Guest editorial

Hello out there...hello? Why are so many business people out of reach today - inaccessible, generally hiding out from their customers?

In the last couple of years, decision-makers have become inaccessible by phone, e-mail or even fax. Most communication is strictly one-way. If you want to speak with a supervisor, you will not be transferred or placed on hold until one is available.

No, you must leave your name and number, and someone will call you back within 24 hours. …Or so they say. If you want to reach upper-level management, often your only option is to write a letter. 

It should come as no surprise that customers perceive that 85 percent of companies have placed responding to customers' needs as a very low or nonexistent priority. Nothing can irritate a person more than having an issue and not being able to talk about it with someone who can empathize and offer resolution. It seems like common sense to diffuse a problem rather than have it escalate, along with its owner's emotions. Isn't there a saying, "Why make the situation worse?"

So why are companies moving away from that face-to-face or verbal interaction?

Companies give many reasons for the disappearance of direct verbal communication. A computer-hardware company representative told me, "You need to go through the proper channels," (as if I'm a boat, not a customer).

A software-company technician explained, "They're too busy to take calls from everyone who asks to speak with them." (So I'm just a nobody?!).

A credit-card company customer-service manager revealed, "There have been so many calls coming in that we just aren't staffed to accommodate them."

What does this tell us?

Several things, actually. If so many people want to speak with the top dog, something has changed. Something in the quality, delivery or support of the product or service isn't either where it used to be or where the end-user expects it to be. And yes, you can assume that these changes aren't perceived positively by the customer.

Yet what if the person is calling because he or she wants to say something positive? Those great comments and feedback are much fewer and far between.

Should we deal with our customers and risk hearing what they are upset about? Or hide from our customers and never really hear what they have to say? Why are we making it more difficult for our customers to tell us their concerns or hear their compliments? Isn't this free research?

Recent studies show that 60 percent of companies don't consider customer satisfaction a priority. No kidding. Clearly, many are losing sight of their customers and the fact that without them, the company would not exist. End of story.

Many have forgotten what the concept of service is really about, and that often, the sale doesn't end upon delivery. The impression is that these decision-makers have suddenly become too good or that their time is more valuable than ours - that even assistants can't take a phone call from the person (customer) who pays their salary.

No one wants to feel helpless or treated like a child who's told "no." Not allowing customers to have direct access to those in authority sends the message that their business is not valuable, and they are not worthy of our time or efforts.

So what can be done? Once attitude and appreciation are in check from the top on down, a systematic process should be enacted to allow access to someone who can help the customer feel satisfied. First and foremost, allow the customer to vent. Empathize, even sympathize. Often, all the person wants is someone to listen!

Second, provide an avenue whereby, in the event they do not feel the issue is being resolved satisfactorily, the customer actually can reach a "real" person who can appease them. Remember, a dissatisfied customer spreads the word tenfold. But a satisfied customer continues to buy from and refers business to your company.

"A problem that is located and identified is already half solved!" - Bror R. Carlson, Managing For Profit.

When we avoid problems and do not deal with them when they are presented, delays add to the customer’s feeling of being ignored, abandoned and not valued. Time does nothing for real problem-resolution.

We should all be accessible and accountable to our customers. Why else are we in business? How else do we think we will STAY in business?

Amy J. Holzman is Chief Service Officer of Service Solutions International, Ltd., a Minnetonka-based service achievement company specializing in helping companies create their competitive edge through direction, implementation and validation.

This article is reprinted with the permission of CityBusiness, Volume 17, Number 15, September 10, 1999, page 46.