The "Perfect" Service Technician - [587 words]
This week I called for technical assistance on my computer and encountered Bob, the "perfect" technician. He was sharp, very knowledgeable, and Certified. He was ready and willing to answer all customer questions with maximum efficiency. Perfect? Well, almost perfect.
The problem was that I was not seeking a solution and Bob was offering answers in a rapid-fire, I-want-to-get-off-the-phone style He was offended and defensive when, after answering my questions, I asked for three other technicians by name. In an irritated tone he asked "Haven’t I answered every one of your questions?!? Haven’t my answers been accurate?!?"
My response was "Yes, and the information is useless to me." Since none of the other technicians were available we ended our conversation. I found my solution elsewhere.
Since Bob’s employer is a friend, I called back. Andy immediately chided me for giving his new technician a hard time. [I had.] Then we got into the realities of business. If I did not know Andy and his business values, I would not have called back. I would have found another source for my computer solutions — hardware, software, and technical. I would have become just one more customer who silently moves on to your competition.
Should Bob, the perfect technician be fired? Absolutely not! You don’t find qualified and certified technicians on the corner holding "will work for food" signs.
Should this technician be disciplined? No. This is not even close to a disciplinary issue unless this is repetitive behavior for which he has received prior training and coaching.
Should Bob be trained? BINGO! Bob has the potential for sainthood once he develops customer communication skills to match and blend with his technical skills. Bob needs training to learn:
1. Why each customer is valuable. [See sample formula in next weeks newsletter].
2. That customers don’t care how much he knows until they know how much he cares.
3. How to handle the occasional difficult customer without getting emotional.
Andy needs to measure and track customer satisfaction so that he will know:
1. If a customer is dissatisfied.
2. Why his customer might be dissatisfied so he can correct it immediately and track it for systematic fixes.
3. Why his customers are satisfied so he can concentrate his resources on repeating those good things.
4. Who is providing the most [and least] satisfying experiences for his customers.
As for me, I need to get a life, but that’s an another story. .
Are your people offering your customers service and answers, or are they providing solutions?
Do they even know they are in the "solution" business, not the service business?
Do they know the dollar value of the average customer?
What do they do when they encounter a difficult customer situation? Get angry? Get eaten alive? Or do they handle the situation with professional skill, not get stressed, and feel good that they were able to resolve a very difficult situation?
Do you have an accurate customer satisfaction measuring system? Or are you relying on the two ends of the bell shaped curve [the extremely happy and unhappy] for your customer feedback?
NOTE: If you are relying on customer complaints and praises to determine the level of your organization’s customer satisfaction, you are ignoring the other 80% of your customers.
Do you know who your best customer service representatives, field service engineers, help desk people, order fulfillment personnel, etc. really are? Or do you only know whichof them are technically qualified to provide "answers".