Tag Archive of: customer review

Irriklant

Oh well, it's summer. Then we as customers are all in a great mood. We go on holiday and show the best of ourselves. Nevertheless?! Or not...

I got these reviews from a guide who showed us around Jamaica over eight years ago and has to laugh and cry at the same time. We humans are sometimes a bunch of bastards. These are real reviews that she has received from the tour operator. Long live open feedback that you can get from reviews and surveys.

I've listed the eleven worst ones for you.

1. 'It should be forbidden to sunbathe topless on the beach. My husband was very distracted by that, he just wanted to relax a bit and that didn't work out now.'

2. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers. We couldn't understand them because they all spoke Spanish."

3. "The beach was just too sandy. We had to clean and de-sand everything when we got back to our room."

4. "We found that the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white, but it was more yellow in real life.'

5. "No one told us there would be fish in the water. The fish frightened our children."

6. 'The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we couldn't read the local guidebook on the bus ride to the resort. As a result, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday much more enjoyable.'

7. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to that of our three-bedroom friends. And ours was considerably smaller.'

8. "We had to queue outside to catch the boat and there was no air conditioning. That was very disappointing to us.'

9. 'It is your duty as a tour operator to inform us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.'

10. "My fiancé and I had requested twin beds when we booked, but instead we were given a room with a king bed. We hold you and your organization accountable and want to be compensated for the fact that I became pregnant. This wouldn't have happened if you had given us the room we booked."

11. "I've been bitten by a mosquito. There was no mention of mosquitoes in the brochure.'

What should you do if you get this kind of feedback in your own surveys? I would just do nothing. These people deserve zero attention. You wouldn't begrudge these customers to your competitor just yet.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on September 5, 2023

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The red carpet

Let's go back in time. I think it was sometime in 1999. I worked at AMEV as a Life Inspector and I refinanced my mortgage. Because as an employee, I received a nice discount on the mortgage interest rate and I was happy to take that advantage. A few years later I started renovating and I was able to go to AMEV for that too.

Within AMEV there was a special office for employees, where everything was taken care of when taking out the mortgage. There was coffee ready, you could always walk in if you had any questions and also the communication about papers and the notary was well taken care of. There was no red carpet rolled out yet, but it felt that way. As employees, we were well pampered.

As a Life Inspector, I was responsible for a large area, east of Utrecht to the German border and helped intermediaries choose AMEV in the field of mortgages and pensions. I'm sure there are some time zones mixed up now, but I do remember that my clients – the intermediaries – didn't find our mortgage handling too flourishing. Communication was unclear. Their customers didn't understand our letters. It took a long time for official quotes to come. Things went wrong when sending the notary documents.

I didn't understand much of that. After all, we had arranged it so well, hadn't we? I really didn't know any better than that we as AMEV gave the red-carpet feeling to customers. Because that was my own experience. In Customer Experience, we call this the 'n=1 situation'. My own experience, would also be that of our customers and their customers. In addition, I didn't realize at the time that I had an inside-out view and was heavily contaminated with the 'curse of knowledge'. The what?! I had much more knowledge of mortgages, legislation, and processes than the customer who took out a mortgage. This is called the 'curse of knowledge'. As a result, I couldn't put myself in the shoes of the person without that knowledge. I missed the outside-in view.

I went with an intermediary to one of his customers and immediately saw where things went wrong with us. That the red-carpet feeling only applied to employees. But I also immediately saw the potential for improvement. 

That's exactly why I'm calling on everyone to visit customers themselves. Step out of your own processes, systems and ideas and look at the world through the eyes of the customer. Where the customer is. At the company or just at home. See where customers' needs lie, what keeps them awake at night and where the real potential for improvement lies. Who knows, you might also see where your organization can give that red-carpet feeling to customers.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on July 4, 2023

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Nienke's five-star hotel experience - CX lessons learned

Seven lessons from this not-so-good customer experience...

This is an interesting topic: how can you personalize occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and anniversaries? It all starts with understanding and empathizing with your customer. What are the expectations?

I had a good conversation with my friend Raymond Brunyanszki, the business owner of Camden Harbor Inn in the US. A Relais & Chateaux hotel and restaurant, where luxury and personal attention are central to keep guests coming back. He told me that they ask their customers for special days. They have found a way to systematize expectations and then translate them into solutions in business operations.

