Moses came riding up on a guitar
His spurs were a-jingling, the door was ajar
His buckle was silver, his manner was bold
I asked him to come on in out of the cold
His brain was boiling, his reason was spent
He said if nothing was borrowed then nothing was lent
I asked him for mercy, he gave me a gun
Said Now n’again these things just got to be done

Now, my wife and I have a seven year old son that’s been diagnosed with mental illness.  In our home we have to maintain a very clear head and focus on breaking down a problem to it’s very essence and simultaneously calm him down so we can resolve it to everyone’s satisfaction, including his.  Sometimes the most innocuous things can frustrate him and result in a very big and dramatic reaction.  Staying calm, unflappable, and talking him through these scenarios is not only something we have to do, we have to do it CONSISTENTLY WELL.

In my own career in service & support I’ve had to deal with countless numbers of customers that were dissatisfied with a product or service, break down the issues to a very basic level, and then work to address them one by one.  And that has to be done while building trust and rapport with the customer.  Over time I’ve noticed parallels between how one should handle an upset customer and the skills my wife and I have had to develop in dealing with our son.  Below are six things you can do to navigate these difficult conversations:

#1 – It’s Not Personal

This one seems easy but can be difficult to remember in the line of fire.  Even if you understand on an intellectual level that you aren’t being personally harmed or insulted, it’s easy to get defensive when you’ve placed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in to building, running, or working for your company and/or team.  When a customer expresses frustration it can be hard NOT to get defensive, or even notice that you are. It’s especially true when it may not even be your organization’s fault, be it a defective product or third party mishap (e.g. business partner or a freight carrier).

But it’s critical that you have an open and objective mind.  This is your opportunity to demonstrate to yourself and your peers how it should be handled by viewing this as nothing more than a business process with clear steps and well defined outcomes.  It’s not about you! Ask yourself this: Am I trying to BE right or GET it right?

Take a deep breath.  Write down the words “It’s Not Personal. GET It Right” somewhere in front of you just before and, if need be, again during the call.  This will help reinforce the message and help keep you calm and thinking clearly.

#2 – Preparation Not Perspiration

Make sure you are prepared to handle the customer’s call.  Time permitting, make sure you have a set of essential facts that fit on one page. If you’re informed you’ll build rapport more quickly and begin to put the customer at ease early on.  You’ll likely avoid stammering through answers with sweat on your brow.

This also means doing everything you can to control the timing of the call.  If at all possible, be sure you have time in advance and that YOU are the one in control of  when it happens and how long it will last.  It’s YOU that needs to be in control and gently guiding the customer, not the other way around.  Being singularly focused on this customer and their issues is more easily accomplished when you are able to give them your undivided attention with adequate planning.  Don’t fall prey to the “Tyranny of the Urgent”.  The OUTCOME is what matters, not the immediacy of the response.  Any small delays will be forgotten if the customer likes the outcome.

Note: Sometimes we’re handed a blind transfer and find ourselves unexpectedly on a call with an infuriated customer.  It happens.  Focus on getting the basics, arranging a time to circle back with the customer, and perform the necessary research and follow through.  You’ll be in a better frame of mind and therefore more equipped to address the customer’s needs.  In fact, I usually just tell a customer exactly that instead of making excuses.  It disarms them more often than not. Even ten minutes can make all the difference in the world.  But please follow through or you’re toast.

#3 – Use Signposts & Checklists

Did you know that an experienced airline pilot with thousands of flight hours logged will still use a pre-flight checklist?  Would you rather your pilot did or didn’t?  Why do you think that is?  Do you have a pre-flight checklist for customer escalations?

One of the biggest challenges you can face is staying on course during a difficult conversation. Customers have a way of derailing what should otherwise be a straightforward and workmanlike discussion with tangents and unrelated, emotional mind-clutter.  I always try to use signposts & checklists for myself whenever possible.  What are they?  A few minutes before a call get two pieces of paper.

• Paper #1 – Jot down the major points you want to cover with the customer, or questions you’d like to ask.  These can include anything that will help you gain resolution.  This isn’t a novel, mind you.  The goal is to give yourself a roadmap to keep things on track and not get lost during the discussion.
• Paper #2 – Information provided by the customer goes here.  Also make note of pertinent info about the customer.  Products owned, pending revenue, whatever..  You may know what’s needed, but again, writing it down in advance is great way to stay on track.  During the call take good, handwritten notes.(Computer notes can work. Just be aware that keystrokes heard over the phone can make a customer feel like a second priority.  I prefer the silence of a pen. I then take time after the call to enter notes in a customer record or email, ensure my commitments are on my calendar or task list, etc.)

You may want to have a short, canned introduction, explaining how you help customers.  But you should be spending most of the time asking questions and listening.  Use signpost paper #1 to help guide your questions, and take good notes on paper #2.

Extra Tip: Make sure you write down the customers first name.  Clarify if “Stephen” likes to be called “Steve”, or “Do you prefer to be called “Pam” or “Pamela”?  Write it down, then use their name 3-4 times during the call.  It’s a psychological effect that comforts the customer.

#4 – Ask. Listen. Learn.

Larry King once said “I never learned a thing when I was talking”.  I always try to take the same approach with an upset customer.  “Ask. Listen. Learn.”  I call this my “Know It ALL” approach because the goal is to ask a lot of questions, listen carefully to the answers, and learn what the real issues are.  The solution is usually right in front of you.

Customers will be forgiving when they know someone is actually listening to them rather than making excuses.  Your goal is to investigate and resolve, not “tell” or “sell” a customer on why they should or shouldn’t be upset.  That’s not your call, and it’s futile because it’s not in your control to begin with.  You cannot control how another person feels.  Period.

So view this as an opportunity to get smarter and let the customer vent, but in a way that’s productive.  Once the anger and frustration have been expressed the customer will feel better and you’ll be dealing with more practical solutions rather than an incredulous, closed mind.

Extra Tip: Record the calls once in a while if you can via MP3 or something.  You’d be surprised what gets missed when you go back and listen.  I’ve used this approach in my past when I had complex technical issues being discussed and wanted to make sure I understood what the developers were saying without interrupting the live call.  I was often surprised at what customers had to say that I had no recollection of because I was digesting what had been said a moment earlier.  Try it. You’ll be amazed! (Reminder: Keep it Legal)

#5 – Set Realistic Expectations and Never Say No

This one shouldn’t need much of an explanation, but I still see service managers doing it.  It’s really important you build trust with a customer by being honest and properly setting expectations.  Saying anything that will get you off the phone, or worse, make the customer like YOU rather than addressing their issue is a losing strategy.  So be realistic and be candid.  It gets you much further in the long run.

In doing so, avoid using negative terms like “No”, “it’s not possible”, or “Our policy has always been…”.  They won’t get you anywhere.  Use a positive and proactive approaches such as “I’ve listened carefully and here are some ways I’m able to help you.  First, we can inform the CEO as you’ve requested and then act on his guidance once we know what he’s willing to do.  I’ll act as your advocate and speak to him myself.  For now let’s maximize your time and do the following…” or words to that effect.  The goal is to explain what you’ll do in clear, easily understood language.  Avoid evasive, non-committal answers.

#6 – Define A Successful Outcome

More often than not this simple thing gets lost.  Making sure everyone has the same definition for success is absolutely critical.  What outcome will re-establish the customer’s faith and trust in your product, service, or company?  Sometimes this involves a series of milestones or deliverables.  “If I can resolve issue #1, which you’ve stated is a high priority, can I have your commitment that you’ll allow me to then work to resolve issue #2?” or, “If we can resolve the three issues you’ve raised (repeating them back to the customer to demonstrate you’ve listened) will you be satisfied that we’ve addressed your concerns?”  These are empowering statements that let the customer choose what’s happening, even if they’re choosing what you would have done regardless.

In a worst case scenario product success may not be possible, but you can still recover your brand and reputation by being honest and forthright about what you’ll do to satisfy them, even if it comes to a product return or refund.  But that has to be well defined or you’ll never get there.  Ask the customer to confirm the outcome you’ve established.

Suggested Reading

One book I’ve found extremely useful is “Crucial Confrontations” by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzer.  The authors dissect the components of difficult conversations/confrontations and provide practical steps and insight on how one may navigate them regardless of their title, be it CEO to Shop Floor Manager.

