Customer Experience Blog

You have to admit it’s getting better

On Tuesday I blogged about a truly awful customer experience. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, I introduced the readers to a very unhappy blogger named Xavier Klingenfus. Xavier had a memorable Customer Experience (for all the wrong reasons) with Expedia and his bank. I talked about the potential consequences of getting the customer experience wrong and the impact on customer loyalty and trust in the brand. I also introduced you to the launch of the Customer Experience Journal.

I’m really excited about the blog topic this week. We have sailed through the treacherous, stormy waters of the South Atlantic and left the bad customer experiences behind. We can see the white, sun kissed shores of the Caribbean on the horizon and this must mean one thing; we are about to talk about a good customer experience. No, a jaw dropping, out of this world, let me give me you all my hard earned cash customer experience.

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Calum Mackenzie on February 11, 2010 in Customer Understanding | Comments (6)

How bad can things be?

It is happening right now. As you read this blog, customers are experiencing companies. If you’re reading this in a coffee shop, you are experiencing a service. If you’re reading this on your phone, you are experiencing a product. These experiences are either strengthening or weakening the bond between you (the customer) and the companies that are competing for your attention (or more likely money).

So why does this matter? Consider the experience of consumer Xavier Klingenfus. If you haven’t got time to read about Xavier’s experience, here’s a summary:

1. Xavier booked a flight to Thailand with Expedia
2. At the confirmation page, Expedia informed him that they were unable to make the reservation
3. When Xavier visited his online banking, to his horror, he found he had been charged for the flight
4. Xavier contacted Expedia and was ‘reassured’ that his money was lost in the ether between his bank and Expedia. As long as Expedia didn’t claim the money, the transaction would cancel after a few days
5. I won’t go into Xavier’s bank call centre trauma in detail, but it basically involved; waiting, redirection, waiting, redirection, more waiting, music, failed redirection attempts, a dead line, redirection to the wrong number and a lot of swearing
6. Xavier then dialled a new number that he was given, spoke to a human being, and received his refund three days later

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Calum Mackenzie on February 9, 2010 in Customer Engagement | Comments (0)

Don’t lose your customer during a product recall

We are in the middle of the largest recall of Toyota cars that we have seen in a lifetime, which currently stands at over 8 million and counting. For years, U.S. automakers have been the ones fighting a reputation for being less reliable than their Japanese counterparts, with the best-known recalls generally involving U.S. cars such as Ford Explorers with tire problems. While its competition is enjoying some schadenfreude, Toyota is using every means including Youtube to help rebuild the trust with customers. The latest recall involving jammed accelerators may ironically mean brakes being applied to the growth of the world’s largest car maker. During a speech in autumn, Toyota president Akio Toyoda mentioned that "Toyota has become too big and distant from its customers" and was on the verge of "capitulation to irrelevance or death". A candid admission for a chief exec, but the question remains, how much will others learn from Toyoda’s humility?

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on February 5, 2010 in Customer Engagement :: Retail | Comments (2)

Why Chrome OS (and Google phones) could fail

Guest blogger Rick Mans of Capgemini Netherlands writes why lack of customer service may be the reason for Google’s failure.

Google is a great company or as they state it: "we are not evil". However not being evil isn't enough in the current marketplace. You have to be more than ‘not evil’, you have to be helpful and if there is one thing Google isn't, than it is being helpful. Of course Google offers tons of useful services that saves people hours of time a day and saves companies tons of savings on infrastructure. However the one thing Google doesn't have is real old-fashioned customer support.

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on January 25, 2010 | Comments (2)

Customer Experience and Lean Six Sigma can be bedfellows

Last week, I have had a few conversations with IT Advisors and CRM practitioners around the merits of using Lean Six Sigma while approaching customer and IT transformation projects. On the surface, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Customer Experience can only be two dramatically opposite ends of the spectrum. Traditionally, Lean and Six Sigma have been synonymous with Manufacturing and in the Operational Excellence space which is seen as being number driven, while Customer experience is seen as a people driven exercise. So does it have a role in the Customer Experience or IT Advisory space?

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on January 20, 2010 in Customer Engagement :: Point of Views :: Transformation | Comments (2)

Get on board: Improving customer experience on public transport

I recently travelled via train to visit family for Christmas, an experience with which I’m sure many people are familiar. I bought my return ticket from a busy station on Christmas Eve, and in the rush to get the train, I was mistakenly sold the wrong ticket, given that I was planning on returning to London at peak time. On my attempted return to London, I can describe my experience in one way: despite an honest mistake, I was treated like a criminal. This episode made me recall numerous other occasions where I have seen and heard of other travellers with similar tales. I think you’ll agree this is a pretty awful experience.

Does it have to be this way?

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Paul Clark on January 11, 2010 in Customer Understanding :: Transport | Comments (0)

Engaging the customer in less than 160 words

“Hello! Welcome to Mumbai. The UK embassy can be reached at +91xxx . For any assistance call +91xxx. Happy to help.” This is the text message from Vodafone that I was greeted with when I switched on my UK mobile phone while stepping off a plane in Mumbai this Dec. During my travels, I am prone to get text messages from roaming operators, but what differentiates this message is the fact that it provides a very useful bit of info i.e. the phone number of the UK embassy in India.

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on January 6, 2010 | Comments (6)

Dell helps make my last purchase this decade, a good experience..

The noughties have come to an end with us having seen the worst economic situation in a generation. Front line sales and marketing staff took the brunt, while customer service was forced to deliver more with less. Training budget have been slashed while free coffee & biscuits have all but disappeared from offices.

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on December 31, 2009 in Customer Engagement :: Multi-channel :: Retail | Comments (0)

The various days of Christmas..

The holiday season is finally upon us. George Ritzer famously described Modern malls as the new Cathedrals of Consumption. With shopping increasingly becoming a cultural activity, he likened customers to worshippers, a credit-card constituency voting with their feet and wheels. One of the ways to know that Christmas is here is by the number of emails and post from companies sending Christmas greetings. All sorts of things are turning up in the post including invitations to pre-sale previews, exclusive events etc. Everyone is trying to outdo their rival to reach out to the customer. In their frenzy to gain wallet share, we have seen the emergence of ‘blockbuster sale’ days: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on December 24, 2009 in Customer Understanding :: Retail | Comments (2)

Guest Blog: You don't earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day

Guest blogger Trevor Booth of Capgemini UK writes about the power of word of mouth in building strong brands.

What does loyalty actually mean? Every day we hear messages that tell us things like the customer is right, put yourself in the customers shoes, it’s easier to keep customers than to find them and many more. Definition of loyalty will vary depending on your experience with this topic and how you view your own customer interactions.

Digg this | Seed Newsvine | Permanent link | Posted by Vinesh Kurup on December 18, 2009 in Customer Engagement :: Retail | Comments (0)