Here's what I'd recommend to the CX leader at the Waldorf Astoria:

  1. In the CX strategy, determine how important special moments and alignment with guest wishes actually are. In my opinion, it is extremely important in the luxury segment. Because good food or a nice wellness is only possible with personal attention. So clarity in strategy is key.
  2. When booking, ask guests if there are any special days or wishes. So that the staff knows this in advance. This way, they can anticipate these moments and organize some memorable experiences.
  3. Make sure the CRM system recognizes these special days. I'm a Hilton Honors member and they know my date of birth. So on the day itself, the system could have given a certain mention, that at least during check-out the employee would have seen that it was my birthday and congratulated me.
  4. Make sure you have a number of branded gifts and a manuscript ready, including what you need to do and when. This way, employees can easily grab a gift and a card from the shelf and present it to the customer. Branded, because if the customer shares a photo on social media, it is also great marketing for you as an organization.
  5. Train your staff to pick up on signals when special moments arise. Make them alert.
  6. Discuss special moments in the morning when starting up the teams on the shop floor. Do we have guests with special moments, who need extra attention today? If there is attention in the team and maybe even some game elements are added, it becomes a sport to exceed the expectations of the guests.
  7. What if you missed the mark? It happens. Don't just ask at check-out, "Did you have a pleasant stay?" Almost everyone says yes, and that's not how you get any valuable information. Instead, ask, "What could we have done better, what would have made your stay even more enjoyable?" That's genuine curiosity and really helps you learn where you can improve as an organization.

So plenty to learn from this. And... you might even see even more CX pro suggestions. Please share them!

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Nienke's five-star hotel experience

For my 50th birthday, I booked a room for two nights at the Waldorf Astoria in Rome. Because I wanted to treat myself, but also because I wanted to make my 50th birthday a special experience. It's a very big hotel, so I even upgraded myself to the Imperial Floor. Larger rooms, a special lounge with drinks and snacks, but also – I thought – more personal attention.

Was it a fancy hotel? YES.

Did it have a great spa? YES.

Did it have a beautiful outdoor pool with fluffy beach towels? YES.

Did it have an excellent breakfast? YES.

'Product wise' it was all very good.

But did the hotel have any personal attention regarding my 50th birthday? NO.

It was a disappointment. One of my friends from the Netherlands had arranged a bottle of prosecco, a box of chocolates and a personal note for me, which were delivered to my room on my last night as a 49-year-old. I also mentioned my birthday in the lounge (because I know most CRM systems fail). But on the morning of my 50th birthday, I didn't receive a single congratulatory message from the hotel. Not in my room, not at breakfast, not in the lounge, not at check-out. Nothing. Even though they should have known...

I began to wonder if five-star luxury hotels have become a commodity? I don't know, but I do know that if you're a luxury brand that promises a certain level of personalized service, this is a big mistake. I also shared this story on Linkedin, where many agreed that the hotel missed the mark. But some called it a possible culture gap. That is possible and maybe this is true for Italian birthdays, but the guests at the Waldorf (which I saw) were mostly Americans or English-speaking guests. And I know how important birthdays are to Americans! Even more so than for me as a Dutchman.

The interesting thing was that at check-out, the staff member asked if my stay had been pleasant. And that was true, so that's what I indicated. This is also where they fell short in asking for feedback. (Be sure to read the CX lens blog in which I share my suggestion for them!) And... I didn't receive a survey. The staff of the Waldorf can only read my experience on LinkedIn (or in this blog).

Why did I post on LinkedIn? Not because I wanted to fix this. Because if I had wanted to, I would have called the hotel, or sent a 'complaint'. No, it's more of a question for us as CX professionals. What do you do with these special days? Especially in the leisure industry. Was I expecting too much as a guest? I made this post to share, learn, and get the conversation going.

So, click on to read this case from the professional CX lens!

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This is how to handle customer surveys properly - CX lessons learned from TESO

As CX professionals, we often send out customer surveys. Or maybe we don't even send them, but we use the content for customer insights or reporting. Or to learn from it where we can improve our customer journeys.

I know a lot of CX professionals aren't responsible for closing the loop. That's a shame because it's actually a very important part of CX. You can really impact customer experiences and make a difference in your customers' lives. This is exactly where too many companies go wrong. So, if you do it right, you'll stand out from the crowd.

