Customer Service

Henry For said, "A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large. "

If you want success you must provide organizations more than they expect!

Transforming the want customers share feedback and how organizations use it.

Commend Card

Comment cards are probably the most common tool for soliciting customer feedback.  People think they are a good way to measure customer satisfaction.

The problem is it would be like saying a hammer is a good way to drive in a screw.

Comment cards give businesses the illusion that they know what their customers think and feel!

This week I'll share a few of the reasons why when it comes to customer satisfaction comment cards are a waste of time, energy and money!

Today I'm focusing on the bell curve or the "normal curve".  Some of you may remember this from school when you hoped they would grade on the curve.  The reality is when it comes to comment cards they fall just like this curve!

You see the little blue area on each end... those are the people that fill out comment cards.  Research shows that an estimated 70% of people never fill out a comment card.  The people that do fill them out are your lovers or haters!  I would not want to run my business getting direction from only those two groups.

I talked to a restaurant manager the other day and he said that they will be 1000 people and get 4 comment cards.  This is tragic!

They think they are measuring customer satisfaction but what they are measuring is the views of a few people on each end.

The average customer is never telling you what they think or feel!  But they are telling their family and friends!

Think about it.

www.feedbackrevolutionqr.com

Ways to Improve Your Company's Customer Service

I was just reading an article from Businessweek with the title, "Ways to Improve Your Company's Customer Service". As I read it a couple of points jumped out at me...

First... The subhead says that businesses need to start by finding out what is not working and fix it. That is so brilliantly simple and often very challenging! Knowing what customers or guests want it not always easy! They often don't tell you. I looked at some recent research that said only 26% of guests that have a bad experience will tell you! This means almost 3/4 only tell their friends and all the people on the Internet. It is critical that businesses have a tool that they can use to get accurate guest or customer feedback, FYI - Comment Cards are not the answer!

Second... The article goes on to say, "Business owners, despite their best intentions, don't always know what it is that will most satisfy their customers. They might think it's price..." Research shows over and over that people will pay more for great service. A recent American Express Customer Service Barometer said that people would pay over 16% more for good service. The key again is knowing what the customer wants. This means getting real feedback that is actionable!

Finally... The article says that you need to find technology that allows you to find out what the guest wants. This is very important. Did you know that the methodology for comment cards was estimated to have been created in the late 1800's. Not sure that I would want to run my business that way.

If you'd like to read the entire article here is a link to it!

Businessweek Ways to Improve Your Company's Customer Service