Whenever I speak to someone about my business I find myself, ahem, as many good salespeople will, repeating a few nuggets I think help leave an impression. One of them is that any technology company in Austin, or anywhere for that matter, that attain any level of buzz or success does so as a direct result of the vision and execution of their founders. But it’s also true that the service or support staff at any one of these outfits will have played a major role in that success. It takes a lot of smarts, guts, commitment, and just plain good luck to get a company off the ground. Just remember that on some random Wednesday night at 2am a service or tech support guy somewhere in Austin is on the phone with a customer, or on a plane going to visit one. It’s what I call Austin’s “Silent Excellence of Service”. It’s always happening quietly behind the articles published in the Statesmen or Austin Business Journal regarding the funding of this company or the interview with the CEO of that one.

Glamorous? Not really. Product guys tend to get the press and the hype, and deservedly so. But the often overlooked heroes are the thousands of very bright and serious minded service & support teams that make customers successful with a product. Austin’s service culture is outstanding. I would go so far as to submit that while there are oodles of reasons to start a technology related business in Austin, the one that rarely gets any attention is that you can build out a highly competent customer facing service & support organization in very short order due to the large amount of talented people and resources located right here.

What is lacking can hurt though. This week I’ve had two responses to inquires from ‘young’ Austin tech firms indicating they aren’t ready for a support team yet. Perhaps. But while it’s possible to build out a support team quickly, it’s typically done as a reaction to product success. Wrong approach. Why? The need to develop and nurture a near maniacal devotion to your product happens with customer #1, #2, #3, and so on. It’s the only way you build out a reputation for service excellence and customer success. Unfortunately too many business wait until they’re already at customer N and are feeling the pain that comes with failure to prepare. Congratulations. It’s August and the lawn is dead. So they begin reacting, and embarking on what I call “Reactive Service Models”.

Reactive service models are awful. They cost more in hard dollars, and by the time a business has realized they aren’t executing they are losing the soft dollars embedded in opportunity costs, diluted brand value, reputation, and more.

There’s no excuse for not finding some good service & support folks and beginning to build out a service roadmap that aligns with your product roadmap. Consider: If you meet your success criteria 18 months from now, what will the customer experience be when they need help? Will you have everything in place to support that experience? How much will it cost you to build it out in 2 months vs. 18? A little time invested now goes a looooong way.

Jay

1. Double productivity
2. Halve the cost
3. Create a “Wow” customer experience

That sounds neat, doesn’t it? Here’s the rub. They want to do this leveraging a virtual support team comprised of independent hourly contractors scattered throughout India, Dubai, etc. because they feel it’s cheaper and aligns with their overall business model.

This could be made to work provided the business processes are very consistent, precise, and well thought out. They aren’t. And of course someone would need to closely monitor all of it, enforcing rules-based customer service that usually results in an adequate, if underwhelming customer experience. But we’ll have halved the cost so we can check that off the punch list.

Tribal Knowledge

Tribal knowledge is the aggregate ‘stuff’ shared within and across people in a small team. It’s the stuff everyone knows but no one has written down anywhere, or if they have, only fellow tribesmen know where it is.

In my experience in the support business there’s a reflexive need to move away from tribal knowledge because it means that you haven’t institutionalized your business processes or captured critical information inside the heads of your service team. It makes training new people difficult, costs more when someone leaves, etc. I agree it’s necessary to suppress it in the looooong run.

Personalities

It’s a mistake to ignore or underestimate the fundamental personality make-up of successful support staff. Good service people are, by nature, amiable and expressive. They *like* speaking with and helping others. More importantly, they thrive within interactive environments. That’s where all of the learning happens, after all. It’s also, coincidentally, where great service experiences are produced.

Tribal Knowledge tends to accelerate a strange kind of “service gestalt”. As a business grows tribal knowledge risks becoming more of an albatross, but it’s serves a critical role in small & medium sized organizations. I remind customers that:

• It’s essential to understand your customer’s needs for service from the outside in, not your need for service from the inside-out. That understanding comes from positive customer interaction which is subsequently chatted up among peers.
• You can’t outsource what you don’t have within, be it a business process or a culture. A core team of great service folks must be nested close to the product (and customers) before you can outsource in order to reduce costs or scale for growth.
• Rarely can you process your way in to a truly outstanding customer experience. You have to build a team that takes pride in it both as individuals and as a whole and are consistently recognized and respected for it.

