Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Kolsky gave as an example one government agency with a 12-day email response policy (almost speedy as compare to its 15-day response time when constituents phone in an issue). Despite the absurd turnaround time—customers who aren’t given specifics expect a 4-hour email response time, according to Kolsky—the agency actually has high customer satisfaction for the simple reason that constituents know what to expect. The agency informs each constituent who contacts it via email or phone what the response time will be.

Considering that customers may not be so patient waiting for responses from private-sector firms, what’s an organization to do? Kolsky suggested designing a service experience that delivers what customers want that also makes sense for your enterprise. That experience, he said, should map to customers' moments of truth. He advised attendees to
+ ask customers what they want before designing a customer experience,
+ set customer expectations,
+ and deliver an experience according to those expectations.

This, Kolsky said, will balance customer service efficiency and effectiveness by creating a win-win for both company and customers.

Kolsky cautioned attendees to pay close attention to customers’ changing expectations. He explained that customers’ expectations have changed based on the overall customer experience available today. No longer do customers compare only competitors within an industry. Today customers judge organizations against the best company, regardless of industry, at delivering service with a specific channel, as well as across channels.