At PeopleMetrics we’re all about gathering customer feedback. But we aren’t just helping companies to listen to their customers – we advise them to close the loop too (that is, follow-up on the feedback – get in touch – help solve a problem if need be.)
Following up with a customer or prospect who took the time to reach out to you is key to building trust and solidifying your relationship with them.
Customers don’t want to have to work hard to troubleshoot with you. It is true that you can’t make every experience effortless, but by being responsive and asking questions to show you care, you can avoid the negative impact of being hard to do business with. It may feel like even this is difficult if you are running a large, complex business or are short on customer service employees. And perhaps you think that doing this every time is not worth the investment.
“Let’s let them figure it out this time,” you say. “What’s one negative tweet or email? It’s just one customer.”
Well, let’s put it into perspective.
Like a lot of other food-lovers I follow my favorite chefs and personalities on Twitter. New recipe? That deserves a favorite. Callout to an up-and-coming chef? That person gets followed. When celebrity chef Alton Brown, host of Food Network show “Good Eats,” recently had a run-in with his internet provider Comcast Cable, my passions for food and customer experience strategy overlapped. Hooray!
Celebrities Have Customer Experience Issues Too
Last week Brown’s modem gave out on him, and after 45 fruitless minutes trying to troubleshoot, he turned to live-tweeting his experience with Comcast’s customer service department:
Hey @comcast after being on the phone with a non-english speaker for 45 minutes, I got hung up on
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 1, 2014
This went on for awhile…
Hey @comcast If you don't pick up my call in 60 seconds, I'm going to pee on this modem.
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 1, 2014
Hey, @comcast, I'm serious.
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 1, 2014
And his followers (803,000 of them in total), were given a glimpse into how difficult it can be to connect with someone at Comcast when you need them the most.
Things were looking grim.
Current and prospective Comcast customers looked on as Comcast’s social media feedback management team wasn’t successful in rerouting Brown to a service technician, or connecting him with a live representative on the phone. As Brown’s frustrations grew, his negative feedback continued to fill the Twitterverse.
Hey @comcast and I'm going to make a video of it.
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 1, 2014
Your Employee Interactions Can Flip a Situation
Mike changed everything.
Well, @comcast, you're on the line. Thank you.
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 1, 2014
Hey, Mike at @comcast is has real skills and he's polite.
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 1, 2014
Mike! Helpful, knowledgeable, patient Mike stepped in to help, and in doing so turned Brown’s situation around.
Mike was able to use his knowledge of Comcast’s systems to diagnose Brown’s issues and get him back up and running quickly.
So in the end, Mike from Mississippi saves @comcast from a urine soaked modem. It only took 1.76 hours. Goodnight everyone
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) July 2, 2014
You Might Not Ask For It, But You Better Be Prepared
Moral of the story? You'll get customer feedback, whether you solicit it or not. Be vigilant and prepared to follow-up when someone’s having a problem, lest you end up with pee on your products, or worse(?), lose customers due to negative word-of-mouth.
Now how do you hire, train and retain excellent customer service reps like Mike? As Alton Brown would say, that’s another post.
Want some recommendations around your current Cx and your delivery of it?
~Alayna Avery
