Get Customer Feedback Chapter 8

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 2 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Many people dislike negative feedback, however… coaching Feedback is a valuable form of coaching Our toughest critics can become our best friends

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 3 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?”

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 4 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 Detractors Passively Promoters Satisfied

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 5 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. NPS (Net Promoter Score): An excellent way to gather critical data about overall customer loyalty P - D = NPS Total number of [P]romoters Subtract the number of [D]etractors The end number is your NPS

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 6 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Companies have varying levels of commitment to feedback Reluctant-compliant Active listener Metric-conscious

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 7 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Increasing the number of complaints heard may be an effective strategy Lack of feedback can indicate that something is preventing customers’ speaking out Rewarding low complaint rates may give incentives for employees to ignore or discourage customer feedback

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 8 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Feedback cards are an unproductive way to get feedback Customers only fill out a card when they are very upset or very happy Cards are not readily available Cards have too many questions Cards are too open ended

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 9 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Feedback cards are an unproductive way to get feedback Customers may not know what to do with the cards Customer doesn’t believe that you really want feedback Card mixes marketing with customer service questions

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 10 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. How we react to customer complaints determines whether we get additional “coaching” The initial reaction is critical Don’t justify or explain Simply accept the criticism You want to solve the problem

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 11 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Four ways to proactively seek out customer feedback Focus groups Explorer groups Surveys Mystery shoppers

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 12 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Focus groups gather unstructured information and opinions Get a representative sample of customers Use not fewer than five, not more than a dozen people Reward participants for their time Limit the time for the group Record the entire session for analysis later

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 13 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Explorer groups go to other businesses They do not need to go only to competitors; They are forms of observational research Before you go, decide what you are looking for

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 14 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Customer surveys work best with a random (or stratified random) sample Random sample: any customer has an equal chance of being selected for the survey Stratified random sample: anyone in a pre-selected category has an equal chance

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 15 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Use surveys when customers have recently completed a transaction Face-to-face surveys as they walk out of your office or store Mail or brief questionnaires Written surveys that they can mail back later Telephone customers at home or at work

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 16 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Mystery shoppers visit or contact companies, posing as customers Findings are used In employee training materials For improving the business For improving product quality To compare one location to another

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 17 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Capturing and using feedback is critical to success. Managers can benefit from maintaining a complaint log to capture ideas from customers and others.