From Sausage to S I Z Z L E Moving your Service Performance from the Mundane to the Magnificent

1
From Sausage to S I Z Z L
E!Moving your Service Performance fromthe
Mundane to the Magnificent
Dr TED JOHNS Chairman Institute of Customer
Service
2
The Institute of Customer Service

• OUR MISSION
• Leading customer service performance and
  professionalism

3
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?

• Almost half of UK consumers only occasionally
  receive excellent customer service
• Only 1 in 10 always complain when they get poor
  service
• Worst performers professional services, public
  sector, utilities, IT, telecoms, banks, Currys
• Best performers independent retailers, First
  Direct, Lakeland, John Lewis, Nationwide, Lands
  End Clothing, Singapore Airlines, Pret a Manger
• Source YouGov (2005), ICS Service Reputations
  Survey 2003-05

4
What we believe

• The customers of a water authority expect the
  same as customers everywhere (and why shouldnt
  they?)
• They want service efficiency plus emotional
  empathy functionality and love (the service
  experience)
• World-class customer service is in everybodys
  reach good enough isnt good enough

5
THE SERVICE EXPERIENCE

• EXPECTATIONS
• PLUS
• TRANSACTION
• PLUS
• OUTCOMES

6
Q. What does it mean to be world-class?

• ____________________________________________
• A. Easy to do business with
• ____________________________________________
• Deliver the promise
• Provide a personal touch
• Go the extra mile
• Resolve problems well
• Professor Robert Johnston
• Service Excellence Reputation Profit
• Institute of Customer Service, 2001

7
Digression Unfocused Group?

• Almost four-fifths of British workers will
  daydream at least once during an hour-long
  meeting
• 51 about family
• 33 about sex
• 33 about friends
• 32 about food
• 16 about sport
• Source YouGov, 2004

8
What goes wrong?

• Executive pronoia and wishful thinking
• Broken promises (eg, failure to ring back)
• Refusal to apologise
• Processes that arent customer-friendly
• Corporate arrogance
• Poor complaints management
• Remoteness of human contact
• Failure to empathise with customer
• Weak internal relationships
• Tick those that apply to you, your department,
  your organisation

9
Failure to empathise with the customer

• Response from North West Gas to complaint about
  the size of a gas bill
• We agree it was rather high for the time of
  year. Its possible Mr Purdey has been charged
  for the gas used up during the explosion that
  destroyed his house.

10
Wishful thinking - Customer Satisfaction

• I believe the new trends
• include the requirement
• that the vehicle will work
• Sir Graham Day
• One-time CEO, British Leyland

11
Weak internal relationships

• The level of external customer service will never
  exceed the level of internal customer service
• JOHNSTONS LAW

12
The Service Trio

• WHAT IS EXPECTED
• WHAT DIFFERENTIATES
• WHAT EXCITES!

13
The Service Trio

• WHAT IS EXPECTED
• Right first time every time
• Fulfilment, recovery and restitution
• WHAT DIFFERENTIATES
• WHAT EXCITES!

14
The Service Trio

• WHAT IS EXPECTED
• Right first time every time
• Fulfilment, recovery and restitution
• WHAT DIFFERENTIATES
• Trust and reputation
• Customised/personalised treatment
• WHAT EXCITES!

15
The Service Trio

• WHAT IS EXPECTED
• Right first time every time
• Fulfilment, recovery and restitution
• WHAT DIFFERENTIATES
• Trust and reputation
• Customised/personalised treatment
• WHAT EXCITES!
• The Tetley Tea-bag Tactic
• Value-added service innovation

16
Success Sausage S-i-z-z-l-e!
17
Think about your service priorities!

• How many meetings do you have to discuss
  resources, systems, diversity,processes,complaints
  ?
• How many meetings do you have to discuss the
  emotions you want your customers to feel?

18
ICS Model for World-Class Customer Service
World Class Customer Service

• Reputation
• Performance
• Growth
• Profitability
• Trust

19
Yorkshire Water from OW! to WOW!

• Late 1990s one of the most hated companies in
  the country
• 1998 bottom of OFWAT customer service league
• Customers others improve, so why not you?
• Beginning of change WHAT IS OUR VISION?
• The best water company in the country
• Exceed our customers expectations at all times
• Next step WHAT DO OUR CUSTOMERS WANT?
• Customer consultation (Voice of the customer)
• Reliable service rapid resolution of problems
  lots of communication

20
Yorkshire Water from OW! to WOW!

• Engineers now trained in customer service skills
  (good at fixing problems, poor at engaging with
  customer therefore dissatisfied customers)
• Contractors on long-term partnership contracts
  and subscribe to customer service charter
• LESSONS
• When youre at the bottom, the only way forward
  is up
• Be bold and ambitious
• Bring in contractors for true partnership
• Customer service is journey, not destination

