moving house!

Dear readers, I'm very pleased to announce that I've moved this blog another location.
Please update your bookmarks, rss feeds etc. to http://www.bartdecraene.net

See you over there!

Thanks

Bart

rocket science

Working in Customer Service, and focusing on adopting Customer Centric Thinking 24/7, I'm often surprised to see how badly customers are treated. Call me a grumpy old man but it frustrates me when I see how customers are ignored, not taken for granted, or even bullied.

As Customer Centric Thinking is part of my day-to-day life, I don't need to think about how I should be acting in any particular customer situation. Therefore I don't tend to read articles, blogs,etc. that tell people what to do in front of their customer.
However it is even more frustrating for this grumpy old man to know that there are hundreds or thousands of these articles out there on the web and to see that the people who would benefit from these definitely don't read them.
Therefore I've decided to promote some of these articles especially if reading them makes you understand that Customer Centric Thinking is not Rocket Science (despite the fact that this is what I tell my kids when they ask me what I do on the job) but just plain simple Common Sense.

Suzanne Vara (@SuzanneVara) of Kherize5 has posted an excellent article on 15 Customer Service Mistakes to Avoid, listing a series of very recognizable mistakes that happen all too often in customer service. I sincerely hope that reading this list makes you understand that this is all just Common Sense. And that Common Sense is something this world seems to missing more and more (sorry if I'm being grumpy again).

This is a request to start acting now and to adopt Customer Centric Thinking in your daily business activities. Only by making it part of your life, Customer Centric Thinking will become a habit and not a burden. Or as Aristotle has put it:

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit.

it's dark at the end of the tunnel

On one of my many trips by Eurostar through the Euro Tunnel, it was proven once again that Customer Experience Management is often working OK until something goes wrong...
I mentioned before that companies should have a Customer Experience Recovery Plan or at least train their staff to handle customers correctly when things go terribly wrong. At Eurostar there is definitely room for improvement on this point.

Yesterday evening I was traveling back from London to mainland Europe by Eurostar. As usual the staff were very welcoming and helpful at the various stages of the trip (check-in, lounge, boarding,...) until the train stopped in the middle of the tunnel......
First announcement by the train manager "We have stopped, and hope it won't be long. I don't know why we've stopped but I'll try to find out".
This is very low level communication putting him at the same knowledge level of the passengers, I would advise to get some info first and then communicate what is going on. Also the follow-up announcement (with a slightly trembling voice) that "the tunnel is a perfectly safe place" didn't sound too reassuring. From that point on it went downhill (the communication that is, not the train).
We were informed that there was a technical issue, and they had no clue if/when it would be resolved. Then the lights & airconditioning where shut down to save batteries, and when they came back up again we were once more told that there was a technical issue... Next step would be another train to tow us out of the tunnel (note that there was another Eurostar train right behind us in the tunnel waiting). When this seemed impossible after about 1h the driver moved to the back of the train trying to use that end's traction to get us out of the (perfectly safe) tunnel. However as this effectively means driving backwards it took very loooooooong to get out. Meanwhile the passengers were not informed about this move until it was actually happening ("We will now try to get out of the tunnel at reduced speed. God knows what will happen next").
In the meantime I noticed many of my fellow passengers were getting agitated, the fact that they were deprived of any means of outside communications (no mobile phone, no wifi in the tunnel) and the poor quality of the inside communications certainly played an important role in that.
Another 45mins. later we arrived outside the tunnel at Calais station where we were told to get onto the Eurostar right behind us (which was already 75% full). Unfortunately the Calais platforms are too small to accommodate a high speed train so the transfer from the broken down train into the other one, where we would be packed like sardines in a can, didn't work out all too smoothly, further adding up to the delays.
Finally we arrived about 3h late (for a normal trip time of 1h20) in Lille where the passengers continuing to Brussels had to change once more to get to their destination. Should we ever think of using Eurostar's service again, they will offer us a free return ticket provided we keep our current tickets as souvenir.

I fully understand that trains can break down and that there is no spare on standby besides the tracks to jump in when necessary. What worries me here with respect to Customer Experience is the extremely poor quality of communication, not only on the train but as well in the stations where a delay was announced without further notice of time or cause. As mentioned many times before, our experiences create beliefs and perceptions. These perceptions last and have an enormous impact on our loyalty as a customer. I strongly doubt whether the free return ticket compensation will allow Eurostar to regain the confidence of the unlucky passengers of Eurostar 9158.

