WHAT THE CUSTOMER BELIEVES – IS YOUR BRAND
WARNING: The story you are about to read could be disturbing to most people – reader discretion is advised.
Regardless of what your organization does or sells, your brand is really what your customers believe about you. A smart, forward-thinking big box electronics retailer, known for marketing strategy, creative advertising, and attracting the best talent, had enjoyed the top position in the electronics category for years. The last 24 months they have struggled as they continue to lose market share and perform poorly financially. Hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in creating, marketing & advertising their brand. Last week I saw a television commercial for the retailer and I was immediately reminded of the ridiculous experience I’d had with them – and it reinforced my commitment to never shop there again. It happened again when I came across their newspaper insert. It made me wonder if customer experiences like mine could have played a part in their current position.
AM I ON CANDID CAMERA?
“I don’t know who told you that, but that’s not correct – your contract will probably not cover the repairs”, says the twenty-something girl with an unconcerned air as I stand there with my computer. I wait for her to continue the sentence with “but help me understand what’s happening & we’ll figure out how we can help” or something similar – but there is nothing. We are already 5 minutes into the conversation about how I had purchased a service contract that covers the computer I bought at this store. All I care about is getting the computer to work because I am realizing that most of my life is connected to something saved on this computer. When I called in the tech on the phone had called the symptoms I was experiencing the “blue screen of death”, and am anxious to know if the hard drive is bad and I’ve lost all of the information I hadn’t backed up in the last 3-4 weeks. I tell the girl, “The guy I worked with was named Dan – maybe I should talk to him and he’ll remember the discussion.” This is where it all starts to go terribly wrong.
“We don’t have a guy named Dan working here – I have no idea who you’re talking about. We have a lot of turnover. If you want help you’ll have to talk to me.” Standing beside me, my 12-year-old nephew quietly gasps at the rude tone she is using. Keeping my mission in mind, I ignore the tone and the erroneous information about their turnover problem, and press ahead, “When I called they said it may just be the battery. Can I get someone to test it – can you put in a good battery to see if that fixes the problem?” In a sarcastically sweet voice she says, “Certainly – if you just fill out this form, then we will get back to you in 3-5 days.” I ask, “Can’t we just test it quickly now to see if that’s what it is, and I can just buy a new battery?” She rolls her eyes, sighs loudly, and in an exasperated tone, waving her arm to indicate the space around her replies, “Ma’am there is no way we can keep all the different kinds of computer batteries in stock – we will have to order it. We would have to have a building 3 times this size to store all of the equipment we might need. Do you want to leave it or not?” My nephew utters, “Uh oh” and anticipating what might come next, moves over to the rack of video games nearby and out of the potential line of fire.
I am so angry that I know I shouldn’t speak immediately so I just stare at her. After a moment I respond in a purposefully even tone, “I am a consultant that works with companies to help them teach their team members how to provide good customer service. So far this conversation has been very dissatisfying and is not working for me. I need you to find someone else to speak with me.” She says, “Great! You just made me feel really good about myself – thanks a lot!” I actually look around to see if there are hidden cameras – maybe I’m being filmed for one of those shows that set people up to see if they can get them to lose their tempers?
Turning and walking away, I head for the nearest employee, who finds the manager for me. He is unsurprised, and listens passively as I describe my experience. He does not really apologize, but introduces me to a lovely young woman named Sarah who is concerned with understanding what’s happening & with helping me. She says, “I am sorry they have been trying to work with Erin for a year, and she still has trouble with customers sometimes.” WHAT?!! A year? Are you kidding me? While I wait for Sarah to run some quick tests on the battery (which apparently they DO have in the store), I feel badly seeing two elderly people walking out of the front door looking confused and discouraged after talking with Erin. Over the next 15 minutes I witness three more people struggle to work with Erin and her attitude. I am astonished. Luckily Sarah is great to work with, and after 5 days they fixed my computer which was mostly covered under the service contract after all.
MARKETING OR UN-MARKETING?
Even though it turned out alright, I will never buy anything at that store again. This company is not aware or not concerned with the customer experience that Erin is providing. Either way I choose not to deal with a company that is obviously not connected, engaged or interested in their customers. In fact every time I see their logo, pass a store or see an advertisement for them, I am reminded of how I will never shop there again – in effect they are actually spending money to remind me to keep away. It really hit me: In my case all that money has been spent to reinforce a completely opposite message & brand than the one they intend. Makes you wonder how much is being spent by all marketers, to actually remind people about why they remain ex-customers, rather than the messages they intend to market. My family will never buy the following items from the store: computer, television, iPhone, iPad, washing machine & dryer, vacuum, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, PlayStation, X-Box, video, DVD, headphones … that’s a lot of money that one household will not spend with that retailer. Multiply that by the number of people Erin has dealt with in the year that she’s worked there. Multiply that by the number of “Erins” they have working for them company-wide.
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS YOUR BRAND
Poor customer service isn’t always as apparent as it was with Erin. It can be quieter, like a sense the customer gets that an employee is not interested or doesn’t seem to care one way or another. How much could disconnected, disengaged employees be costing organizations every year? How much could they be costing your organization?
Multiple-time entrepreneur, business guru, founder of the wildly successful shoe e-tailer Zappo’s, and author of Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsiesh (pronounced “shay”) believes that Customer Service IS Your Brand. Founding Zappo’s in 1999 and selling it 10 years later for $1.2 BILLION while staying at the top of every customer service list published, he emphasizes the critical importance the culture of responsibility and connection to their customers is for his company and the role it plays in their success.
TONY HSIESH – Customer Service Secrets That Made Zappos Successful – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwE1zb9fiVs
Zappo’s has a list of 10 core values that they live by. In order to determine what these values were going to be, Tony shared a blank notebook, asking every employee to write what kind of company they wanted to be a part of, and the values that they thought the company should be guided by. The book was then collected and then answers were boiled down to these top 10:
ZAPPO’S CORE VALUES
- Deliver WOW Through Service
- Embrace and Drive Change
- Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
- Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
- Pursue Growth and Learning
- Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
- Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
- Do More With Less
- Be Passionate and Determined
- Be Humble
Hsiesh believes that the right culture is so important to the success of the company, that if someone they hire ends up not fitting or supporting the values, he views them as dangerous and actually pays them to leave. What are your organizations core values? Are your team members connected to them in a personal way? Do they guide their decisions and actions each day? Are they so important that you’d pay someone to leave if they were “qualified” but didn’t fit into your culture?
Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit–And You Should Too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQLTQAv5JQA