirmation so I entered it again. And guess what

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I got charged twice. Now I did call the car service and

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explained what had happened. And when I got charged twice the car

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service has been great. They sent me screenshots showing that

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they'd only actually received one payment. I didn't have the

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same success with my bank. I called the credit card number on

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the back of my my visa. And it's of course an automated service.

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It took me many attempts before that automated service finally

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realized I needed to speak to a real live person. The first time

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the call got dropped. The second time the individual I spoke to

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settle you need to speak with disputes group. And since it's

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still a pending charge, there's nothing I can do about it. I

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just kind of expected that she would take it off my shoulders

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and make note follow up and get back to me but instead I was

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provided the telephone number of the disputes group and told to

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make the call myself. You know we just we increasingly bag your

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own groceries we do our own checkout. And the number of

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places in England anyways who don't even accept cash because

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that would actually involve them having to make change. Well, you

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can see where I'm going with this. It wasn't that long ago

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that I was hiring people to teach the skills of excellent

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customer service to staff. And in this era of global

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competition, one would think that that was still really

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important. And I'm aware of staff shortages and the growing

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need to hire individuals who need to learn the skills,

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they're in the process of being taught. But still, is it not

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possible to put a message on an answering machine, or perhaps an

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email response, saying when a call back or a text back can be

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anticipated. And the experience of true empathy when something

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does go wrong, because of course, things go wrong. And

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what happened to the days when raising a matter with somebody

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like taking the time to say, hey, is no longer viewed as an

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opportunity to improve services, it's just viewed as an

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inconvenience. We all know what it feels like when someone takes

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that extra moment to ensure that all as well. My daughter and I

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walked into it church in Penzance. There's a group of

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women sitting around a table, having coffee, and sure Welcome

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to without any pressure to do anything, but enjoy the beauty

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of the building that they were also enjoying. It was one of the

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many highlights of my time away. Their positive energy was

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palpable. We have no idea what we actually express to others

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without saying a word. The way that my daughter and I were

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looked at by that hotel staff, I've already provided as an

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example, completely opposite was the feeling that we received

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when curious, we entered the doors of this ancient church

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wishing to see the gorgeous stained glass windows inside.

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They didn't ask us per donation, they joyfully answered our

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questions. It was obvious that they appreciated our taking the

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time to also honor the legacy and the history that was

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surrounding all of us. So what do you do when you're stressed

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and don't have time to provide the service that you wish to

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provide? You just slow down a little bit. Remember, the same

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pace makes waste? Have you ever not taken the time to do

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something properly and then had to return the job to fix their

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mistakes? I certainly have read a post on LinkedIn that talked

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about no one taking the time anymore to let individuals know

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why they haven't received the position that they applied for.

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I know most people don't realize how many applications are

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received for positions, and that contacting all of those

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applicants really just isn't possible. And that's why we do

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need to rely on technology and things like applicant tracking

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systems, which at least let the applicant know that their

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application has been received and that they will be contacted

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only if they're selected for an interview. I'm always made sure

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that anyone interviewed was called afterwards to let them

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know the outcome of the process. That personal contact. Now I

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know the only one that was ever happy with me was the person

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that got the job, because the others were sorry, but calls.

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But being prepared with the feedback on those sorry about

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calls, often left a better feeling with the individuals.

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And I know there were lots of internal candidates who might

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otherwise have great recruitment decisions, had they not provided

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guidance on the why of the decision. And often they were

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open to it. What might help them for the next time if they wish

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to apply again. It really didn't take that much time. And it

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really did build connection and care into a process that often

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doesn't feel like what about where you work? Are you able to

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provide the service that you wish? Or are you encouraged to

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rush things along? Someone I know has a core value of

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excellence. One of their employer also professes is a

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core value of core corporate value. Yet they're also under

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pressure to take less time with their customers. It doesn't seem

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to matter to their employer that the work they do never has to be

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redone. The quality of what they do leaves a very positive

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impression with their clients. That's a little confusing. What

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are your organization's values? And is there consistency with

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what you and your teams that you work with? are expecting to

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provide is really important questions not only for the

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people that we serve, but also for engagement levels within our

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organizations.

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As an HR professional, I actually felt sorry for the

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hotel staff. We had requested to speak with their manager, we

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raised matters that should have been taken care of. And in these

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days of social media, he could have used the opportunity to

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absolutely trash the place. We did the appropriate thing by

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speaking with the individuals involved. A manager actually got

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called from a meeting to meet with us as we exited the hotel

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when we were leaving, so he had taken our complaint seriously

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and wish to speak with us. When we don't know is the kind of

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manager he is towards his staff, by their demeanor towards us.

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And his assurance so the CCTV camera footage would be reviewed

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with regard to the matter. Perhaps there was fear of

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reprisal, rather than our intent, that the handling of the

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matter could have been done so much better. Improvement, not

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punishment. What do you do or experience when someone takes

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the time to express concerns over the service that they've

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received? Do you see it as an opportunity to potentially

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improve? And yes, I'm very aware of that there are some

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individuals who can never be satisfied no matter what you do.

