Most all of us, whether we notice it or not, spend a good part of our lives in some form of consumer-company interaction. Whether we are shopping for groceries, banking, paying rent, shopping for clothes, picking a movie, buying a book, selling our services, working for a company whose services we are performing for customers or eating at a restaurant. I’m not sure what percentage of our lives are spent on one side of the equation or the other, but I’d guess that a good majority of our time is spent consuming or selling.
And though I dislike the term ‘consumer’, the truth is that in today’s world, that’s what it resembles. It’s transactional, impersonal and more often than not marginalizing. It’s as if it is in the DNA of business to push the limits on how badly it can treat the customer to maximize revenue. And over the years, it seems, that limit has been creeping further down the rabbit hole of customer hell. Pain limits are pushed to a level where the customer *almost* decides the transaction isn’t worth making with the business, but when the customer gets used to that pain level, the business pushes the pain further. And so on until we are so used to poor treatment, the simplest gesture that makes us feel empowered again feels like a win.
With online soapboxes like Twitter, blogs and Facebook, though, the individual has the ability to connect with other individuals to get a better deal, and the bigger the soapbox, the more we are empowered. The only problem is that business has got wind of this soapbox and works strategically on shutting it down.
I was working away at my computer today when my phone rang. I picked it up to hear the friendly voice of a representative from CIBC, the bank I deal with in Canada. “How are you today, Miss Hunt? I’m calling to see if I can help you with the issue you were having with CIBC the other day.” I paused to wait for it, “You know, the one you posted about online?”
Bingo. CIBC is using some tracking software to pick up mentions on Twitter and the blogs (most likely will reply to this post, too) and then saw that I have over 30k followers and that particular rant started a rather large conversation. Because of this, my ‘issue’ was escalated to a personal service department where I now have a personal service agent who I may call at any point with issues. Awwww. Isn’t that nice?
No. It’s strategic. And it’s a lovely and nice way to try to silence me. Like attracting more bees with honey. Or being the sun in the parable about the wind and sun in competition to remove the coat from the man. And the gentleman I chatted with at CIBC was awesome and said he’d relay all of my suggestions to the proper decision makers and gave me his personal number and released some money from the hold, but I’m still not satisfied.
Because, well, I don’t take bribes (#12) even when they don’t look like one. I want change. I don’t want to see change for me, I want to see change for everyone. I want banks to stop experimenting with how far they can push us before we cry ‘uncle’ on their policies and start thinking about how they can help us achieve our dreams with customer-empowering policies. I want business to invest in technology that streamlines and helps the customer experience, not technology that spies on us. I would even go as far as sitting down with executives at CIBC for FREE to understand what the hold up is and to consult with them on improving their system for customers. I’d even connect them to the right talent to implement the system. Hell, I want this so badly I’d even pay for this to happen.
Every business starts facing a decision to make: are we here to serve customers or are we here to get rich? Conventional wisdom, set by standards that are unproven and short-sighted, leads most businesses to pick the latter. But picking customer happiness as the core driver to your business is actually the better way. It leads to satisfaction, loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, efficiency and, ultimately, riches for the business. Happy customers means you spend less on customer acquisition and retention, employee retention and recruitment, innovation (you are more innovative, but use less resources), and operations (happy customers lead to more efficient operations as you, by definition, become more efficient). You’ll beat the competition every time because they can’t figure out why customers flock to you while they have rock bottom prices.
As I‘ve been quoted saying, ‘Designing your product for monetization first, and people second will probably leave you with neither.’ As the market tips more and more towards the whims of the customer, this will ring more and more true. Now is the time for us to use all of the power we have to move business in the direction of customer-centric thinking. It’s good for everyone.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
I don’t like companies shutting up customers with bribes, if they aren’t going to make a change in the overall experience for the customer. Last year (from Feb to July ) I interned at a local bank where I was an assistant to a service agent for the most big customers of the bank. I suffered every single day because customers will come and be mad because in other areas of the bank they were having bad experiences. I came to understand that the two main problems are: Policies are written thinking on efficiency, rather on smiles (Customer Satisfaction)and that the organizational structure is way too rigid to allow any change to happen.