I think if you ask most folks they’d tell you that larger, older businesses or government agencies increase the chances you’ll have an underwhelming service experience, while smaller business have a “personal touch”. But experiences I’ve had within the last six months have reversed my thinking.

“I find for the defendant!”

Let’s start with the least likely of places – Austin’s Municipal Court. “Excuse me, I’m sorry; did you say the Austin Municipal Court?” Yep, I did.

I took an online defensive driving course for a speeding ticket (45 in a 35, grrr…) and, scouts honor, arrived on my court date only to discover my course completion document wasn’t in the envelope when I arrived! Frustrating? Yoouuuu betcha!!

Addressing my plight meant speaking with three folks behind counters in the building, and to a person they were unbelievably patient, informative, and courteous. I was offered a customer satisfaction survey card and gave them rave reviews. Um, the extension they gave me on the certification document helped.

“Wow. That was easier than I thought”

My wife and I were married in early October and we’re in the process of merging two homes full of stuff. It’s one thing to move from one full house to one empty house. Try moving two fully furnished homes in to one! “Uh, honey, near as I can tell we now have 14 salt & pepper shakers, three corkscrews, and four bottles of ground cinnamon. What say you?”. But I digress. One such area was the cable/phone/internet solutions. We weren’t looking forward to the daunting task of comparing our packages and switching.

• Expecting mediocre to “ok” from Time-Warner we got intelligent, informative answers, our expectations set correctly, and relief when we expressed our displeasure with a cancellation fee we didn’t like. The “retention department” was great, all but eliminating the fee. Even the guy who came out to the house for the box swap was great. Hence, we’re still Time-Warner customers.
• AT&T was also good. Not quite as good as Time-Warner, but still good. No hold time, no hassle, and they made sure we had what we needed.
• Lastly, I had a home owner’s insurance claim for hail damage that could not have been smoother from the first call to the last.

So what gives?

Consumer switching costs are relatively low. Anyone can change service providers easily and with little or no interruptions. Granted, I can’t switch courts if I don’t like the service. But I *can* vote. Even the electric/utilities in our city can be swapped with a phone call. In order to save these customers companies figured out they needed to make service a competitive advantage as well as a marketable asset. Certainly the companies mentioned above serve up horror stories to customers now and then, but they know it’s the exception, not the rule, and they tend to work in the background to address those challenges.

Now that the bar is raised I hope they continue on this path and that other big whales follow suit.

I searched for job postings with “tech support” OR “technical support”. Note the absolute nosedive since January of 2009 through today, or at least as recently as July as the chart indicates. In and of itself it’s not surprising given the economic climate, however when compared to “customer service” search results beneath it stands in stark contrast.

Why would one set crater while the other soars? I’m not sure. Potentially the experience and/or knowledge of tech support staff demand higher salaries than those of more vanilla customer service employees and the result is a freeze on new/open job requisitions for that role. Another possibility is the emerging & growing trend of community forums to drive support organizations. Lastly, the healthcare debate has been rampant, reminding everyone that Pop Tarts, Twinkies, and Cheetos are rife with peril and drive insurance costs up. Given the copious amounts of junk food tech support folks eat, it comes as no surprise they are feeling the pinch in the job market AND their waste lines. Will be interesting to see how these trends change over the coming months.

(ahem, no, I’m not serious about the Twinkies part)

Wanting some empirical evidence I visited the “Austin Emerging 100” site, opened up Excel, and browsed the “About Us” pages on every one of the companies listed looking for the executive staff titles. My approach was simple. Browse the “Management Team” page for each company and enter in Excel each executive title listed with a company name. I then tagged each listing with a business function (e.g. “Sales”, “Engineering”, “Service”, etc.)

