Don’t leave me hanging on the telephone

Lyric from the song “Hanging on the Telephone”
By Blondie

“Due to unexpectedly high call volume, your wait time will be longer than normal.” After that, they tell you that you can avoid waiting by using the company website.

Have you ever heard this before? Despite employing sophisticated measurement and forecasting techniques, companies seem to have become incapable of meeting customer demands. Have they? Or are their protocols designed that way?

Do company leaders genuinely grasp the level of frustration their customer service systems create? More importantly, do they understand the significant costs associated with this dissatisfaction? When considering customer acquisition costs and the lifetime value of customers, why would any leader knowingly spend money to drive them away? 

Call volumes are not the issue. Everyone understands that call numbers sometimes spike in unanticipated ways. However, the exception has now become the standard. This means they are not actually experiencing higher-than-normal call volume.

Additionally, companies increasingly expect you to interact with them in the ways they demand, not necessarily in your preferred manner.

Poor customer treatment has become commonplace, exacerbated by inadequate training and, worse yet, poorly developed or misaligned systems. Leaders who disregard the importance of customer service forfeit opportunities to differentiate their companies from their competition in positive and meaningful ways. These are outgrowths of a company’s value system.

Complex and drawn-out customer service protocols not only irritate but also repel the very customers that companies have invested so much in acquiring. Consequently, these strategies are, in essence, self-sabotaging. They set up one part of the company to work against another.

This begs the question: Why would they continue to operate in a way that undermines their success? Recognizing how customer service affects customer retention elevates it by shifting the department’s Purpose and the Mindsets of its associates, resolving the conflicts.

Legacy Mindsets are defined by people’s impact through their interactions with others, their environment, and what they leave behind. These Mindsets focus people’s attention on purpose, promoting customer service’s role in delighting customers in the present while retaining them and bolstering their loyalty over time.

Mindsets must reinforce a company’s strategy and be supported by aligned systems and processes. The more customers a company keeps, the fewer it needs to attract, thereby reducing customer acquisition costs and increasing their lifetime value.

Successfully managing customer touchpoints is critical. Leaders must consider their customers’ perspectives and how they experience their companies at any given moment and collectively over time. These connection points reinforce or undermine an organization’s values, purpose, and brand promise.

Systems are the delivery method through which organizations create repeatable interactions with reliable outcomes. Their design and execution quality are crucial to realizing enduring growth and success over time.

Customer Service Done Right

Consistently excellent customer service is achievable. The customer service department at Salomon Group, a sports equipment and clothing company, does not employ ‘the message;’ its customer service team members pick up the phone after a brief hold time. They identify the reason for a call with a single question, ‘What is your email?’ With two short steps and a couple of minutes, the customer gets help. The most critical element is reaching someone with the tools to help quickly and easily.

It is clear to me Salomon’s customer service group associates feel invested in their roles at the company. Service representatives believe they are responsible for customer loyalty and retention through their service. Their function is an integral part of their customer retention process, not an afterthought.

Their customer dedication results from good training and communication that link their service performance to company success—and what a noticeable difference it makes. Due to the combination of product quality and customer service I experienced, I became a repeat buyer and brand ambassador, which all companies seek.

Considering the costs companies incur to acquire new customers, it is remarkable more companies do not invest in elevating the purpose of their customer service groups. Doing so requires a shift in mindset regarding the role of customer service. A good starting point is asking, “What impact does this have on the customer now, and what does it leave behind?”

Answering this question promotes customer service systems that draw on both the immediate and longer-term perspectives inherent in Legacy Mindsets. Thus, these systems provide the context and viewpoint needed to retain customers in the present and cultivate lifelong customers.

Worthy Considerations:

1. What do the design and execution of your customer service systems and processes reveal your organization’s values?
2. Do company leaders know the quality of their customer service? Do they realize the long-term impact of poor customer service? If not, why not?
3. How would changing the Purpose of customer service and adopting Everyday Legacy Mindsets generate customer loyalty, create lifelong customers, reduce acquisition costs, and increase profitability?
4. What does it cost you when you do not manage customer touchpoints from your customer’s perspective? In what ways do your responses affirm or betray the company’s espoused values, purpose, and brand promise?
5. Are your customer support systems responsive, simple, reliable, and easy to access and navigate? Is their performance regularly assessed?

If you want to discuss ways to develop and grow your leadership to benefit yourself, your team, your family, or your organization, please reach out to me. I welcome the connection.

Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting and Coaching, helps people live and lead with fewer regrets. He grows and develops leaders through executive coaching consulting, facilitation, and training of individuals, teams, and organizations. He is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He facilitates trusting environments that promote uncommonly candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of developing Legacy Mindsets and has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.

A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, among others, can be found on Spotify.

Bravely bring your curiosity to a conversation with Rob, schedule via voice or text @ 484.800.2203 or rhackman@4cconsulting.net.