Tag Archive of: deklantcentraal

20 Good Customer Intentions for 2020

Ok, it's the end of January when you're reading this column. Only I'm writing it now that we've just started the year. And traditionally, we collectively think about our New Year's resolutions.

I wouldn't be a CX expert if I didn't link those resolutions to customers. That's why I'm giving you a nice overview of 20 New Year's resolutions. Hopefully, they are already completely normal in your organization. Let's check that out.

  1. We don't use small print, which we can't really explain.
  2. We do not do no-reply e-mail addresses. Because it's strange that we, as an organization, are allowed to talk to a customer, but that they are not allowed to say anything back.
  3. Our surveys are short and sweet and look cool.
  4. If a customer fills out a survey, we also do something with it. We improve our services and provide feedback on what we have done.
  5. We respond to reviews that the customer leaves.
  6. We like the customer and they experience that in all our customer contact.
  7. If we promise to call a customer back, we will.
  8. Of course, the customer never has to repeat his or her story, we use our CRM system in such a way that all colleagues know what has been discussed.
  9. If our customer can't figure it out digitally, we offer an alternative.
  10. We thank the customer because he has been a customer for many years. If new customers get a nice offer, then of course our valued customers will get that offer too.
  11. We do not hide our phone number on our website.
  12. Our management regularly participates at the 'front end', so that they too can enjoy our customers.
  13. We might send our customers a card this year. With their birthday, or just because we like it.
  14. With us, a customer is never on hold for long, not even if we are the Tax and Customs Administration.
  15. We don't use annoying hold music.
  16. If something goes wrong, we sincerely say 'sorry' and solve it.
  17. We never blame another organization when something goes wrong, but take control ourselves.
  18. Our letters are written in understandable language.
  19. We never ask for nines and tens for our services, but are genuinely curious about every customer experience.
  20. Of course, our contact centre is also open in the evenings and/or weekends, if our customer needs it.

Are there any items in this list that you don't already do for customers? Then decide to do things differently from today. Let's get started. Happy 2020!

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on January 29, 2020

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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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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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