I will therefore repeat once more that companies should not only have a Customer Experience Recovery Plan for when things go wrong, they should also invest strongly in training their staff to communicate effectively in escalated situations. Only then they will be able to maintain high Customer Experience levels.

FOOTNOTE:
Oddly enough twitter came to the communication rescue, with messages traveling back and forth over the internet between passengers on the train and people on the platforms. One could actually find more info about the incident in tweets on the popular social network than one could get on the affected train itself...

Culinary Customer Experience

I regularly have dinner in restaurants both privately and for business and as a lover of fine cuisine I rarely decline an invitation in that respect.

Call me narrow-minded but I just can't help to observe how the service deals with their customers (while enjoying the great food of course). Maître d’, Sommelier, Waiter,... I watch them all to see how they interact with their customers.

And while "Les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas" ("One man's meat is another man's poison") Customer Experience is of major importance to everyone of us: Experiences create Perceptions.
Perceptions last and as such will determine whether we will revisit and/or recommend a certain business or not.
With the abundance of fine restaurants that can be found across major cities, Customer Experience is a key differentiator for success.

Some time ago I had the opportunity to enjoy dinner in 2 fine restaurants in London, each blessed with a Michelin Star: Rhodes 24 and Tom Aikens.
As I visited both restaurants in a very short timespan and as they're only 5 miles away from each other (ruling out any cultural differences) they're great for comparison.

First stop, Rhodes 24.
The first impression is a disaster, I don't like to undergo a full security scan including metal detectors, x-ray scans, etc. before going into a restaurant. I understand this is part of the security measurements of the building the restaurant lives in, however it kills my appetite.
When we enter the restaurant, the maître d' takes us to our table, where a waiter asks us what we want for aperitif, even before I sit down. Are we in a hurry? Aperitif is served and our orders taken, there seems to be a horrible rush in the service.
Ideally a restaurant should give you the option for a quick service (if you have other appointments planned) or a relaxed service if you -like me in this case- want to enjoy a good conversation over some great food. By now it's clear this is not going to happen here, our glasses are taken away half-full and starters are served... The question whether the starters were satisfactory comes when our plates are swapped to serve the main course. At this pace you can have aperitif, a 3 course meal and coffee to finish off in less than 45 minutes (make that 30 if you're eating quickly). However to our surprise suddenly the world comes to a halt and time stops, the staff becomes invisible at our table and we can have a looooong conversation over our main course. Meanwhile I wonder why the sommelier hasn't showed up at our table yet. Dessert is served with the accompanying wines listed on the menu (still no sommelier) and some time after (the rush had gone completely during main course) we are asked if we want to take our coffee in the bar, enjoying the magnificent view over London (why didn't we have aperitif there?).
To our surprise the sommelier does show some interest in us at the end, he brings us the bill...
Conclusion: Security scans, rushing through first part of service, staff running about, invisible sommelier,... while they don't affect the great quality of the food, they leave us with a strange feeling when we leave the restaurant. There is a big opportunity for improvement in Customer Experience here.

Next stop, Tom Aikens.
Warm welcome by the receptionist who also takes us to our table, great first impression.
Maître d' welcomes us and the menu is explained. Sommelier serves the aperitif (with explanation). You can immediately feel the relaxed atmosphere in this restaurant, the staff is discretely present and always there when you need them. No running about in this place. Everything is served with a smile and detailed explanation. We enjoy an extensive conversation without feeling a rush or being disturbed by the staff's interventions and explanations.
I notice smiling faces across the restaurant, something I missed at our previous stop. The people dining here are obviously happy and I notice that happy customers (ourselves included) spend more... (which confirms observations made in other business areas).
This dinner is a wonderful Customer Experience, the staff distributes their attention evenly over all tables and speed of service is optimal. Everything is accompanied by a smile and there's even an occasional joke ("You can always blame the sommelier") added to the overall relaxed atmosphere.
Next to that the food is an equally great experience. The wonderful combination of ingredients is truly a revelation and a joy for our tastebuds. (I know I shouldn't be discussing tastes here, but hey this quality at least deserves a mention).
Conclusion: Wonderful Customer Experience. First thing we say to each other when we leave the restaurant is "When will we be back here?" On our way back the first recommendations for this place travel the waves of the internet...