The results were startling. I captured 458 executive titles out of 95 companies that were still in business from the list. Of the 458 titles, only 3 contained the word “Customer”, and only six had anything to do with service or support if I included the very few Directors and Managers listed. In fact, if I included ALL of the titles that involved professional services, field service, client implementation, etc., it was still only 5% of the total.

The reasons for this are fairly obvious. Smaller companies simply cannot afford to spend precious capital on service needs when there are few, if any, customers early in their life cycle. Yet most of them know it’s an important component of success. But it begged the question:

“If every company has a customer service or support function and only six are dedicated to customer service, who in the list of458 titles owns the rest?“

Between polls, asking those I know, calling a handful of businesses, etc., I was able to come up with the answer. They report to the “VP of Underscore”. It’s all over the map. Some report to VP of Operations, others report to the VP of Sales, the VP of Engineering, the COO, etc. Few of these folks have customer service as their core competency or discipline and they’ll continue to run things until the activity level gets above the knee caps as their customer install base grows. That’s when they and their company begin to “react” and are often at a loss as to how to put together a service strategy and implementation plan that aligns with their product success strategy. It proved my theory and Bootstrap Service continues to grow as we target businesses in need of specific service expertise without having to hire someone full time. Ask me who the ideal executive is for my sales efforts and I’ll respond with “the VP of Underscore.”

p.s. The irony is that the “About Us” and “Management Team” links are next to the “Support” links on 90% of the web sites. Go figure.

Zoho CRM is “at your Help”

A compatriot of mine mentioned Zoho CRM as a viable CRM option for our customers so I checked out the product. I was very impressed with their offering and thought I’d use it as my own production CRM for a while to compare against pricier solutions. A few days later I received what I’m 100% positive was a well intentioned email with the subject line “Zoho CRM – I am at your Help”. The message itself started out alright and then came “… I’m responsible to assist you”. Yuk. Great first impression followed up by a poor second one.

Lesson Learned

The first interactions from your business to a new/potential customer are absolutely critical. Have marketing or a PR person review them and use system email templates to ensure consistency. Heck, have your Mom proof read it if you have to!  Else, “risk not at helping company reputation!”

—

RightNow CRM – “Ask for a Live Demo … later sometime. Maybe next week? We’re not sure.”

Right-Now CRM looked like a good fit for one of my customer’s needs. Great looking product that competes on price with other CRM vendors. Visited the site, clicked the big blue button that said “Ask for a Live Demo”, then … crickets. Nothing happened. The day went by and not so much as an email (“Uh, this IS a CRM solution, right?”). Later the next day I got a call from a super nice inside sales rep. After some understandable Q&A I was ready to schedule my “Live Demo”. Unfortunately all I got scheduled was ANOTHER discovery call with a regional sales rep and his SC so they could prepare and schedule the “Live Demo”. I’m ok with this though. I’d rather have a sales rep armed with more knowledge than less so the demo targets my needs. But lost in this shuffle is the big blue button “Schedule a Live Demo”. It’s been five days since I filled out the form plus a 20 minute prep call and I still have not scheduled the “Live Demo”. Seems like the immediacy of the button text doesn’t jive with reality.

Lesson Learned

Make sure you aren’t using verbiage that incorrectly sets expectations and risks disappointing your customers. In this case a simple “Schedule a Demo” would have been better than “Schedule a LIVE Demo”. It felt more urgent and immediate than it actually is and the result is me being underwhelmed out of the shoot. Also have a clock ticking that ensures a customer gets a response within a tight time-frame. If you can’t deliver it, fine. Soften the expectation a bit.

—

Otherinbox.com – “We put your feedback in the other inbox.”

Ok this is a coupla months older but I just remembered it. I signed up for otherinbox.com in late March then cancelled it because it wasn’t a fit for me. I think it likely helps a lot of folks manage email better. What irked me was that as part of the cancellation process they provided one of those “we’re sorry to see you go” pages with a comments section. I took the time to enter my comments in the page so they’d have some feedback. Result? Crickets. I never heard from them again.

Lesson Learned

Don’t ask for a customer’s feedback if you aren’t prepared to respond to it or set the expectation up front that you won’t. Leaving no impression lets the customer/prospect assume you will. If Otherinbox.com had no intention of responding that’s perfectly acceptable as long as they say so. Then if they DID follow up with a personal note or a phone call I’d be impressed. I just searched my Gmail account and there’s nothing from them after the “Welcome to Otherinbox!” and the subsequent analysis alert. Not so much as confirmation that my feedback was heard, nor did my cancellation prompt a canned farewell message.