Lessons to be learned and actions to be taken:

A. The Strategic Lens:

  1. Responsibility. Find out who is responsible for closing the loop. If no one is responsible, make sure you discuss this and arrange responsibility.
  2. Leadership engagement. Align leadership on the topic. Does management think it's acceptable for you not to respond to surveys or reviews? Let them put it to the test themselves, so that they can experience for themselves how your company deals with feedback. That's how you create the buy-in you need.
  3. Future experiences. Determine how closing the loop fits in with your company's strategic goals and how you want to act on them. Are there certain customer segments that you do or don't want to respond to? Do you focus on transforming detractors into neutrals, or neutrals into promoters? Use your strategic lens and have those valuable conversations.
  4. Business case: Yes, you have to calculate what it will cost to be able to process all the feedback. Or start a pilot first to see what the impact is, so that you can calculate the ROI later.

B. The Tactical Lens:

  1. Why – Clearly describe why you do what you do. This way, you can explain to the team members how closing the loop fits into the company's strategy. What the benefits are. What went wrong in the past. How this will contribute to the future.
  2. Who – Who is actually going to take action based on the feedback? Is it the webcare team or the customer contact centre? Schedule time and, if necessary, have a conversation with HR about workers to be deployed. The who is often ignored. But also think about the who in customers. Is it the zeros and ones that you come back to? The neutrals? Or just the people who complain? Make it very specific.
  3. What – Describe what you need to do. Maybe a short script is needed. Always apologize, fix the problem, and go the extra mile. What kind of small gift can your colleagues give? Help them by outlining a framework about what you expect from them. Arrange for them to log into the CRM system.
  4. When – Do you call the customer the day after the feedback? Do you do that in the morning? How often do you try? But do you also have to report on progress? Describe everything, so that you organize it well in the long run.

C. The Operational Lens:

This is simply about implementation: concrete action. Calling customers. Troubleshooting. Celebrating successes. Involve others.

I suggest you think big and start small. Choose a pilot project. Experiment. In the long run, this will lead to your great success.

At the ferry service, they gave feedback their primary focus (I checked that afterwards). Employees have been trained to deal with feedback and have turned it into a game. They prided themselves on being able to solve problems and contact customers. They arranged it and acted accordingly. As a customer, I felt the same way. Now it's up to you to do the same!

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Group Ticket – CX Lessons Learned

When you book a large number of tickets as a customer, you are probably a B2B customer. But I wasn't in this case. Still, you want to feel a little special in such a case. I book 13 tickets! That must be a nice deal for the company, right? Better than 1 plane ticket, right?!
I didn't feel anything about this whole transaction. It was difficult, process-oriented and I even have a lack of clarity. Because, do I have the tickets or not?! There is no portal where I can see if my booking was successful.

When I look at this process with my CX glasses on, I have four ideas on how to improve it:

  1. Step into your customer's shoes.
    Try booking a group ticket yourself. See how long it takes to get a quote. Experience the waiting time on the phone. Print out the quotation and the contract. Look how ugly it looks. Spot the differences between what's in the contract and in the email.
  2. Make a shortlist of simple improvements and let a dedicated team take care of it.
    Especially the contract and the communication. Add the 'warm customer feeling'. Make me, the customer, feel happy with this 13 ticket deal. And see where you can remove ambiguities and add clarity.
  3. Align with other processes that customers are familiar with.
    Align with the convenience of individual processes, especially when it comes to booking an individual ticket. Also, agree on the terms and conditions. Why do I have more flexibility as a customer who has booked 13 tickets? Align and design the future. Think about the digital channels, especially if you have problems with waiting times in your customer contact center.
  4. Share in the organization, when it comes to customer-centric change.
    I would share these kinds of examples in the organization. At the Group Tickets team, these contracts and working methods are the norm. That's how people have been working for years. They have 'The Curse of Knowledge'. But if you're a customer, like me, who's completely new to this, you feel trapped in the internal jargon and processes. Thus, sharing the need for change and continuing to ask questions about daily routines is necessary for shaping a successful future when it comes to changing the culture.

This is really about process improvement, but from the customer's lens. So not just Business Process Redesign, but really stepping into my shoes (that of your ideal customer) and helping me. Customer Journey mapping is the perfect way to do this. Did you know that my colleague Barbara van Duin has a great course to learn this. I took the course myself and recommend it.

