How customer data can enhance a service experience
Two years ago I purchased a brand new notebook computer. All too
soon a problem developed with the screen. However, my next thought was that I was
so glad I bought the warranty — I can just return it!
My first call to the company took me through the whole diagnostic
procedure, reinstalling the driver and flashing bios — about an hour’s worth of
installations. I was promised this would take care of my problem. Unfortunately,
it did not. It was still not fixed after my fourth flashed bios and over 10
hours on the phone.
I made many very frustrating phone calls to that company for more
than a year. Every time I called, I had to explain my situation as if it were
the first time: Find the serial number, the model number, the warranty number,
explain what happened, what had been tried so far, and so on. Each time I was
forwarded to their offshore tech support where I often had to start over with
the entire procedure, leading to even greater frustration.
Although I received a case number after each call, the company was not
able to link back to my history of issues and service calls. When I asked about
a replacement notebook, I was kindly reminded that I first had to go through a
protocol of three repair attempts, each lasting two weeks plus shipping time,
before they would replace anything.
After following company protocol, to no avail, I was given a
replacement laptop, but it was a lesser-quality product and I’m not happy with
it. The bottom line: the company spent a lot of time and money and I spent a
lot of time and frustration, only for an unsatisfactory solution. The company
lost a customer over this bad experience.
Compare this with a story I recently read: A person had to contact
Amazon about a malfunctioning Kindle he recently purchased and was prepared for
the worst. In just 30 seconds after putting in a service request on Amazon’s
website his phone rang, and the woman on the other end greeted him by name
stating, "I understand you have a problem with your Kindle." The
problem was resolved and a replacement ordered in less than two minutes; they had all of the customer’s information
on file to process the shipment, and the telephone representative did not try
to upsell him to other products.
Both stories are today’s reality; one frustrating, one delightful.
Both involve broken gadgets. In the first case the company lost a lot of time,
money and a customer. In the second story the company surprised the customer
and therefore built trust with him. That kind of customer trust is invaluable
to both the customer and the company.
In his recent letter to shareholders Amazon CEO Jeff
Bezos explained how Amazon is defining customer experience: "Proactively
delighting customers earns trust, which earns more business from those
customers, even in new business arenas. Take a long-term view, and the
interests of customers and shareholders align."
But it's not just the different understanding of and commitment to
the customer experience. What made the Amazon experience better, was the fact
that the support rep had immediate access to the data about the customer and
therefore was able to solve the problem in just a few minutes. In fact, Amazon
collects a lot of information about their customers — not just addresses and
payment information, but also previous purchases and even browsing history.
Amazon doesn’t use personal information just to sell more products.
They also have the information available when a problem occurs which helps make
the problem-solving a pleasant experience, rather than a painful one. Some
customers are skeptical about what kind of information a company collects about
them. But the Amazon model shows that customer data can be used to benefit the
customer and build loyalty. That builds trust and a true customer relationship.
About the Author:
Sylvia Kay is a Project Manager of the Preference Management Consulting division of PossibleNOW.
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