06/08/15
A friend of mine shared extreme frustration after a trip to the mall this weekend. She needed to purchase a new bottle of make-up brush cleaner. Being a life long customer and make-up aficionado, she knew exactly what she wanted. A quick trip to the counter would have been sufficient, instead it turned into a marathon waste of time which resulted in no purchase. So how does a life long customer leave without their product of choice? Great question. My friend was whisked into something I like to call “The Process”. Salespeople have a process they are supposed to follow during...
05/29/15
Millennials have not entered the workforce quietly. They’ve demanded, among other things, more flexible schedules, open floor plan workspaces and the ability to work remote, all in search of a better work/life balance. Now they’re doing it to the corporate travel industry. Traditionally, travel has been scheduled and managed by corporate travel managers. The corporate manager sets up a travel schedule, focusing on cost-effective transportation and accommodations with little to no input from an employee. The employee then follows the itinerary, with all its resulting travel headaches. Changing the Way Employees Travel Enter the internet. With the sudden availability of travel sites, it’s now incredibly easy...
05/13/15
According to Gartner, 89 percent of marketers expect to compete primarily on the basis of customer experience by 2016. To be successful, they must have the right tools, processes, and strategies in place. You can’t fix what you don’t know! In order to compete on customer experience, it is imperative to collect and analyze data about your customers. What do your customer want? What’s working for them? What isn’t? How can you get that information? The seemingly easiest method to collect data is the ubiquitous survey. Unfortunately, we are overwhelmed with surveys. Every time we use our credit card, or...
04/19/15
I am the CEO of Peoplocity. We help businesses hear directly from their customers, privately. Consumers use a mobile app to share feedback and resolve issues in real time. We like to say that we use technology to connect consumers with businesses to improve the customer experience. At Peoplocity, if a business is not yet a partner and they receive a message, we get the message to them and work to resolve issues. So, I was shocked by how badly a large national restaurant chain, and its local management mishandled a recent customer complaint. The customer is a well-respected community leader. His message was “It...
04/13/15
My niece and her roommates ran into a serious case of landlord M.I.A this winter. Half the rooms of their house were not getting any heat. Despite multiple email requests to the management company it was more than one month before the owner finally came to inspect the home and resolve the issue. Upon arrival, the landlord was shocked by the temperature. He was also extremely embarrassed of the entire situation. By failing to respond promptly, he let his customers reside in an unsafe environment. Putting his ethics and company into question and possibly left himself open to legal issues. His...
03/25/15
Sometimes a restaurant just gets how to create a great customer experience and you want to dance through the entire building with glee. Capri Lounge, a local Indianapolis Italian restaurant recently provoked this feeling for me and released my inner Frank Sinatra. I went to the restaurant with a few friends for some good Italian food and an evening of catching up. The comfortable atmosphere made us feel immediately at home, but the service stole the show. Our waitress did more than just take our order and deliver it to the table. She found little ways to make our experience even...
02/17/15
Getting and responding to feedback should be a big part of your customer service routine. Let people know how to get in touch with you, and make it easy for them to use those channels. Respond quickly and efficiently.