21
ICS Model for World-Class Customer Service
World Class Customer Service

• Reputation
• Performance
• Growth
• Profitability
• Trust

22
The Big Idea at Lands End Clothing

• Dont worry about whats good for the company.
• Worry about whats good for the customer.
• GARY COMER

23
TWO OPTIONS FOR BUSINESS

• Option one
• GET GOOD
• Option two
• GET MORE

24
The BIG IDEA in actionStirling Council

• OUR FOCUS ON CUSTOMER NEEDS
• Service Quality
• Customer Care
• OUR FIVE PLEDGES TO CUSTOMERS
• Delivery Timeliness Information
  Professionalism Attitude
• OUR 12 CORE PROMISES
• Six about Service Quality
• Six about Customer Care

25
IF THERE ISNT A BIG IDEA, NOR EVEN A SMALL ONE

• Badge worn by hotel receptionist
• Its with flair
• That I give customer care

26
Strategy and Culture COMMITMENT

• Service quality is a
• key corporate value,
• with associated goals,
• action programmes,
• measurement and
• top-down accountabilities.

27
Strategy and culture CREDIBILITY

• Promises are kept, service is delivered at times
  that suit customers, and superb service recovery
  systems are in place

28
Reputation, Reputation, Reputation

• Organisations live or die by their reputations.
  Reputations can be for excellent service,
  reliable products, ethical policies Positive
  reputations can confer powerful competitive
  advantage and also help organisations to attract
  better staff
• Source Professor Robert Johnston (2002)
• Whereas negative reputations

29
Punctuality for Scottish Water

• Guarantee to meet appointments throughout
  Scotland within 30 minutes of appointed time
• Who are best at keeping appointments on time?
• Answer Sales Professionals
• Field engineers have mindset and contact
  management of sales professionals

30
ICS Model for World-Class Customer Service
World Class Customer Service

• Reputation
• Performance
• Growth
• Profitability
• Trust

31
PEOPLE make the difference

• Discretionary behaviour
• Ideas, improvement, innovation
• Emotional connection
• Bugger things up

32
Two questions one important

• WHAT DO YOU DO?
• WHAT ARE YOU FOR?

33
People as Thinking Performers
34
People CAPABILITY

• People are recruited and developed against
  competencies that give high priority to
  customer-focused attitudes, e.g., consideration,
  tolerance and empathy

35
How to do it

• We look for people who have a natural
  inclination to be intensely focused on the
  customer
• Scott Pitasky
• Vice-President for Strategic Growth
• Amazon.com

36
I said Have a nice day, you deaf old cow

• Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you
  for choosing to travel by South West Trains
  between Basingstoke and London this morning.
• Today we will be making an extra stop at
  Wimbledon.
• pause
• God knows why, they never tell us anything.
• Public address system on train to London

37
How not to do it

• You can ask to speak to someone else if you like
  but here, the higher up they are, the less they
  know.
• Response to customer who asked to speak
• to a supervisor at a well-known telecoms company

38
People CONTINUITY

• Retention, reward and
• recognition strategies focus
• on world-class service delivery

39
Example Rochdale Council

• Fred Bamford, caretaker
• He takes immense pride in his work and every
  task is completed to a very high standard
• Jennifer Harris, librarian
• regularly does many things above the call of
  duty including coffee afternoons for the older
  members and makes the most amazing themed cakes
  for the childrens parties
• Citations from customers (internal and external)
  to
• NCSW prizewinners at Rochdale Council

40
ICS Model for World-Class Customer Service
World Class Customer Service

• Reputation
• Performance
• Growth
• Profitability
• Trust

41
Processes CONSISTENCY

• Processes are designed
• from a customers viewpoint
• and are consistently delivered

42
Stiffen the process, stuff the customer

• Illiterate?
• Write today for free help
• Small ad, Chichester Observer

43
HOW NOT TO DO IT

• Winner of the Make Customers Fit The Process
  Award
• BASINGSTOKE DEANE COUNCILs
• Planning Department

44
Processes CREATIVITY

• Continuous improvement
• and innovation are nurtured
• and encouraged to flourish

45
How to do it

• Customers may be delighted with something
  initially.
• But six months later they take it for granted
• and then they demand it.
• Delight is a treadmill you cant get off.
• Managing Director, Milliken

46
ICS Model for World-Class Customer Service
World Class Customer Service

• Reputation
• Performance
• Growth
• Profitability
• Trust

47
Energising, Enabling, EmpoweringSource CIPD
Research Report, 2003
48
Nothing works all the time

• I recently shampooed my pet rabbit with Body Shop
  shampoo.
• Its eyes bulged out and turned red.

49
Nothing works all the time

• I recently shampooed my pet rabbit with Body Shop
  shampoo.
• Its eyes bulged out and turned red.
• If you tested your stuff on animals like everyone
  else, this sort of thing wouldnt happen.
• Extract from letter of complaint sent to Anita
  Roddick