A Business Oxymoron

Here is an observation as a trainer working with managers from hundreds of different companies. All companies will tell you that the customer is the most important person to their business.

If that is true than why would some companies put their lowest paid (pay is a symbol of the value that the company see’s in that individual), lowest educated, least experienced, and often brand new employee in a position which has the highest amount of face time with their customer? This situation is seen in banking, retail, and many sales organizations.

Not too long ago I had a customer service issue with my wireless telephone provider. We needed a phone for the third line we were carrying but not using. The phone needed to be easy to use, as it was for my wife’s 75 year old mother.

I wanted to pay less than 29.99 (truthfully I was willing to go a little more than that) as that was the price for a prepaid smart phone which would also solve the problem.

I was introduced to Chip the customer service representative. Chip is a good kid, and a fine employee. I am certain that he was following procedure. I explained to Chip what I wanted to do. The best offer he could make was $115.00 (after rebate) if I sign for a new 2 year contract. The second option would be $179.00 if I did not upgrade the contract.

WAY, way too much money for a phone Mom is likely to loose (she is getting forgetful these days).

I expressed my disappointment and asked Chip “what can you do to satisfy this customer with this situation?” The trained text book response came from his mouth “I gave you two options, that is the best I can do”

“Neither of those are satisfactory Chip” I replied, “help me out here”.

Firmly holding his ground “That is the best I can do”.

BANG! Their zealot customer was lost. I saw red.

The poor kid is an impotent customer service representative, made so by the limitations of his non-empowerment. He did not ask “What would fix this for you Mr. Walker” “What seems fair?” Not in the script, no doubt. Policy is policy, and all that.

Heads up my friends your policy is poison when it fails to delight your customer. This is not you against the customer. This is you for the customer.

In the end after considerable escalation on my part, I sent an email to 50 or so VP’s that I tracked down on the internet. The final outcome was that I got a free phone. That’s not what I wanted. I was willing to pay a fair price.

The point is that the person with the capability to solve the problem and delight the customer was no where near the point of customer contact.

Really, you must agree that this is counter intuitive.

Imagine if face time with the customer in these industries was an honor to be earned by proving a depth of knowledge and experience with the organization. Imagine if the policy were “no one gets to provide service to the customer with out a minimum of 2 years of experience, and a customer interaction certification (which carries respect and a significant pay increase)”. Individuals with this level of experience and depth of knowledge wear a sense of confidence that instantly gives them credibility with the customer.

We all know that the person who solved my problem is paid 5 times what Chip is paid and has a great depth of experience with the company and the power to take action.

The reputation of a company that would dare to do such a thing would become legendary. Actually it has. In many ways we are describing the customer service philosophies of Southwest Airlines. They are proof that putting experienced, knowledgeable, empowered people in front of your customers works.