Summary:
As in many other businesses, the Customer Experience is a key differentiator for continuing success in the Restaurant world. Next to the quality of the food, the service and atmosphere largely contribute to this experience.
Unfortunately quality labels, stars, etc. still don't always take Customer Experience into account as the quality of the food is still the prevalent decision factor. It is therefore good to see that recently restaurant guides, like The Good Food Guide, have been adding the Customer Experience to their list of criteria for achieving high scores. Or as Elizabeth Carter, the editor of the Good Food Guide, stated:

It is very hard to get ten or nine stars, it really is.
To achieve that you have to get everything right - not just food, but also the front of house.

Some talented chefs cooked stunning food but had yet to master customer service - something they needed to do before they rose above 8 points.

A word of advice to Chefs & Restaurant Owners across the globe: adopt Customer Centric Thinking and Customer Experience Management in your business, your customers and yourself will greatly appreciate it's benefits!

lost in communication - part 3

I had no intention to post anything else on the communication errors by amAze which upset their customers, however recently the situation has gotten worse and I doubt if they will ever be able to recover.

As you can remember from the previous posts amAze kept delaying their software release and didn't communicate about it. After a long silence they posted to their forum that the new version was not ready and no further questions should be asked.

Not the best customer pleasing strategy you might say, but this time they went a step further and announced that the new version has actually been finished quite some time now but they had business reasons not to release it.

While they might have valid business reasons not to release a new software version (I can think of plenty of good reasons), why did they lie to their customers (and now publicly admit to it)?

Not communicating with your customers is bad enough for the Customer Experience, communicating false information is a disaster.

The mantra that communication should be simple, concrete and repetitive might need to be changed for some people...


"Communication should be Simple, Honest, Concrete and Repetitive!"

lost in communication - part 2

Coincidence or not, but shortly after my previous post, Amaze decided to communicate to it's user forum. This what they posted:

I'm very sorry, but I must tell you what you have probably noticed - V5.0 is postponed a little.
Since it took us longer than expected, and V6.0 will also not be ready when we thought it would be, we decided to include a few more new features in V5.0.
Not all phones will be released together. The Java version will be first, and then the WM.
I don't want to give you and estimation, since I don't want to be wrong again...

I'm posting it here since I want as many people as possible to see it, and because I don't want any replies...

Thanks for the patience.

Apart from the fact that the communication is extremely vague, there is also a piece which doesn't really fit into customer centric thinking: "...I don't want any replies..."
So there you are dear Amaze customer, don't keep nagging them about a release date because they won't give you one and certainly don't reply to any of their communication.

I sure hope the other mobile phone navigation software companies adopt a better customer service.
All the best to Amaze, I surely hope someone implements Customer Experience Management into your organization before it's too late.

lost in communication

AmazeGPS is a free (ad supported) navigation software for gps-enabled smartphones. When it was launched a couple of years ago it created a real hype and last year it was awarded the 'Product of the Year 2008' award from smartphone.biz-news.com
Until the end of 2008 it was by far the most popular gps navigation software on the smartphone market, however times are changing...
The drop in popularity that is currently hitting them is not related to their competitors releasing better software, not because there's another free player in the market, but solely related to the fact that they forgot the basic principles of customer care.

A couple of months ago Amaze announced to their user forum that they would be releasing a new version of their software which would significantly improve their product and add tons of new features. However when they reached the estimated release date, nothing happened and they remained silent. After a couple of weeks of forum posts by their users asking when the new version would be released they communicated by a simple "we're working on it". The release date was postponed after which nothing happened and all went quiet again.
This process of not making their release date, not communicating about it and delaying has been going on for a couple of months now.
Many of their users have reached a high level of disappointment and are now switching to their (premium) competitors, and for a company that makes their money on ads this is a deadly turnpoint.
One of their forum users puts it like this:

I have been putting off purchasing Garmin's software for my Blackberry so that I could evaluate it side by side with amAze. I am tired of patiently waiting only to find out that I need to wait longer. I am going to purchase Garmin this afternoon.

I've mentioned in an earlier post that some companies choose not to communicate to their customer base. This story proves that not communicating can be deadly. In a constantly changing globalized market where customers can jump from one service provider to another at the click of a button, customer experience management based on customer centric thinking and optimized communication is the key to success.
Companies that choose to neglect their customers will make themselves disappear from the market.