Nice Isn't Good Enough
I love good customer service as much as the next person. But, frankly, a pleasant encounter with an employee is great, but just isn't enough if the rest of the customer experience is lacking. Two examples:
Last fall I spent nine torturous hours over two visits to Home Depot designing my soon-to-be new kitchen with one of the kitchen designers. He was wonderfully helpful, but the design software was awful. It took five clicks each time the designer needed to drag an item (like a cabinet or appliance) to move it on the layout. The odd shape of our kitchen necessitated lots of "let see if this will work here." Additionally, Home Depot sends an estimator to do the initial measurements, but that person doesn't account for specifics like gas lines and plumbing. So the when the installer came to approve the measures and layout (that we had spent four hours on during our initial visit to the store), we had to scrap everything over mere inches and start over.
During our adventure we also ordered a storm door. It was a custom size so we had to wait five weeks to get it. Ultimately were given the wrong door in the right box. When I went to return the door, the customer service person pleasantly kept me waiting for 40 minutes. As nice as the Home Depot employees were to me, the overall customer experience was inconsistent and unpleasant.
Last week my family and I visited New Hampshire. I was fortunate to have gotten us a room at the beautiful Mt. Washington Resort. The staff there is fabulous. Everyone is cheerful and informative and, well, really nice. The hotel offers free (wired) Internet access from your room. Wireless access from the lobby is available for a fee. I have no problem with that except it wasn't made clear anywhere, including the log-in page. (I eventually took my computer to the front desk to ask why my access code wasn't working.) Plus, in-room access was one click, whereas lobby access involved creating an account. Charge me or don't, but don't create a complicated, inconsistent process. Additioinally, although the hotel oozes luxury and helpfulness, don't expect "service" in the lounge areas. We sat by a fireplace in a nearly empty lounge one evening as two employees chatted nearby at the bar but never came over to take our order. It felt like we were being ignored because our experience thus far had been that service and helpfulness appeared to be the goal of every employee. As it turns out guests need to go to the bar to order drinks. I would expect that in a pub, but there it seemed oddly like self-service in a luxury setting. Again, consistency is the issue: If you're going to profess grandeur then be luxurious in every aspect of the customer experience.
I could go into further detail about both companies, but you get the picture. Inconsistency is the customer experience killer. You can market till you're blue in the face, building customers' excitement and expectations; you can train employees to treat customers wonderfully; and you can blow it all in one moment -- an inescapable IVR, an apathetic employee, a complex process. But the trouble is, consistency is one of the greatest challenges in crafting a brand- and loyalty-building customer experience.
What's your best advice for creating consistency within and across channels?
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