Tag Archive from: customer contact

System

For a customer experience workshop I am conducting, I designed materials and had them printed. When I receive the envelope of printed materials, 75% of the order is missing.

Fortunately, I was in plenty of time to order and didn't need the materials right away. I can't call during opening hours because I'm participating in the annual fox hunt that day. To complete the picture for the visual thinkers: I am dressed as an orange supporter.

So I send a message to this printing giant. I include exactly the information I suspect the service person will need. The order number, that which did get delivered - my document named Handout, exactly as it says in the confirmation email - and that the other three items are missing.

Dressed entirely in orange, I walk around town in the meantime. I check my mail and read:


'Dear,

How annoying that things went wrong with the delivery of your order. So you have the handout, but the loose-leaf article and stickers are missing? When we have this clear then we can look at an appropriate solution.

Sincerely,

Madelon'

Um, yes. This is a case of copy-paste without reading properly. Because I already indicated that only the handout was provided. And apparently it is too much trouble to write to me with my name. Not recognized and certainly not acknowledged. I quickly reply back that this is indeed true. To get the following email back:

'Dear,

Totally right I put it in the system for you.'

Huh! And now? What a sloppy nothing email, even with a typo. She must have put it in the system, but what does that mean for me? For the entrepreneur who needs these materials to teach CX classes?

So this is where it often goes wrong. For Madelon it is probably obvious, but for me - the customer - it is now unclear. Is my order to the printer? Will I get my materials? And when? I send a short message on chat after this, to which a colleague kindly replies that the materials will be printed.

The fox hunt was top-notch. Just stripped of orange face paint, we sit enjoying afterward over Friday afternoon drinks. Then, at 6:41 p.m., I receive the cherry on the cake email.

'Dear Sir/Madam,

Unfortunately, due to excessive traffic, we were unable to ship your order today.

By: System'

What, this system is broken! Like so many systems. As a customer, it's killing me. It reminds me of a video from Little Britain, which I translate for you for free: 'System says NO.'

It's done: customer says NO. I'm going to look for another printer.

 

This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on May 2, 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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Cup of coffee?

I almost always offer delivery drivers a cup of coffee. Or in the summer, I have a few cans of fresh cold. Or maybe they want to use the toilet for a while?

Usually they turn this down, because busy busy busy, but sometimes there is a need and some time for it. Like last Sunday when my meal package was delivered, where Tugrul liked a cup of coffee.

We started talking and he told us that this is his part-time job. He is happy to deliver these boxes, in addition to being an entrepreneur with his own Barbershop. Because living on your own costs money. So he works extra shifts as a delivery driver for this meal box service. What a great energy and drive. It was very nice to hear his perspective on delivery and entrepreneurship. Are you in Utrecht and would like to get a haircut by this entrepreneur? Then you can definitely go to Ozky's Barber at Bartoklaan 17 in Utrecht.

He also asked me what was actually in that box. Because he had never seen that before. Maybe a small point of improvement in the Employee Journey of this meal delivery company. But I fixed that. I showed him the app; That you have a choice of 30 meals, we opened the box together, he looked at the contents of the box, the recipes and with all the love he took the box back immediately. Good for the environment!

What a pleasure to meet such great delivery people and this also starts with ourselves. The customer. Do you do this too? If I take it wider. Are you nice to the service in a restaurant? Against flight attendants? Staff in stores?

Back to the delivery people. They don't have it easy. I have to deal with the strangest situations in terms of traffic, especially in Utrecht where I live. Just think about what it's like to have to go to the toilet when you have so many packages in the back of your bus...

So ask your delivery person if he/she wants a cup of coffee or tea. Just have a few take-away cups at home, because then they can go back into their bus with a nice hot cup of hopsakee. Or if it's summer and warm, have a few cans of cold lying around. Offer that they can use the toilet for a while. And for the meal deliverers; Have some euros ready. I know it can be done in the app, but I'd much rather give a few euros myself that I have in a container. That's how I thank them personally. And everyone likes that. Tugrul certainly does.

 

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

Don't miss another blog? Sign up for my monthly CX Greetz!

 

*****

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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In love, engaged or is it complicated?

Yes, it is. February, the month of love. Or to be more precise, the month in which Valentine's Day falls. That day when a lot of people send a card. Buy a bar of chocolate that says "I love you" and then give it to a loved one. Or send someone a message. To our loved one, a friend, mother, neighbor or daughter.

Actually, the shape doesn't really matter. Showing love can be done in many ways. Say something nice, send or do something nice. It works. It makes your own heart do a dance and therefore also that of the other. Isn't it wonderful to have a column about love? Unfortunately, this is where the happy part ends.