CIBC seems to be more flexible (we’ll see if they apply changes or not). But there’s a bank here in Peru called Interbank that treats it’s customers like rockstars. It’s so good that they’ve been named ‘The bank that feels less like a bank’ (El Banco Menos Banco, for those who know spanish). They’ve gone from being the smallest bank in Peru to an IPO in the London Stock Exchange and that’s because their CEO (who sadly passed away yesterday) understood that customer happiness is important and that only that will make the company stand out from others. I didn’t work at this bank (I worked for the Bank that does look feel like one).
I think that this case study and others will in fact show hard data to CEOs on how customer happiness is good and it’s a must in business, so they can see it. But I also think that strategically a company should look to make every customer talk good about them and not shut the ones that are taking how bad their experience with them is.
January 8th, 2010 at 6:33 am
It’s funny, recently I had a similar experience with the largest telecoms company over here in the UK, BT.
BT are a behemoth – a giant corporation split down after privatisation into various companies and groups but all under the same main brand. If you ask any business person to recount a story about BT in the UK the pain is clearly visible in their eyes. The problem is that it’s not easy for us to switch providers - BT still generally have the ‘monopoly’ for installing phone lines even if you choose a different carrier for calls. They have control over the exchanges.
I recently became so frustrated by the awful service we’ve received over the past few years that I tweeted about it. Sure as dammit I get a phone call from their customer service department (after their twitter guy had tried to help – i’d explained 140 characters would never reflect the situation…). Initially I was impressed with the way they had tracked me down. I was impressed they made the effort (after all I have a mere 350 followers). But as the discussion continued with the super efficient customer service rep so the curtain slipped and the true Wizard of Oz was revealed and we hit the same problem we always do – despite the glossy surface, the organisation isn’t actually set up to help, they can’t change, they can’t give me a better service as their systems don’t allow it. Freethinking is not allowed.
That’s what I see when I see large organisations using social media – it’s lip service. A glossy sheen sprayed over an old, broken business model. I agree with your idea of sitting with these companies and telling them what you need, but I’m not sure they are really going to listen, because as sad as it is, I don’t think they can change.
It doesn’t get me down though, compared to a few years ago we had no voice. Groups of people couldn’t come together, whereas at least now with the new web tools, we can. Although it may not change the old style companies, it helps shape the new ones – and that’s worth my twitterings on…
January 8th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Amen to that! Let’s use the tools we’ve got, instead of letting those tools use us.
January 8th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Oh FFS! You are the classic “awkward customer”.
You had a problem so you whined about it; then you whined online. Someone calls you fro CIBC to sort it out and you whine about that!! They can’t win, can they? Never was the phrase ‘Damned if you Do and Damned if you Don’t’ more appropriate!
Seriously, be reasonable.
January 8th, 2010 at 8:48 am
@Steve
Happy for you to hear that you enjoy the current system. I don’t and many other people don’t. CIBC did not fix anything, btw. They called me. The 30 day hold is still there.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:08 am
When did I say I “enjoyed” the current system? You’re putting words in my mouth.
All I said was you appear to me as being quite obtuse and difficult to please. I never even commented on my views of the current system.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:30 am
@Steve – didn’t mean to put words in your mouth. You just appeared to be in favour of me keeping quiet about banks treating their customers poorly. At no point was this post about how I want my particular needs met. This post is about changing a negative trend in business with the particular example of my banking experience. And whining is complaint without getting off one’s duff to do something about it. I’m working on doing something about it and this post is about letting others know and encouraging everyone to do something about it. If this makes me obtuse in your view, so be it.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Don’t even get me started here. Read the Harvard Busines Review from this month, companies have lost themselves and it’s embarassing, really.
And, it goes way beyond ‘companies’, but I will save that for another time..
