Moments of Truth

Back in 1987 Jan Carlzon told the story of how he turned Scandinavian Airlines into a successful business by focussing on those few moments of human interaction that he called moments of truth.

It strikes me that almost 40 years later his findings are more important than ever. We live in a world where so much is tech driven that we can go for days without needing any human interaction but when something goes wrong, when something doesn’t work as it should, that is when we need another human to help us and ironically it is in those ever more rare moments of human to human interaction that we judge a company’s service.

I recently had my phone stolen. It was easy to replace and to reconfigure most of the functionality but  when it didn’t happen and I was forced to contact the helpline it was noticeable how ineffective and downright frustrating most of those experiences were. Ironically for many businesses the only chance they have to ‘wow the customer with service’ and thereby differentiate themselves from the rest is when something goes wrong so it is doubly disappointing that some otherwise great services are let down by a helpline that is no help at all.

My credit card, for example, does what is expected of it, until it doesn’t and then trying to contact them and get some assistance sets off a dystopian nightmare of red tape and computers programmed to say no.

Zappos realised that customer service was the only time they had the opportunity to interact with the buyers and made that the shop window for their service ethic so every new hire had to work in Customer Service where they were observed and measured against their #1 core value of ‘Deliver WOW through service’ before any hire was confirmed as permanent.

Why then do so many businesses  seem to  put their lowest paid, least people focussed and least competent team members into this crucial role? What would happen if they put their best, most helpful highest trained and paid people there?

So the questions for today are:

• When a customer has a problem with your service or product, how easy is it to get help?
• Is your help line or complaints process up front or hidden in the depths of your website?
• Do you encourage feedback or try to make it impossible? A feedback mechanism that goes on for 18 pages and takes ages to complete will guarantee you don’t get much.
• Do you measure the quantity and type of feedback- including feedback forms that are started but not finished?
• Do those metrics drive improvements?
• Who owns those metrics?

If you need any help, reach out

Many successful business owners eventually hit a wall on growth and struggle to climb it alone. When you work with me you get a fresh perspective, a solid plan, and customised coaching so you can grow and scale your business safely and at speed.

To check whether I can help you on that journey https://calendly.com/iankinnery/canweworktogether