Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Sharon - Customer Care Specialist
Our customers come to our site in the search for the love of their life so it's important that we handle them with the best care possible. It requires a lot of responsibility when you are given the opportunity to interact with a customer and you have to share yourself emotionally to connect with them. The emotional connection that you develop with a customer on that particular contact gives the customer true personalization and care.

One customer I interacted with was new to the service and called to cancel her subscription. Only being on the service for a few days, she was not happy with the communication she had with her matches and had given up on the process. Empathy was the first thing that came to my mind, so it was important for me to put myself in the customer's position to truly identify and try to relate to how she was feeling at the moment she called us.

In that customer interaction, it was a matter of explaining to the customer that searching for the love of your life is a major life-changing decision that should take time, and that things would not happen overnight; it would require time to learn about each new match. I let her know we were also there to support her in this process and explained that her success was very important to us.

We talked about how the eHarmony process works and set the expectations about the communication process. We discussed her profile to see what could help increase the communication with her matches and I suggested that she elaborate on her answers in her About Me Introductory Information. I also expressed that this was a time for her to put her best foot forward and that it should be a fun process because she would learn more about herself and what she is looking for in a partner.

She was thankful that she took the time to speak with me and learned through that discussion that she was rushing her time and expecting results so quickly. She agreed to consider reviewing each match and giving the process more time so she wasn't so pressured. She was also glad to hear that it should be a fun process of learning more about herself as an individual and what she is looking for in a soul mate.

Sam - Manager Customer Care Consistency
While we strive to help each of our members find the love of their life, what's equally important is their experience along the way. With dating or searching for that special someone, the journey can often be filled with ups and downs. And while some of these challenges are simply part of life that any individual would experience using eHarmony or not, the important thing is that we understand that this process is just that -- an emotional challenge; one that is unique for each member. It is through this understanding that we must work to provide the support and care that our customers need and deserve.

From the continual improvement of our interface to a constant evolution of self-service and user information, we consistently strive to help our users help themselves. People want things fast and they want information at their fingertips and so we offer several solutions to meet these needs. However, through customer questions and interactions we have learned that not all inquiries are what they seem on the surface; often the "concern" is not truly the reason for a customer reaching out. As a result, we use each interaction as an opportunity not just to hear our customer's questions, but also to truly listen to what they have to say.

Through caring you can't help but make a customers experience a more positive one. By being invested in each individual and their success with our service, the recommendations we make are relevant and specific to that user's experience. That one interaction, that single recommendation to post a photo, or change a setting; that word of encouragement and understanding, small and simple as it may be, in reality, may just change that member's life for the better and in a big way. Our members are why we are here. We appreciate every opportunity to interact with and assist them on their journey, as they entrust us with their hearts and invite us into such an important part of their lives.

Adam - Supervisor Customer Care
Part of my job entails searching for blog articles that pertain to eHarmony. It's a great opportunity to see what our customers are really saying to their peers in the online community. Whether the postings are positive or negative, it's important to have an open mind and review each of them. I can get a sense of what we're doing well as a company and what we possibly need to work on.

Recently I came across a blog post that was less than favorable. The poster was very critical of online dating services and eHarmony in particular. She'd been on the service less than three weeks, therefore it was quite concerning for me. This was a perfect opportunity to reach out and communicate with one of our members who, in her mind, was already having a negative experience. When I did reach out, she was somewhat reticent in accepting my assistance. She expressed doubt in my ability to enhance her eHarmony experience. I didn't give up; we communicated back and forth about how the matching process works and how she can improve her profile to increase the likelihood of communication from her matches. I wanted to ensure that she had the right expectations of the service, but at the same time assure her that our goal was to assist in her search for love.

A few days later I followed up with her to check on her progress. She expressed frustration about the amount of matches that she was receiving. I reviewed her account to ensure her match settings were maximized for the best potential matches, but also assured her that eHarmony's goal is to find that one highly compatible match for her and encouraged her to remain patient as we search for that special someone. I also encouraged her to initiate communication with the matches she was receiving, because I noticed that she had not been. I reminded her that every single match that was provided for her was highly compatible, but she also needed to communicate with them to gauge the potential chemistry. I'm glad to say that she had an open mind and took my suggestions. She is now having a much-improved experience and is actively communicating with several matches.

Tying social media and personal blogs into the proactive customer care experience is a high priority eHarmony. Reaching out and attempting to resolve customers' issues when they never contacted Customer Care sets us aside from other companies. At the end of the day, our goal is for each of our members to find the love of their life, but it's also important for us to let our members know that we care.

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Scott Ackerman is vice president of customer care for eHamony, which received a 2008 Gartner & 1to1 Customer Award.