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I'm not talking about those situations. When you say you're

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going to deliver something, do you follow through? Or like the

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fellow who asked if we minded to be smoked when we are eating our

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lunch and then lit up anyways? Do you not really listen. And

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kudos to my daughter who, as we were leaving, said to him, he

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shouldn't really ask if he wasn't interested in our

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response. That surprised him. And it really takes so little to

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leave a positive impression. The organizations that get this and

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allow that latitude to their staff are the ones that I'll

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return to. And they weren't the ones that I will also encourage

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people to work out. They're the ones that we love to be

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associated with. What was the last time that you were offered

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training and what excellent customer service looks and feels

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like? On a quick internet search, I've seen that there are

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still organizations offering it. And I see articles outlining the

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benefits. As an example Investopedia cites customer

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retention, employee retention, troubleshooting and problem

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solving. Customer Service leads to referrals, boosts the brand

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increases customer lifetime value, and influences corporate

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culture. Now, that seems to me like enough to make it work in

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organizations while you enhance customer service. Investopedia

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suggests consideration of service personalization, speed,

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providing an option for self service, listening, empathy, and

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being proactive. I received service personalization when

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restaurants were attentive to my needs, or gluten free options

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and warned against the possibility of cross

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contamination where that was a concern. I didn't experience

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speed from a bank, who left it to me to follow up. Rather than

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making a note and doing this for me. I did experience speed and

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moving customers along when, for example, British Airways at we

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do self service, or when buses expected me to tap my credit

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card rather than pay for my ride by cash. Although they did

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accept cash payments. I like that there be an option for self

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service and I emphasize the word option. As people oversight

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professionals, as your organizational world start to

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engage more self service options. are you ensuring that

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your staff teams understand how to use the technology or the

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service that you're automating? As an example, do your employees

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even understand her health benefit plans that are going

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into use of more technology and self serve? Did they know how to

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make their personal selections and what those look like? Are

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they aware that they need to actually go in and add their new

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baby to their coverage or delete coverage of a partner in a

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partnership split? Listening and empathy, always important. Have

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heard the customer is always right. Now the customer isn't

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always right. But the customer does need to have their concerns

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heard. I love Stephen Covey's principle in his book The Seven

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Habits of Highly Effective People seek first to understand

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and then to be understood. It does indeed build trust helps

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resolve complex and help us find those Win Win solutions. And

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thank you to the dictionary definition of empathy that

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involves the ability to sense, understand and share the

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feelings and emotions of others from their perspective. It is

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essentially being able to place yourself in someone else's shoes

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and know what they might be feeling in the situation. And it

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is and I continue with the definition of critical human

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skill that can positively impact our relationships, well being an

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ability to connect with others. Think back to a time where you

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have really felt heard, or you felt that the person you were

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speaking to really got you and the situation that you're in. I

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took a tumble. When I was in London, I miss stepping up on a

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curb and ended up sprawling across the sidewalk, immediately

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in front of two construction workers. very embarrassing. Now

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I pulled a muscle in my leg and I scraped my elbow so I wasn't

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actually able to stand up and was bleeding. Their reaction to

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show me that they were there to help to make me feel less

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embarrassed because they said it was just us that saw you. Yes, I

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must have looked ridiculous. These two could have walked

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away. Instead, they put themselves in my shoes I felt

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cared for. They even offered the services of their first day they

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found them 10 Prime to collect myself in their construction

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office. David girl foreman on the job. So remember his name,

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kind, compassionate, perhaps not customer service per se, but a

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true example of empathy and kindness. And you know, if I had

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been looking for a construction company to hire, his actions

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would have pushed my interest in considering him or them the

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company way up the scale. You never know. Stranger things have

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happened in life. And finally, as part of the definition being

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proactive, another quick internet search defined is

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acting in anticipation of future problems or needs or changes.

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What is there about the situation that you can control

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or influence it is about addressing issues before they

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arise. That the hotel cordoned off the elevator, our situation

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would have never arisen. Now, I obviously took more care and

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watching more established given the uneven paving stones and

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unusual curbs after my tumble. And Air Canada should have

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anticipated that the passengers in the moment covered seats

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would not have been happy about it, and been proactive about

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what they could have done ahead of time to deal with the matter.

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Customer service is often about learning from adversity and

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doing things differently as a result. It's important and it is

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all about who we are as individuals and how we present

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ourselves and our organizations to the world. Borrowing from

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Mahatma Ghandi Be the change you want to see in the world. What

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does this mean? It's all about leadership. What might you be

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able to do to influence the service you and your

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organization? Provide? And do any of the experiences that I've

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shared on the podcast resonate with you? I know that there are

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many times that I could have provided better service by being

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more available by listening deeper, or perhaps even offering

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a smile and clarification on what I couldn't couldn't do in

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that moment. Any of those might have made a more positive

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outcome. What about you? Hey, thank you for taking the time to

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join me today. I hope I've left something for you to consider

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and to reflect on and remember parents are believe you can do

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it Susan signing up till next time. Have a great rest of your

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day. Take care everyone you