Discipline makes Daring possible.

Musings from The Disappearing Boss on People, Process and Responsible Autonomy for small-business employers.

Category: Customer Experience

Considered adoption
May 12, 2021

Considered adoption

Contrary to the popular image, the Amish are not backward-looking.  Nor are they against new technology.   What they are against is a rush to embrace the new without considering how it might impact on their ethos and their way of life.

Once they have considered, communally, they often adapt a new technology to suit their needs.   An iron or a lamp becomes battery- or propane-powered, to preserve their separateness from the outside world.  A phone and internet connection is housed in a shared booth at a walkable distance from homes, to maintain the primacy of face-to-face communication and neighbourliness.

The resulting ‘contraptions’ might look odd to us, but the approach is one worth adopting.

Before you jump on the latest bandwagon, ask yourself:

  • Does this technology support and enhance my ability to make and keep my Promise of Value?
  • If not, how could I change to make sure it does?

If the technology can’t adapt to suit you, it probably isn’t fit for your purposes.

Superficiality
May 5, 2021

Superficiality

I had my blood test yesterday.   Ahead of me in the queue was an angry (not rude) man.   He’d waited 2 weeks for his appointment and taken time off work to attend, only to be told “You’re not on our list”.

Testing was a pretty efficient set-up, with 3 people taking samples for 3 people every 5 minutes, so they were able to fit him in.

During my turn I asked what had gone wrong.

“It’s the call centre”, I was told.  ‘They send us about 30 people a day, who aren’t on our list of appointments.   Sometimes for appointment times that are already taken.  Sometimes for children who shouldn’t even be sent here – we can’t handle children here.  We do our best to fit people in, but we can’t always do that.  It wastes everybody’s time and makes our job miserable.   We’ve tried to tell the call centre, but we don’t have the authority.”

On the face of it, centralised booking for several different units at different hospitals should be more efficient.  A small team can handle more volume more efficiently, saving costs across all units.

But this only works if the central team are a) incentivised to produce a satisfactory outcome of the entire process;  b) have all the information they need, when they need it, to do that job properly, and c) use feedback from people further down the line to improve how it works.

Otherwise all you’ve added to the process is a silo that increases real costs for everyone involved.

There’s a more fundamental error that’s been made here.   The people delivering a service should be in control of the customer experience of that service.   Either by managing the end-to-end process themselves, or being a key player in its design and continuous improvement.

But I’m guessing that customer experience was probably the last thing on the mind of whoever came up with this, along with a genuine interest in efficiency.   Superficial gains were enough for them.

It shows.

Appropriate Technologies
April 20, 2021

Appropriate Technologies

The internet is a wonderful technology.   For instance, I’ve just bought an antique dining table with a few clicks and couple of phone calls.   Not so long ago, it would have been impossible to find it, never mind buy it so easily.

The telephone is still great technology.   In combination with the internet, it can be wonderful.  Yesterday I booked an X-ray with just one phone call.  A human being answered and booked me in.   I updated my online diary as we spoke.  Job done for both of us.

Yesterday, I also tried to book a blood test.   Same NHS trust, different department.   This time I got an automated answer offering the option of a long wait in a queue or to be sent an online form.   I chose the online form.  A link was sent to my phone.   I followed it and completed the form.   So far so good, if a little clunky.

But as soon as I’d submitted it, the form was gone.  No email, no text, not even an acknowledgement of receipt.  It’s gone into a black hole.   I don’t know when it might be reasonable to try again.  I have no record that I filled it in at all.

In other words, as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t work.

Adding the internet doesn’t automatically make for wonderful.   What’s really needed is appropriate technology.  Whatever makes the job easier for everyone.

Choosing it takes empathy.

 

Keeping it simple
April 19, 2021

Keeping it simple

I needed to consult my GP, and I wasn’t looking forward to spending hours on the phone to get an appointment. Imagine how pleased I was that in response to

Teams
April 9, 2021

Teams

The team you’ve built for your business will have things in common.   There are reasons you decided to hire them and they decided to work with you.   There are reasons that you’ve stayed together.

