Do you have policies and rules in place that either empower or restrain your employees from delivering a WOW customer experience? I’m sure you do…most organizations have these rules…some might be softer and call them “guidelines” but they are viewed as rules. Regardless, the question is how do they impact your customers?
Customer Centric companies do whatever they can to “empower” or “enable” their employees to deliver a WOW customer experience…on the spot! Some, like Zappos, go so far as to give their employees complete control over the customer experience and are empowered to fix any problem in the best way, for the customer, they think is necessary. They don’t run to their supervisor and ask permission or tell them all the reasons why they can’t do it…they just do it.
Rules get in the way of what people “know is the right thing to do” when it comes to customers. For example, there might be a rule that says your customer service people need to get off the phone as quickly as possible so they can handle the maximum number of customer calls in a day. The customer service person knows this is wrong…it puts pressure on them to be abrupt, move fast, and possibly even come across rude to the customer. But it’s the rule…
There is a great story in the book, “Not a Fan,” written by Kyle Idleman I wanted to share in this regard.
“There was a man named John, who dressed in blue jeans, walked into a bank to finalize a transaction. The teller told him that the officer he needed to see wasn’t in, and he would have to come back the next day. John said that would be fine and asked the teller to validate his parking ticket. The teller then informed him that, according to bank policy, she shouldn’t validate his parking ticket because he had not technically completed a financial transaction. John asked for an exception, since he had come to the bank intending to do business, but wasn’t able to because the appropriate officer want’ in. The teller didn’t budge. She said, “I’m sorry; that’s our policy. Rules are rules.” So John decided to make a business transaction. He decided to close his account. John’s last name was Akers. He was the chairman of IBM, and the account he closed had a balance of one-and-a-half million dollars. This qualified as a financial transaction, and the teller was able to validate the parking ticket.”
Having worked at IBM early in my career, I knew John Akers and he, like most of the leadership at IBM, was all about the customer in these days. He didn’t cause a scene, stomp or shout, he just voted with his wallet…which is what most customers do at the end of the day. How are they voting with your organization? And if you are wondering what people talk about on Social Media…now you know!