January 13th, 2010 at 8:54 am
The squeaky wheel gets the oil, and while companies (and people) should always strive for win-win solutions, too often, a company “decides” one course of action that doesn’t always mesh with the consumers’ ideas. Unless or until a consumer cries foul, the company has no way to know they CAN’T push the envelope or continue on their course. But too often, the consumer complains to themselves or maybe a friend or two, but NOT TO THE COMPANY. “I’m sure they know,” “I don’t have the time to do it,” “Someone else will have to tell them,” are all excuses.
And frankly, it ticks me off! If we were to ALL start voicing our concerns, then we’d all be better off, save time and money. Think about it: You had an issue, which you then took the time to Tweet, which got followed (lets say 10 minutes total composing, reading, replying). Then you were busily doing something up, when you were interrupted with the phone call from your “personal banking representative”. Another 10 minute conversation. That you then had to retrace your steps of what you were doing PRIOR TO the call, say another 5 minutes. So you’ve “lost” a minimum of 25 minutes.
It’s not the first time CIBC has had this complaint; and it probably won’t be the last. Now, had the 2000 people BEFORE YOU who had had this happen to them called PRIOR TO THis, you maybe wouldn’t have had to take this time, because it’s possible it would have already been fixed. So by you taking this time, it can get the ball rolling for something to change…which may, someday, benefit not only you and CIBC, but me, too (because I won’t have this problem, because you fixed it!).
Point being: Thank you for taking the time to stand up for your rights and mine, for blogging and creating a dialogue, and for putting forward the idea that we, as consumers, DO have the power to change things.
(PS: Want more proof? Check out http://www.moveyourmoney.info to see how, in just 3 days, consumers across the nation are awakening other banks by pulling their money and moving to community banks. Ah, the power of social media!)
January 13th, 2010 at 9:31 am
It’s been interesting to watch how social networking and other methods of communication have forced companies to reconsider how they treat their customers. In the past, you would write a letter to a company which would end up in a big black hole somewhere – now, opposition to a company’s practices are shared online within SECONDS.
Its unfortunate though how often companies fail to act on the wealth of communication that is being shared with them.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I worked in banking for a number of years, in a previous life chapter, but never forgot the lessons of how fragmented data silos prevented us from learning. Customer acquisition (marketing) data was kept separate from customer (highly secure) data.
The customer who made regular weekly visits and deposits was offered beaucoup premiums; meanwhile the operations side of the house knew this customer was a loss leader i.e. used the local branch as a “pass-through” to other banks, thereby preventing the local bank from earning any “float” (deposit interest).
Put 2 and 2 together, though, and it turns out that customer should have been the “last” one who should be receiving the premium offers. Other more deserving customers who had parked large deposits should be the ones rewarded for their stability. The reward system was all backward.
It’s just not possible for some businesses to steer their battleships 1 or 2 degrees of present course, because powerful tides and currents are hitting them in the bow.
That’s not an excuse, though. The more we complain against hidebound, inept organizations and vote with our hearts, minds and wallets, the more we influence change.
January 16th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Tara,
In my wife’s finance class the other night her prof said:
“The first lesson: banks are not your friends.”
Your post made me think of this quote.
It use to be that I felt the bank was there for my best interests, but an aggregate of bad experiences has taught me otherwise.
I hate it when they ask for your client number on the phone so they can route you to different tiers of customer service….no, I want the top service regardless of my account balance!
Cheers,
Mike
January 17th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Doc Searls: Vendor Relationship Management [/quick comment]
January 18th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
I think it’s great that we, as consumers, now have this power to let the masses know about the treatment we’ve received from any business…whether good or bad. And those businesses that are actually paying attention are responding. Now if they would change their policies in response we’d really have something good going.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Media Temple did something similar to me. I complained about how their (gs) system is flawed, and they basically confirmed my suspicions in a phone conversation. They heard me complaining on Twitter and called me to basically say they couldn’t give me “hush money” or make me stop complaining, but they didn’t want me saying bad things about them. They ended up giving me a free database container ($20/month value) for life.
But I still complain when their service sucks (which unfortunately is more often than not), as I refuse to try to be silenced or bought.