Some of those reasons will be around shared values, behaviours and principles.  Some of them will be to do with an alignment of vision and purpose.

Some will be entirely to do with their own personal preferences, aims and desires – perhaps proximity to home, an easier commute,  a less demanding job or even friendships formed.

Are those reasons enough for you to entrust them with the client experience?  I hope so.

But it might be better to be explicit about the values, behaviours, principles, vision and purpose.

That way you’ll both know for sure.  And be able to act accordingly.

Semiotics
March 25, 2021

Semiotics

I keep thinking about yesterday’s recorded message, about how simple it was, how effective.  And how creating such a message isn’t rocket science.  It probably doesn’t even need the latest tech or AI.

It reminded me of a visit to a care home a few years back.  It was more like a hotel, or serviced apartments, actually.  The decor was lovely, the amenities were plentiful, a lot of support was included.

But the main thing that made it attractive was the attitude.

“This is home for everyone who lives here.  They should be able to live as they would at home.  So we run this place around them.  There are no mealtimes, no prescribed activities, no common routine.  Just lots of extra support, from simple things like extra deep dado rails to a hoist over the bath and onsite carers.” 

In other words, the attitude drove the design of everything – the building, the services and the atmosphere.  It showed.

It always shows.

When everything behind the sales pitch sends the same signal, nobody can be disappointed.

Recorded messages
March 24, 2021

Recorded messages

On the whole, I prefer to interact with a human than a bot, or a recorded message.

There are times though, when the recorded message is the right response.  Yesterday afternoon, my internet went down.  I did all the usual things – turned the router off and on again, tested the connection to the wall, waited to see if it woud resolve itself.  Nope.  Still down.

I rang my provider.  There was no wait for the call to be answered – because it was a recorded message:

“We can tell your account from the number you’re calling on.  We already know there is a problem with your line.  We’re working to fix it as soon as possible.”

For once, I was glad to hear a recorded message.  Something constructive, that told me exactly what I needed to know and allowed me to get on with something else.

By doing that for me, and probably countless other customers, this message also enabled the provider to concentrate resources on fixing the problem instead of holding angry and frustrated users at bay with the “All of our operators are currently busy…”, or “We are currently experiencing high call volumes…” or “Your call is important to us…”. 

Recorded messages that signal “We don’t care about you.  We can’t be bothered to see things from your perspective.  We probably don’t have to because you have no choice.”

Until someone gives us that choice.  And we tell the others.

Family firms
March 16, 2021

Family firms

Someone from a small, long-established family firm near me was meant to come out and install a new waste pipe to my washing machine yesterday.    It didn’t happen.

Someone rang me this morning to say sorry, and re-book the appointment.

“I’m soooo sorry.   One of our engineers was taken ill, and a family emergency meant we had to shut the shop suddenly too.”

“Well, these things happen, I guessed something must have gone wrong.”

We’ve re-booked.  Hopefully this time the process will run smoothly.

The thing about family firms is that they are families, not machines.   And that’s why I chose them.

I’d rather wait an extra day or two than turn someone into an overworked cog.

 

PS Only a man who’d never done a load of washing can have designed that machine!

Customer delight?
February 23, 2021

Customer delight?

What’s more annoying than your bus arriving late?

Your bus arriving early.

There seems to be a trend at the moment for deliveries to arrive sooner than expected.    I think this comes from an assumption that over-delivering on a promise is always good (something Royal Mail cleary don’t subscribe to).   But what if I need to prepare for delivery beforehand?  Arriving early messes up my schedule, makes my life more difficult.

Early delivery might be good – if you ask me first, and give me the option of sticking to the original plan.

Otherwise, it’s probably not my delight you’re seeking, but your convenience.