Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Pushing Unrealistic Customer Surveys Won't Improve the Customer Experience
Most companies ask themselves this question regularly: how’s our customer experience? There is evidence that too many companies simply can’t answer the question. It’s not uncommon for organizations to paint an overly rosy picture of the service they offer. The reason for this is that they’re simply not asking customers for the right feedback. Of, if they are, they’re not paying attention to what customers are telling them.
Very few customers set out to be cranky with agents. More often than not, something that happens during the call sets angry customers off: long hold times, multiple transfers or agents who don’t seem willing to listen to what the customer is telling them are the usual triggers.
In a recent article for Boulder County Business, Stacy Cornay relates the story of a perky but unhelpful customer support agent who wasn’t very keen to solve her problem, but was very quick to send an emailed survey after the unsuccessful call, adding insult to injury
“I still had issues, but now I had a survey,” wrote Cornay. “I decided to fill out the survey to let them know what I thought. I opened the survey. The first thing it said was, ‘This survey will take between 10 and 15 minutes to finish. We appreciate your time.’ I'm quite clear that this company doesn't appreciate my time or my feedback. They've indicated this to me in many ways.”
While surveying customers can help provide companies with a laundry list of problems that are acting as a barrier to a great customer experience, they’re only useful if the company actually pays attention to what customers are saying. Many companies cherry pick information from these surveys with a heavy “confirmation bias,” choosing only the information that tells them their current efforts are “just fine.”
“Technology has made it easier to contact customers and find out how they feel about their experience,” wrote Cornay. “We can track products and services through a variety of means to better understand customer trends and behavior. However, the best technology in the world won't help if you don't pay attention to the feedback you are receiving. You might as well open a window and throw your money out.”
While 15 minutes may not seem like much, to a busy customer, it’s an eternity. Customer surveys are a favor from the customer to a company: they should be fast, easy and cut right to the meat of the customer experience.
“Anyone dealing with the public needs to understand that when a customer calls for assistance, you are not doing them a favor by replying,” wrote Cornay. “They are doing you a favor by contacting you in the first place. If you are not able to help your customer don't gloss over it. They won't be fooled - they know they didn't receive help. Acting otherwise only creates anger at your business.”
Customer surveys are a critical step for delivering great customer support. But if they’re not fast and easy, and if companies don’t actually listen to ALL the feedback customers are providing, they are simply one more substandard element that will anger customers and make them determined to never come back.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi