Customer Service

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Is customer support outreach scalable?

Sarah Wurrey, Bill Sledzik, and Jennifer Zingsheim questioned the longtime viability of customer support outreach on the latest episode of the Media Bullseye Radio Roundtable. I’ve read many of these issues before on various blogs, but I don’t think they’ll keep companies from continuing to adopt this approach.

Adobe has engaged in customer outreach for years, trolling message boards in the days before social media looking for opportunities to solve problems with their products about which customers were writing. Dell, as part of its reinvigorated customer focus, inaugurated a team doing pretty much the same thing. But it’s Comcast’s outreach through Twitter that has captured a lot of attention. (If you haven’t heard C.C. Chapman detail his own experience with Comcast’s Twitter guy, Frank Eliason, you can find it here.) Southwest Airlines has followed suit.

Let’s look at the reasons the Media Bullseye panel—and others—worry that this approach isn’t sustainable or could backfire:

Companies won’t be able to keep up as more and more people begin looking for help through these channels.

There are two good reasons this shouldn’t happen. First, as outreach begins to reduce the number of calls coming into the call center, companies should be able to reallocate call center resources to outreach efforts. A typical call-center interaction costs anywhere from $3 to $25, depending on who you talk to. As more and more problems and addressed through outreach, those costs will drop and the money easily reinvested in boosting the number of people who respond to blog and message board posts and tweets.

You can get away without spending any money, though, if you begin to view your overall employee population as the front line of customer support. I’ve experienced this a few times from companies ranging from Microsoft to Park ‘N Fly. It wasn’t a dedicated support person who reached out to me after I wrote about a less-than-satisfcatory customer experience. In the case of Park ‘N Fly, it was an admin. With Microsoft, it was first IE Project Manager Dean Hachamovich, followed by a member of his team. Given that the Edelman Trust Barometer identifies “a person like me” as the most trusted spokesperson for a company, letting employees find issues related to their work and resolve them as a supplement to more formal efforts will make it even easier for companies to keep up.

Greedy and unscrupulous people will game the system

If Southwest satisfies an unhappy customer by giving him a free round-trip, a lot of people will be inclined to post their own tweets claiming to have had a bad experience on a recent flight in hopes of scoring a voucher of their own. But not if they don’t know that a free ticket was awarded.

A variety of companies have reached out to me after I’ve aired my dissatisfaction on my blog. Park ‘N Fly and Microsoft, listed above, responded by commenting on my blog. Marriott, Virgin Mobile, and Wachovia Bank, on the other hand, responded by private email. Offers of free goods or services to compensate for a problem can easily be made through one-to-one contact (or even the direct message feature on Twitter), which would help avoid the flood of people with their hands out.

Only those with influence will get on customer support’s radar screen.

Jeff Jarvis got Dell’s attention because, well, he’s Jeff Jarvis, A-list blogger. Members of the Media Bullseye panel noted that they had blogged their problems with products and received no attention from the company in question, presumably because they’re not well known enough to be on the company’s radar.

My guess is that the companies in question weren’t searching the Web to find customers with problems. In most of the cases when companies have reached out to me, they had no idea who I was. Comcast is clearly reaching out to anybody who tweets an issue. Smart companies will try to solve anyone’s problem and not discriminate in favor of the influential.

Frankly, most of the people who reached out to me had no idea who I was (not that I’m an influential blogger to begin with).

It’s not fair that only those who use Twitter and other social media channels will be able to take advantage of customer suport outreach.

People who don’t blog or use Twitter can always pick up a phone. Outreach is an extension of existing customer service channels, not a replacement that leaves others without a means of having their problems addressed.

The concern sounds a lot like companies reluctant to launch intranets 10 years ago because some employees didn’t work at computers. Ultimately, organizations recognized that intranets would serve employees who could use them and other tools would serve those who couldn’t. Is customer support outreach really any different?

Those who complain on their blogs are just a bunch of whiners anyway. Why should organizations succumb to them?

I’ve been accused of this—recently. But take a look at the title of Pete Blackshaw‘s new book (due in July): “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000.” People have always shared their experiences along with their ideas and insights. Social media simply gives them a means of reaching a larger community of people who care about the same things and are interested in the same types of products. Is it whining when someone gives a book or a product a one-star rating on its website? In fact, those who do are “critics” (under Forrester’s technographics breakout) while those who blog about it are “creators.” Companies ignore any dissatisfied customer at their peril.

Conclusion

I’ve been trying to think of other reasons that customer support outrach wouldn’t scale as it becomes more common, but I’m coming up dry. I remain as convinced as ever that this is a new model to enhance customer support efforts, one that can save money and improve reputations.

Am I missing anything?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Comcast brings customer service to Twitter

Scott Monty mentioned in an email to me that Comcast has launched a customer service initiative on Twitter. Dubbed “Comcast Cares,” it seems that the effort is aimed at finding people who are tweeting their complaints about Comcast and offering to help. Whoever is leading the effort then engages in conversations with those to whom she or he is reaching out.

Reviewing the 21 pages of tweets from Comcast going back to April 6 reveals a long list of replies to individuals:

As with any company, the words need to be backed up with action, but if Comcast has taken a page from the Dell playbook, this could be an outstanding example of using social media to improve reputation through proactive customer service.

Twitter doesn’t have to be mainstream for this outreach effort to succeed. The word will spread from those who experience it. Using Twitter to seed word-of-mouth by taking genuine care of customers could be a brilliant move by a much maligned company.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Starbucks adopts IdeaStorm concept

The Dell IdeaStorm was a revolutionary concept in customer relations. The idea was simple: Take the concept of Digg, tweak it a bit here and there, and unleash it so customers and employees can submit ideas. Anyone can then comment on any idea and vote to either promote or demote it. Those that rose to the top are then moved into action. To date, nearly 9,000 ideas have been submitted, attracting almost 69,000 comments. The ideas have been promoted almost 614,000 times. Some of the current top-promoted ideas include offering computers with no extra software and standardizing power cables for all laptops.

The IdeaStorm concept is so good I wondered when we would see other companies adopt it. That question was answered yesterday when Starbucks unveiled its version, a nearly identical site called “My Starbucks Idea.” Here’s the main functions of the Dell IdeaStorm site:

And here’s the same functionality at My Starbucks Idea:

Which is not to accuse Starbucks of ripping off a Dell property, but rather to praise them for adopting a good idea. Knowing some of the folks at Dell, I’m sure they’re feeling flattered that the concept they initiated is gaining traction.

The launch of My Starbucks Idea comes as Starbucks is struggling as a population facing recession tightens its belt, which for many means foregoing a four-dollar coffee in favor of a one-dollar cup of joe. The site was introduced at its shareholders meeting yesterday, along with several other initiatives—such as a coffee blend to be ground fresh in stores, loyalty cards, French-press coffee and a bolstered green message—all of which follows a highly-publicized three-hour shutdown for store personnel training designed to bring consistency and high quality back to the company’s many, ubiquitous locations.

One improvement Starbucks could make to the site—which would also emulate the approach Dell has taken—is to highlight the ideas that have been submitted on the home page rather than make someone click a link that reads, “Check out the latest ideas now!” (Not to mention, I’m sick of people online telling me to “check out” anything at all.) Still the ideas submitted so far—after only a day—have merit. Free wireless Internet (already available at some of Starbucks’ competitors), coffee classes for those interested in learning more about the drink, and a free coffee on your birthday are among the early entries earning points and attracting comments.

Two companies using the IdeaStorm concept certainly doesn’t make this a movement, but it does represent a doubling of the number of companies employing the model. I suspect now it won’t be too long before it doubles again. For communicators working in companies trying to bolster customer relations and improve innovation, it’s a concept worth taking to management.

Monday, January 14, 2008

My fax cover letter to Virgin Mobile USA

UPDATE #3—I received permission to run the email I got from Virgin Mobile USA:

We apologize for the inconvenience the suspension of your son’s account has caused you. We came across your blog stating you were having trouble restoring your services after a suspension related to credit card charges. Your son’s account has been restored after the account was reviewed. Virgin Mobile attempts to protect all customers from the possibility of credit card fraud and we were concerned about the large amount that was being charged to your credit card each time it was used. Since Virgin Mobile is unable to verify a person’s identity visually, we protect our customers by suspending the service and requesting proof of identity. This way, if there is any fraudulent credit card activity, we can put a stop to it quickly. Again, we apologize for any troubles and inconvenience this has caused you or your son. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions or concerns.

UPDATE #2—I got back from lunch to find an email from Virgin Mobile USA. They had reviewed the account and restored Ben’s phone service—as a result of this blog post, not the fax I sent. The note was personal and courteous, but I still have some issues with the company’s policies, which I articulated in my reply. I’m waiting for permission to post the text of the email here.

UPDATE:—I sent this fax at about 10 p.m. last night to a 24x7 customer service center. 6:45 this morning, the account is still suspended.

I sent the following fax cover letter to Virgin Mobile USA after a seriously frustrating encounter with “customer service.” The message speaks for itself.

Per your request, I am faxing my driver’s license and the fronts and backs of both credit cards I have used to “top off” the account I established for my son.

The phone number on the account is xxx-xxx-xxxx
The access code is xxxxxx

I am confounded about the need for this. Your web site invited me to use a credit card to top off the phone, and as a result – as near as I can understand from the convoluted explanations I received from your customer service represntatives – the account was suspended. Nowhere else in the universe of ecommerce is such nonsense inflicted on customers. At Amazon, eBay, you name it, I can use any of my credit cards without fear of account suspension. The very notion that I’ve had to go through this photocopying and faxing exercise in order to get you to take my money is the height of absurdity.

My son is in the U.S. Army, stuck at a mobilization base in preparation for a second tour in Iraq. His phone is his only link home, and he has that link only for the few weeks he’ll remain in this country. I expect his account to be reactivated immediately now that I have complied with your policies.

Please contact me immediately if there are any problems or issues.

Shel Holtz

Virgin Mobile USA. Where customers come last.