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What Do Customers Want, Anyway? - By Naomi Karten |
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Have you ever had customers who want the universe, gift-wrapped and delivered yesterday? Was that a resounding YES I heard? |
Fortunately, most customers don't demand the impossible. In fact, what they want is exceedingly reasonable. And what's that? Well, switch for a moment from your service provider hat to your customer hat. When you're a customer, what matters to you? What matters when you're at the car dealer, the doctor's office, or the airport? What matters to you when you're on the phone ordering flowers, or awaiting technical support, or ordering a million-calorie pizza and a zero-calorie beverage?
Over the years, I've asked many hundreds of participants in my customer service seminars what matters to them when they're the customer. Their responses are overwhelmingly similar, demonstrating that most of us want the same things when we are customers: We want to be treated with respect. We want to be listened to. We don't want to be bounced around or ignored or treated like dummies.
Product and process
Now, switch back to your service provider hat and think about it: Both the product and the process are important to customers. The product refers to the solution, system, response, resolution, deliverable or result. Whatever form the product takes, customers want it to work properly, to meet their needs, and to have that elusive quality of, well, quality. This is the technical element of service, and you're not likely to have happy customers without it.
But excelling in the technical element alone may not keep customers coming back unless you also attend to the process. In fact, for many customers, the process is more important than the product. The process concerns how customers feel they've been treated. This is the human element of service. And touchy-feely though it may appear, the human element is exceedingly important in achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.
The following list presents the some of the responses I've received from participants in my seminars. Notice that the majority of the items pertain to the human element.
When I'm a Customer, I Want . . .
1. To be taken seriously
2. Competent, efficient service
3. Anticipation of my needs
4. Explanations in my terms
5. Basic courtesies
6. To be informed of the options
7. Not to be passed around
8. To be listened to (and heard)
9. Dedicated attention
10. Knowledgeable help
11. Friendliness
12. To be kept informed
13. Follow-through
14. Honesty
15. Feedback
16. Professional service
17. Empathy
18. Respect
Sloppy service with a smile
Does that mean that it's OK to give customers incorrect information as long as you're empathetic, friendly, and respectful in doing so? Obviously not. But providing correct information may not be nearly as effective as correct information accompanied by empathy, friendliness, and respect. Focusing on the process is a way to invest in a relationship. In the customer interviews I conduct in my consulting work, I continually find that customers who appreciate the way they've been treated uncomplainingly accept occasional delays and glitches. In other words, an emphasis on the human element can give you some leeway in delivering the technical element.
It may be that customers who demand the universe gift-wrapped and delivered yesterday just need a strong dose of respect, attentiveness, and courtesy. Before you start searching for universe-size wrapping paper, give it a try.
About the Author
Website: www.nkarten.com
Naomi Karten has always been fascinated by human behavior. Her background includes a B.A. and M.A. in psychology and extensive corporate experience in technical, customer support and management positions.
Since forming her own business in 1984, she has presented seminars and keynotes to more than 100,000 people internationally. Her services, books and newsletters have helped organizations and groups
* Manage customer expectations,
* Enhance their communications and consulting skills,
* Provide superior customer service, and
* Establish successful service level agreements.
She is the author of several books including:
Communication Gaps and How to Close Them, which provides strategies and guidelines for improved communication in such contexts as building strong relationships, delivering superior service, fostering effective teamwork, and managing change
Managing Expectations: Working With People Who Want More, Better, Faster, Sooner, NOW!, which offers a serious, lighthearted look (yes, both!) at policies and practices for successfully managing expectations in the workplace
How to Establish Service Level Agreements, a handbook based on more than a decade of experience providing SLA consulting and seminars internationally and which is designed to help you avoid the flaws and failures she encounters so often.
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