Because I want to switch to another world. That of love for the customer.

That's where my heart stops with the dance. Unfortunately, for many, that's where the imagination stops. Because love for the customer. What does it look like? Should we call the customer and tell them we love her/him (I'll keep it to her for now)? No, we're certainly not going to do that here in the Netherlands, that's too American for us. But that's not the point.

The point is that we do want the customer to love us and give us a nine or ten in the survey. That she spends her money with us every year. Tacitly renews the contract. Buy more policies. Tacitly accepts the price increase and let's hope she doesn't call. That she doesn't disturb us with our work, but mainly finds her own way, digitally.

Love. That's exactly where things go wrong in organizations. We don't really like the customer. Of who she is. What she's doing. We do want her to choose us. But even if she, as a customer (i.e. citizen, participant or applicant), cannot choose, that she does not bother us too much.

That's what we're talking about here. About whether you and your colleagues are in love, engaged, or married to the customer. And whether you really feel something about it. Or is it complicated? (Thank you Facebook, for allowing us to choose this wonderful addition within "types of relationships"). After all, do we talk about the customer internally as if we love her? Or do we prefer to use her customer number? Do we talk about customers in meetings, or do we prefer to stick to the process?

The love for the customer is a topic that should really be discussed. Do you love your customer? Ask yourself and your colleagues the question. I suggest that you have this conversation lovingly in your organization. I dare say that Valentine's Day next year will be a very different one.

 

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

Don't miss another blog? Sign up for my monthly CX Greetz!

 

*****

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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Group ticket

I'm turning 50 this year. Then comes the question. How do you want to celebrate? This year I will walk 1000 kilometers to Rome and celebrate it on May 17 in St. Peter's Square with my husband. But there was also a little voice in my head that I really want to celebrate this with my friends. Something really crazy. Extravagant. So... I invited all my friends, my daughter and mother for a weekend in Italy. I rented a beautiful villa above Verona and also arranged good food, drinks and a bike ride through the rolling hills.

Now I didn't want to be a travel agent, so I asked all the ladies to pay for (and arrange) the ticket themselves. However, it soon became apparent that the prices differed quite a bit. One friend was shown 221 euros and the other 271. In order not to get crooked faces, I offered to arrange a group ticket.

So I went to the website on Saturday morning and there I went through a number of fields. Where do you want to go, at what time, with how many people, etcetera etcetera. When I pressed 'Enter' after the last field, I was promised that I would get a quote within a day.

You can already feel it. I didn't get anything. And I felt the fear that due to delays on this line, the tickets would only become more expensive. So I went to call, but I couldn't get through. So wait and see.

After four days, the offer came. And what a quote. Four choices, even though I had made it very clear what I wanted. 13 tickets and at very specific times to and from Bologna. Within 10 minutes I responded back with what I wanted and then I got some kind of contract.

One for which you really must have attended the Ticket Academy. I also suspect that this is still from an AS400 system, judging by the font. Anyway. Especially a lot of attention to the cancellation policy, conditions and dates. All in text. Four pages full.

It also tells me when I have to provide a passenger list. Now that's nice, that clarity. But what should be included in a passenger list? Just names, or also dates of birth? Or also identity card numbers? I searched online for what should be in this list, but it can't be found. What a lack of clarity...  Especially since it's so different from how I book an individual ticket. Just, nice and online, very clear and as it turns out. Also for a much better rate.

When agreeing, I run into a contradiction. The contract states that I have to sign and email it. But the accompanying e-mail states that the payment confirms the reservation. So you don't have to send an email. Oh well, just to be sure, I sign, scan and confirm. Better safe than sorry. And then I'm going to make the first payment. I have to mention "Tigre" plus the contract number when paying. But should I or shouldn't I add the 'A' that is in the letter? Or also the '1/1' that is behind it. Oh help. I have paid and hope for the best that this will go well.

So yes, I don't understand the added value of this group booking option. Maybe if you're an event agency and have this kind of software yourself. But I feel really lost as an individual. I'll soon have 13 tickets, but I'm dependent on an e-mail address, which you just have to hope will respond. And a department that I have not yet reached by phone.

Fortunately, it is KLM and I trust that this will all work out. It's the big blue bird after all. Which reminds me of the slogan of that other organization that I associate with blue. We can't make it any more fun, which one is easier. Well, they should take a look at that here too!

From this blog, I distilled some CX lessons. Curious? Read them here!

 

*****

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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