The lifeblood of any organization is its customers. They share their experiences with us, and can inspire us with meaning and purpose. And today, the biggest impressions organizations make on customers and prospects are those developed when communicating with call center employees.
In Germany, where I live, many people do not have very favorable opinions of call centers. As I write this article, today's newspaper is running articles on how terrible customer service usually is, and how poorly call centers are run. (Much of this particularly bad press is the result of a journalist, Günter Wallraff, working under cover in call centers and reporting on his experiences.)
Certainly some of the criticism is merited. As in any country, the situation in Germany is a mixed bag — some centers are bad, some average, some good, and some deliver excellent service. In what's probably a good sign, many consultants, especially from Japan, are earning a lot of money helping companies improve services and processes.
But one could ask, what's the difference between an excellent call center and others? What miracle must take place to become excellent?
Love… or just Like?
When I start a training presentation for call center agents in Europe, I ask these questions:
1. Who likes their job?
2. Who likes the company they work for?
3. Who likes their customers?
The answers usually range between 40- 70 percent.
Then I ask a second set of questions:
1. Who loves their job?
2. Who loves they company they work for?
3. Who loves their customers?
Answers vary, but typically between 5-12 percent of participants raise their hands. Why such a lower response than to the first set of questions? The answers I usually hear are that "love" is simply too strong a description. “Like," perhaps yes, but "love”?
If customers are the lifeblood of the company, then call center agents are its heart. And it makes a big difference whether employees love their job, company and customers… or just like them. This is a critical deciding factor between mere customer satisfaction (at best) or a much higher level of loyalty.
Focus on People
But how can we ensure our employees make our customers so happy that they continue calling us (for the right reasons, not just to complain!)? The answer: focus on our employees as a top priority. Happy employees lead to happy customers. J. Willard Marriot, founder of Marriot Hotels, operated by a sensible mantra: "Take care of our employees and they will take care of our customers."
And yet, what happens in many call centers? One part of the answer, candidly, is: Big investments in technical equipment, but low salaries for employees. And what about the understanding that senior management has of the call center's importance? Consider these questions related to two well-known international companies that have operations in Germany:
Why is Federal Express (in Germany) so well known for excellent customer service?
Why was Dell Computer (in Germany) so well known for excellent customer service?
My answer: The boss. He or she must be the best service representative in a company, the paragon and the motivator. Clearly, hiring excellent people for customer service and providing them with excellent training is the result of the philosophy and attitude of the leaders of the company. (With Michael Dell on board again, we'll see what happens with Dell.)
Not Just a Call Center — an Idea Center!
In most companies, customer service is primarily one-way communication. Customers call for information and they get information. Or they call to complain and the agent tries to resolve the situation. But those companies that provide excellent service practice closed-loop communication. Communications flows both ways, frequently. And many make follow-up calls to customers who initially contacted the organization with a problem or concern, to make sure everything is okay, to ensure expectations were met, and to sincerely ask customers how service can be improved.
In short, companies with excellent service — quite simply but diligently — encourage their customers to offer ideas, comments and feedback on the company, on departments and on individuals. This puts a focus and premium on the call center employees. The fact is, no person in the company is gathering more ideas, more prospects, more customers than call center — pardon me, idea center — agents. Focus on keeping them happy, and they will help your company keep its promises — and will ensure that customers keep calling for all the right reasons.
Günter Greff, based in Germany, is one of Europe's leading call center experts and most successful business leaders. He heads e-learn AG, which develops new internet-based learning systems, and lectures at the Bavarian Academy of Advertisement (Munich) and the Technical University Dresden. He is also a popular writer and coach, often holding events at his hotel La Riana, based in Perinaldo, Italy. He can be reached at
perspower@aol.com.
