Tag Archive from: customer centric

Not recognized

We are at my favorite hotel. The receptionist is waiting for us with a big smile. 'Good afternoon and welcome to...' I tell her we have a room reserved in Bloem's name. She dives into her computer screen and digs up our reservation.

"May I see your ID?" she asks. This surprises me, because it's about the tenth time I've been here. Still, why the legitimacy every time? It must be policy. I don't feel like being difficult, so I fish my driver's license out of my wallet.

Also, in the meantime, I grabbed my credit card. Because I was scammed online last year and so I have new credit card information. 'Can I have yours too?' she asks my husband. He looks at my credit card and she adds "I mean your ID. Huh! Does the guest also have to provide identification? A small sigh escapes me.

'Then the room costs X euros. To this we then add 50 euros per person, for if you go for breakfast, use the room service or bar, if you break something and other things. You will get this refunded if you don't use it. Agreed? I roll my eyes at my husband. 'If we break something! I guess it's also policy and I know she's probably an intern. But this really does feel like the first time we've been here AND like we're going to get drunk, smoke stoned and then smash up the room. Just a little warning for us. Anyway, we are in Amsterdam...

Five minutes later, the procedure is complete. We get our room keys and she explains to us how the elevator works. She also tells us that we have a beautiful room (yes I know, because I specifically asked for it). I briefly ask how things are going with the loyalty system because it went wrong last time. 'Yes ma'am, that does go wrong sometimes, but you can fix that yourself afterwards.' Still no sign of recognition that we are regular visitors. She wishes us a nice stay.

How can this be? Especially in this hotel where we come so often! Where, for the umpteenth time, they do not manage to recognize and greet us at the welcome as returning customers. As a loyal customer, this really makes you feel left out in the cold.

When we get to the room, there is a bear with a handwritten card on the bed. Written by the person with whom I booked the room. Now we do feel welcome. But if I were the director of this hotel, I would immediately do something about the check-in procedure.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on February 7, 2023

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*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Out of sight

The newspaper was delivered later and later. As a morning person, I was bummed about that. In the meantime, I saw the call for new delivery drivers. With a bonus of no less than 1,000 euros for those who want to get on their bike with my newspaper early in the morning. The newspaper has too few deliverers and in my case that causes an inconsistent delivery time.

Because of that irritation about the delivery time, I also asked myself a few critical questions. I couldn't explain why I was taking away a huge pile of old paper every week. You can read a newspaper like that digitally, right?

I switched to a digital subscription during the week with a paper newspaper on Saturdays. In this way, I killed two birds with one stone: one less delivery address for the newspaper in the morning and my choice also has an impact on the environment: less tree felling and no more contribution to the paper shortage.

But here it comes. Since I got this digital subscription, I hardly read the newspaper during the week. It's crazy to read the news on my screen via a newspaper app. I actually already did that through nu.nl. Of course, that's where the nuanced opinion is missing. But then again, what am I missing about that!?

The ritual of taking the newspaper out of the bus, drinking a cup of coffee and then reading the newspaper. This now only happens on Saturdays. That is, if the newspaper is physically there.

What does this have to do with the beautiful field of customer experience? Everything. Because even in that, you can sometimes take people along in a change. And what's happening here with my newspaper app is exactly what's happening with strategy plans as well. With customer promises. With work instructions. They're on the web somewhere. But where again? Employees have to find out for themselves where the information is and what the content was. It's not top of mind and it never will be this way. And then, as management, we find it strange that people don't know, understand or support the company's strategy.

Therefore, if you are going to change, think very carefully about your message, the timing and the means. Check regularly to see if your message has stuck. Don't refer to that message somewhere on the intranet. Or that one fifteen-minute presentation in the digital kickoff. That's right: communication is a profession. Every change requires a strong introduction, a repetition and a visible message. Otherwise becomes out of sight, perhaps out of mind. Or the heart is not even ever found. Just like I don't care about that newspaper app. And we all know how that ends: that's a newspaper.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on November 1, 2020

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*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Afleverexperience - learned CX lessons

Buying a new car should be a small celebration. This car was not just any car; in fact, it was a very expensive car. So as a customer, I also expected more than just a "normal delivery.

What can you learn from this as a Customer Experience Professional? For me, there are 4 key lessons to be learned.

  1. Communicate about the process
    I understood very well that the delivery of the car was under pressure because of supply problems. We all know about chip shortages, transportation problems and scarcity of materials. But once you know you can't deliver on the promised date, make sure you are honest and proactive. There should be guidelines within organizations, what to do and when. The vendor should have called me and kept me informed of the delivery date. Moreover, he should have made me feel that my car and I (as a customer) were important to him.
  2. Tune into expectations
    Whether you're in a premium business or a CX professional working in government. Your customers have certain expectations. Make sure you know those and at least meet them. If you're a real boss in CX, of course you try to exceed expectations ? This should be the starting point of your delivery. Train colleagues in expectations and make sure they understand how to meet them. If you are a premium company or brand, the bar is higher. With my new Volvo, I expected at least a bunch of flowers or a good bottle of wine. But the company was stuck in its own processes and lost sight of me (and my expectations) as a customer.
  3. No excuses
    The fact that during the whole delivery process the covid excuse was used more than 10 times, I kid you not, means that this has become a common excuse. It was their excuse to take it easy. When you hear excuses around you (whether it's Covid, management, or whatever), make sure all your red flags go up. Or, as Steven Covey would say, keep the saw sharp, within your organization. Stay focused on the desired customer experience. I'm sure the owner of the Volvo garage would not have wanted this delivery this way. But somehow, because of busyness and constraints, this worked paralyzing and they didn't go that extra mile. Be sure to walk the shop floor on a regular basis so that you hear these "red flags" for yourself or get them from the Voice of the Customer.
  4. Make it right
    If you make a mistake with your customer - like the Volvo garage did when delivering my car - make it right. You always have a second chance. As a former colleague of mine once said, "First time right, second time perfect." I like that. I called the salesman at the garage and told him about my disappointment at delivery. He was embarrassed, apologized over the phone and said he would make it up to me. The only thing is, we are now four weeks down the road and I still haven't heard anything. Make sure that when this happens in your organization, that you actually check that these promised actions are actually taken. That you make sure that people keep their promises.