I hope that everything will be okay with the tickets and that my friends, daughter and mother will fly to Bologna on May 20th! Time to experience La Dolce Vita. And then the experience with the group ticket booking is probably completely forgotten.

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Professional Deformation

We are on a campsite, in a cottage. And that's not just any campsite, but one that is hip and therefore sells out quickly. The booking took place in November last year, with the idea that I would be abroad for the entire month of June for wonderful speaking assignments and CX masterclasses. But yes... Suddenly, there was corona. And just like everyone else, I have been permanently in our beautiful Netherlands since mid-March.

The good news was that we had found a great holiday address. This campsite was recommended by many: maybe a bit big, but super cool. Close to the beach, against the dunes. Lots of play options for children with sand and water. The reviews were almost too positive. I have to be honest: I get skeptical. I first want to see with my own eyes whether the promises are kept. And what about the customer experience? I want to experience that myself.

So. Off we went. The first week of the construction holiday. The busiest week of the high season in 2020. I first had to see how this campsite was going to live up to that great customer experience.

We were received perfectly. Fast, friendly and clear. We arrived at the cottage, so beautiful that it exceeded our expectations. With good beds and a perfect location: between the dunes, with a private veranda and such a beautiful tent canvas as a canopy. We were stunned.

The first bottle of wine opened, the little one left for a playground with lots of sand and we were royally in relax mode. First go through the booklet, with map and tips, including activity planning.

In the days that followed, we had the best conversations with staff members of the campsite. They regularly drove by in electric carts. We were greeted cheerfully, we knew their names were Luuk, Gerard or Daan and small wishes were fulfilled. For example, I had forgotten my yoga mat and within half a day I had one in our house. Every morning we received a newspaper, accompanied by a cheerful 'Good morning!'. In such a case, I am no longer able to be just a 'guest'. Immediately, my professional deformation rears its head. How is this arranged? What processes and agreements are made with the staff? I couldn't contain my curiosity and asked Daan. He immediately explained their concept. How they, together with all the staff, colour in the last page of the brochure. The page that you can't describe, but that you have to experience.

How wow is that? Not only coming up with it, but also making it happen in the middle of the high season. With processes, agreements and above all: in concrete behaviour. They packed me as a customer. Spoiled with a very nice holiday customer experience. Chapeau campsite. Chapeau staff. We have already booked for 2021.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on September 22, 2020

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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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The faucet leaks

There I had another one. Such a confirmation letter from a service I purchased. In corporate terminology, I would call this a process letter – one of those letters that the system poops out on its own, because a customer has ordered, changed or cancelled something.

Of course, it is important that these letters come out automatically. Because it is no longer quite of today, that there is a room full of typists. Who type these kinds of letters on a custom basis, based on every customer thing that comes along. But why are these system letters not so contemporary? So distant? And why do they use references, which I can't access with my hat? Who came up with it? K-532-Zleven. Or 54352-trxxx. It probably has to do with my customer number, address or date of birth. Or is it a similarly complicated and ingenious system as the license plates of cars? Someone came up with a series, it ran out and so a new series was introduced. Kind of.

But I digress. I myself have been responsible for customer communication. I know how difficult it is to change these process letters. It's just a huge job. It's the kind of job that no one really wants to burn their fingers on. Because there's quite a lot involved. It starts with the question: do we use 'you' or 'you' and ends with 'which letter is sent when' and 'where does a possible answer go'? And what words should you use? Words that the customer must be able to understand. B1, Jip and Janneke. Ah, ah, choices, choices...

Really, no one is eager to do this job in terms of customer communication. And yet... If the tap leaks, you have to fix it (or have it made) and then mop. That is what I want to make my point about. About that mopping. This works best when the crane has been repaired. Otherwise, it's going to be such a mess. So that from today on, only letters and e-mails will go out that deliver the right message to the right recipient, in the right language and at the right time. And then? Then it's time to start mopping up: you're going to tackle process communication. That mega project. Just take two years to do that. Minimal, I would say.

The worst part is that you don't get many honorable mentions for this. Because as soon as you're done, the first letter is already outdated. Or does the company have a new name? Or a new tone-of-voice. Or a new logo. Or a new director. Because, well, all those letters have to have the right signature... It would make you despondent.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on November 13, 2019.

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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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