07/11/18
In recent years, the usage of chatbots has drastically increased. Bots now account for more internet traffic than humans do. By 2025, the global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.23 billion, an annual growth rate of 24.3%. Chatbots behave as little digital website assistants and can be used for a number of tasks. They are frequently used as a customer service tool, popping up in the corner of a website asking if you need assistance. They are also used as sales and marketing tools, personal assistants on a website, or as digital voice assistants (e.g. Alexa, Siri) Part of...
07/02/18
It has been 9 years since the release of the now-infamous song “United Breaks Guitars.” The protest song detailed the customer experience nightmare singer-songwriter Dave Carrol experienced after United Airlines broke his guitar during a flight and refused to compensate him for it. The accompanying music video, uploaded onto YouTube in July 2009, amassed more than 150,000 views in one day and resulted in a public relations nightmare for the airline. In an increasingly digital age, poor customer service experiences are often posted online, on review sites such as Yelp or on social media sites, particularly Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes,...
05/25/18
My pharmacy sent me a text message to tell me I had a prescription ready for pick up. I was directed to respond with “YES” to complete the interaction. But, I had another question for the pharmacist and couldn’t use that SMS text to ask it. I still had to make a phone call. While the basic SMS messaging my pharmacy uses is helpful for them, it falls short of how I, as a customer, want to interact. I want an easy messaging channel I can use to interact with my pharmacist, or any other business, instead of calling...
05/01/18
I’ve flown several different airlines in the past few months. Most recently, I flew Southwest and was reminded how much I enjoy the flying with Southwest compared to other airlines. Southwest Company Culture Southwest has created a culture that is positive, fun and engaging for employees. Employees are happy and interact positively with customers. They are encouraged to be creative in the way they complete otherwise boring, repetitive tasks required by Federal regulations. One of my favorites was the flight attendant who asked, “Did anyone lose this?” Of course, we all looked up. The attendant was smiling and said, “Now...
04/03/18
Over the last few months, I have become a regular morning customer at a Starbucks near my office. The morning shift has the same core baristas who give me a friendly greeting when I walk in. They also know my usual order and have it ready by the time I get to the register! It’s a delightful experience and makes me feel special! They know me! Basic human psychology shows that when we experience something that makes us feel good, we make positive associations about it. There are several coffee shops around my office I can choose from. But, I...
01/12/18
On a recent trip, our pilot was excited to announce that he got us to our destination 20 minutes early. I was happy to hear that and it seemed my fellow passengers were too! As we sat on the tarmac, our pilot announced that we were so early there was no open gate. We waited awhile longer and then finally parked at a gate where we waited for someone to extend the walkway for us to deplane. In the end, we were actually on the plan longer than we would have been had we landed at on time. This incident...
11/05/17
Many companies provide traditional customer service. They wait until customers have questions or find out about problems before they take action. This is reactive service and can irritate customers, erode trust and destroy brands. Some examples include not informing customers about a delay in shipping or a delayed service call. An extreme example is GM’s delayed recall of 2.6 million vehicles for a defect that they knew existed and had already led to 13 deaths. While, companies often have to be reactive, there are opportunities to provide proactive customer service. Proactive customer service is staying ahead of customer questions or...
07/12/17
Consistently providing great service was the foundation that made my businesses successful. Continuous communication and training ensured all employees deeply understood our customer service culture. I believe that all customer feedback is good, including feedback about problems. That is valuable information we can use to improve. In fact, a problem handled quickly and effectively often results in a more loyal customer. So, it amazes me when I interact with businesses that don’t seem to care and in fact, ignore customers. I had a bad experience with an upscale restaurant and sent in a web form about the situation. A month later,...
05/29/17
The first text message was sent almost 25 years ago. Today, 18.7 billion texts are sent EVERY day! Texting has become the most popular communication channel around the world, across all age groups. A Gallup poll found that sending and receiving text messages is the most prevalent form of communication for American adults under 50. Text communication is the most common form of communication for almost half of those over 50. Texting communication is real-time. Text interactions create faster exchanges between customers and businesses and reduce customer effort to contact businesses. Customers want quick, easy ways to resolve problems and...
12/13/16
As I work with businesses on their customer service strategy, it is clear to me that a mobile communication channel is critical to the future success of most businesses. I’m not referring to social media or one-way text platforms. A mobile communication channel is one that offers two-way, real-time interaction by connecting a robust customer care platform to customers who use mobile/text channel. Today, many businesses just don’t make it easy for customers to contact them. Customers are frustrated with the effort required to access cumbersome communication channels businesses offer. 90% of customers are frustrated with being put on hold....