Enough said about this experience. It is sad that they missed this opportunity and there is much to improve! Make sure you start fixing these elements in your organization. Next month I'll share another customer experience with you, including CX lessons you can learn. I hope to see you back then.

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*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Putting the customer first belongs to all of us

What do you think? A yes or a no? I'm curious. But before I spread my opinion, I'll take you through an experiment.

Set. You wake up and be happy. You jump out of bed fresh and fruity. Because you're looking forward to it. You get to work full of passion. You walk into the kitchen of the McDonalds, greet your colleagues and start (after washing your hands; of course!) with an order for a BigMac. What are you doing?

  1. You've done this so many times that you don't have to look at the picture of this hamburger anymore. But you know exactly what the build-up is like. Bun, sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickle, two burgers, a slice of cheese and more sauce (for the real connoisseurs, I hope I got it right). So you build the hamburger as it should be, put it in the box and hopsa; ready to be eaten.

Or

  1. Today you're going out of the box. You've heard something from your manager about autonomy and you're going to make this burger even tastier. A little more sauce, a little less meat. Because yes, that's not good for the environment. Maybe three slices of tomato is a good idea. Just put your passion into it and Klara is ready. Hamburger in the box and hopsa; ready to be eaten.

What do you do: 1 or 2? I hope scenario 1, because that's exactly what the customer expects. Hopefully, the hamburger will be handed over to the customer with a big smile and it will also be in order in terms of customer service.

Because that's what the customer is all about. About the customer expecting and receiving a product or service in a certain degree of consistency. That requires frameworks. What are the requirements for consistency for your company? Is this a certain speed, quality, tone-of-voice, or structure of the burger? Yes, of course you can give just that little bit more, in terms of service or a little extra. But the basis is that hamburger, that product.

So, no. Putting the customer first does not belong to all of us. The customer's foundation is the responsibility of those people who design the foundation. That could be the customer experience team. Or, for example, marketing, or the customer contact center. They set up frameworks that you can and want to adhere to. And if you know how to give that little bit extra as an employee... That smile. That service. That brilliant BigMac. That real customer contact. Then you've made it. And the customer is central. You can be very proud of that.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on October 16, 2019

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*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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It is possible

My new sofa would be delivered. More than seven weeks later than planned. There was something about fabrics (or the lack thereof), delivery issues and hassle in the factory in Italy. The communication was not entirely neat, but there was good news. The bank was in the Netherlands and was with the transport company.

I got a call from a friendly lady, who asked when it was convenient to deliver the sofa. Now, on the day that the delivery men would be in Utrecht, I already had a lunch appointment. So yes, they could come between 11:30 and 12:00, but I really had to leave at 12:30. She kindly told me: "I make sure that the men are on time. I promise you that." Hmmm, very clear language. But still: would this go well? I would receive an e-mail one day in advance, with the confirmation and the time of delivery time. "And if you get that email, don't worry. Because it will be mentioned that we deliver between 11 am and 12 noon. For you, that means we will be there around 11.30 am. Really, I promise you just one more time."

Naturally. Not entirely reassured, I had meanwhile told my lunch date that I would probably be a little late. Because of course, you never know with traffic, delivery drivers and appointments. The e-mail arrived in my mailbox with exactly the sentence about the times in it, as the nice lady had announced. They also gave me a tip in the same e-mail: if I wanted to pay by card, I had to check what my daily limit was, because that's where things sometimes went wrong. The suggestion was to contact my bank about this, as this was easy to adjust. Ha! That's thinking along with me as a customer. Because I had no idea what my daily limit was. I logged into my bank and within a poo and a sigh, my daily limit was suitable for the transaction tomorrow.

Friday morning, 11:00 a.m. The phone rings. A 06 number unknown to me. A bad premonition creeps up on me. Would they be too late? "Hello ma'am, here's your delivery man. We are now driving away from Woerden. And so we are in Utrecht in plenty of time, so that you can go to your lunch appointment at 12.30 pm."

Speechless. With a big smile. Not only had the planning lady put my wishes in the system, the delivery people had also read it and taken it into account. Chapeau TS Furniture Transport. The delivery drivers also turned out to be perfect mechanics. The couch is standing, they took all the packing stuff and I was on time for my lunch. So it is possible!

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on June 5, 2019

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*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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