The bottom line is that out on the edges of any company and their products are oodles of customer touch-points that need to be carefully planned out. It’s important to reconcile messaging with an honest look at what you can actually deliver vs. what you would LIKE to deliver, or worse, BELIEVE you deliver but don’t. Start with the OUTSIDE and walk backwards toward your center rather than the other way around.

This was a standard week for me in many ways. It was spent meeting new people and learning from them. It’s not hard to find people with interesting insights, knowledge, and know-how. With just a little bit of effort and an open mind a variety of people offer genuinely enlightening discussions. And to a person they are all pleasant and full of smiles and a willingness to help. We all have far more in common in this human experience we call life than we have differences. When I consider what threads were common through all of my introductions and discussions this week it was optimism and an eagerness to tackle the future.

I started Monday with a thank you note for an approval to move forward on building the first set of Support capabilities for a new software company in Austin that booked their first customer and is anxiously anticipating approvals on their 2^nd an 3^rd –future- customers. Wednesday I had a nice frosty beverage after work with a former colleague that was about to accept a Sales position to open some new markets in Texas. Thursday was spent in Dallas speaking with the leadership team of an absolutely terrific company that is profitable, happy, love what they do, and want the Service team to be better than they already are.

Friday afternoon was spent down at the UT campus with the chairman of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering talking about careers for students in Service. I was met with warmth, smiles, energy, and optimism. Oh, and Dr. Amblers distaste for Volvo service capabilities. ;-P I’ll likely end up giving a talk with some of them in the fall semester regarding the importance of the customer experience after the sale of a product, or how and why serviceability matters when you’re a design engineer.

I could focus on my check engine light unexpectedly coming on in the car this week. I could focus on the two prospects that decided to hold off on the RFP I sent. I could focus on any number of seemingly negative developments in my life or the life of others this week. But that mindset won’t get me or anyone else anywhere. And as I consider what has been common throughout my career that brought positive results vs. unwanted outcomes, it’s my frame of mind with family, friends, coworkers, and of course customers.

In the world of Service your mind matters. Focus on positive customer outcomes that are entirely attainable, build a plan, work the plan, refine the plan, and get cranking. Focus on the frame of mind and the metrics will follow.

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www.customermanagementiq.com

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“These people are supporting us! …everything that has to do with the experience when they come in should be at the highest level that we can put it at. That’s been our approach traditionally and it hasn’t failed”

CEO of Southwest Airlines? Apple? Nordstrom’s? Nope. If you don’t know I’d understand. It’s Jerry Garcia, the late guitarist for the Grateful Dead during a 1993 pre-show interview in Las Vegas. Sting opened for them. But even if you don’t give two hoots about the Dead or their music, there’s a lesson in their approach that many businesses can learn from.

This past weekend the surviving members of The Grateful Dead returned to the stage in what’s generally viewed as a very successful first show. It’s interesting that a 40+ year old band can still garner an audience of devoted fans and sell out 20 shows in short order.

What’s their secret? Music, of course. But there’s more to it than that.

Watch this fun, chatty, ten minute interview with an articulate Jerry Garcia and you’ll understand some of the reasons The Grateful Dead were pulling in over 50 million a year in touring revenue alone. Except for the 2-3 minutes he discusses his health, Jerry is always focused on the experience of the audience. Jerry Garcia and his band-mates respected their audience, viewed them as intelligent and selective, and most importantly, never took them for granted.

One of my favorite exchanges comes in the last 30 seconds:

• Interviewer: “You still get nervous?”
• Jerry Garcia: “… I wouldn’t have any emotional attachment if I didn’t. I think it’s a bad idea to take a crowd of 30 or 40 thousand people for granted, ya know what I mean?”
• Interviewer: “It just seems like they’re ready. They’re gonna accept you”
• Jerry Garcia: “I think that’s a convenient illusion”

Do you respect your audience? Ahem, excuse me, I mean your customers?