Customer/Consumer Satisfaction and Communication

So many companies spend thousands of dollars a year studying customer satisfaction and let the obvious steps to identify problems pass.  It makes one wonder what the purpose of the research is all about.  Is it about making management look good or is it about problem solving?

It has been my experience that if management or whoever has the ability to make changes in a company would get out from behind their desks, they would become more knowledgeable of the real world.

Let me cite some recent examples of what I mean.  My daughter had telephone problems.  She called the Telephone Company but they could not come for two days and would be there the first thing in the morning of the second day.  She waited all day.  They did not show up so she called again.  The response was, "We will be there the first thing tomorrow."  She waited until 2:00 p.m. but had to leave.  they showed up sometime later and left a message that they had been there.  she again called, and the response was, "We will be there first thing tomorrow."  She waited until 1:00 p.m. and had to leave for a doctor's appointment.  I went to her house and waited.  They showed.  The repairman let me know a lot about the problems of the company and said he could not do anything about them because no one wanted to listen.  I tried to call someone at the corporate headquarters and let them know about the events.  Has anyone tried to contact their phone company about a problem other than repair or a bill or even to congratulate them about something?  The only thing you get is, "push 1 if, push 2 if, etc." with no opportunity to talk to a real person.  They seem to think they know every reason for your call.  This story goes on and on about trying to get in touch with a real person.  But to cut it short, I found out the name of the person in charge of marketing and called him.  The recorded message said, "Leave your name and phone number and I will get back to you as soon as possible."  I don't know how long "as soon as possible" is  but it has been twelve weeks and I have yet to hear from him.

My point is that there are a lot of opportunities to uncover problems.  But you have to look for them and be interested in solving them.  In this one example, there are a lot of problems the company could approach, if only there were interested persons.  The most exasperating thing for me is why someone will PROMISE to return calls and then not do so.  A friend of mine is at least honest, his message on his recorder says, "I may return your call."  Maybe I don't like it but it is at least honest.

This one incident contained information for many problems within the company.

    First from an actual problem point of view it reflected:

        1.    scheduling criteria problems
        2.    the ability to meet the scheduling
        3.    no effective method of communication of problems by the employees
        4.    no effective method of communication (good or bad) by the customer

    Second there are perceptual problems:
        1.    The company doesn't return phone calls.
        2.    The customer really can't believe what the company tells you.
        3.    The company is not interested in what the customer has to say.
        4.    Even if you have the president's name, you can't get beyond the operator.  (A call to the president was my last
                effort.   It also failed.  Could not even get to his secretary.)
        5.    Does whoever institutes procedures check to see if they perform the way they were intended?

Less than two weeks after these events, I received in the mail a piece of literature from the phone company about 28 new features they were offering.  My thoughts ranged far and wide about how they might give the same amount of non-attention to the new features and if the basics don't function, how do they expect the new features to be of consumer value.

This same company has a new promotional message "The company with the answers."  My question is, do they really know the questions and if they have the answers, how can the consumer find them?

Bottom line:  I think problem awareness, recognition, communication and solution should be in everyone's job description.

There is one local bank that seems to be listening to their customers.  They have an ad campaign that basically states that "If you call us, you will get a real live person."  Our communications experts, the telephone company, could take a lesson from the bank on effective communication.

I should not jump too heavily on the the Telephone Company.  I have found in this age of easy communication (What an oxymoron!), the lack of response to recorded messages is a way of life.

We spend considerable resources conducting customer and consumer research and fail to utilize some of our most basic knowledgeable resources, the front line people.  and at the same time, we make it very difficult for customers to call in and help identify problems.

How do you feel when the person answers the phone and asks you "Who should I say is calling."  My first thought is, does it really matter?  If it is not someone the person knows, will they all of a sudden be unavailable?  do people really know the questions standard procedures are raising and the image they are reflecting?

More of "It all depends on your perspective."  Sign seen:
 

•     on a billboard:  Radio advertising works.
•     on another billboard:  Learn to Read.
•     in a laundromat:  When the dryer stops, remove your clothes.
•     outside a Paris dress shop:  Dresses for street walking.
•     outside of a dry cleaners:  Drop your pants here for best results.
•     in a cemetery:  People are prohibited from picking flowers from any grave but their own.
•     on a restroom hand dryer:  Do not activate with wet hands.
•     on the wall of a loan company:  Ask about our plans to own your home.
•     on a New York medical center:  Mental Health Prevention Center
•     at a funeral parlor:  Ask about our lay away plan.
•     on a military base:  Restricted to unauthorized personnel only.