Customer Service Isn't Hard - Just Be a Mind Reader

How many times have you had a customer service interaction where you walked away in disbelief over how clueless the person "helping" you was? You've sat there at least once saying "I cannot believe they just don't understand my problem."

Now think about how many times your customers have said this about you or your organization. Scary, isn't it?

I'm not only talking about customer service reps in call centers - I'm talking about anyone who interacts with a customer (salespeople, relationship managers, marketers, executives, etc.). Any one of those individuals can completely destroy a customer interaction by not connecting to the customer's need. This disconnect occurs because the person providing the service comes at it from their own perspective rather than the customer's.

Why does this happen? Probably because your metrics are screwed up and you create incentives for bad behavior. Remember - Hobbes pointed out that man is inherently selfish. Your people will behave in a manner that maximizes their own well-being (cash, advancement, free time, etc.). But don't despair. There's a simple thing you can do to generate the behaviors that will have your customers rave about you: become a mind reader just like Karnak.

When a customer is asking for help, they have a problem. While this sounds obvious, how often have you or your team really listened to what the problem is? I didn't think so. More often than not you're thinking about your own objective function (make the sale, get off the phone, minimize the refund, etc.) and not truly listening to your customer's issue.

If you simply stop and try to read their mind, you'll be amazed with the results. Case in point - I'm a huge fan of Hilton hotels. I have 9 bazillion Hilton HHonors points. I've achieved Vanadium status in their rewards program.

I just applied for a Hilton HHonors American Express card. When I filled out the online application, I mistakenly clicked "No" when it asked if I wanted to get my account number now. The result was I'd have to wait until the cards arrived by mail. That was a bad thing because I was going to stay at a Hilton before the cards arrived and I'd therefore miss out on getting the gibungous point bonus for using the card for that stay. Still with me?

I called AMEX and explained my plight. For security reasons, the rep was unable to give me the account number over the phone (which I applaud given the fraud risk of doing so). I sighed and said I understood. I casually mentioned I was disappointed in my mistake because I'd be missing out on a great point bonus. She apologized for not being able to help me. End of call. I figured the cards would arrive in 4-5 days.

The next day, the UPS guy shows up with an overnight envelope. In it was a brand new shiny Hilton HHonors American Express card. I was pretty surprised because I hadn't asked for the card to be expedited nor had the agent said she'd do that. But she delivered on two great brand messages (from Hilton and AMEX): she said those brands cared about me and solving my problem was important to them.

Creating that wow wasn't hard - she simply read my mind. She wasn't concerned about average handle time of her call. She didn't care about doing a little extra work. No. She read my mind and saw I was concerned with getting some bonus bling points for using their card. She read that I was disappointed to miss that opportunity. She read that I would be happy if she could fix that problem.

And by reading my mind, she left a lasting positive impression on me about her company and how they treat customers.

Imagine the impact such a mind reading mindset could have on your organization. More sales. Happier customers. More repeat business. In this economy, there are few of us who couldn't use those things.

Are you teaching your team to read your customers' minds? What metrics do you have in place that discourage this mind reading behavior (and more importantly, when are you going to change those metrics)? Have you seen other organizations do this well (and not just in their call centers)? Who are they? What did they do that impressed you?

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC