United Executive has an interesting idea to serve their customers.
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Last month, thousands of CX leaders met in Las Vegas for CCW (Customer Contact Week), the largest conference in the world focused on making customers believe the words, “Your call is very important to us.” Today, that “call” shows up in different ways. Customers now reach out for help via self-service AI-fueled support options, email, text, social media and the traditional phone. Through every one of these interactions, customers form opinions about the company or brand they are doing business with.
As I walked the trade show floor, sat through keynote speeches and spoke with leaders from some of the world’s most recognized brands, I saw a common theme. The technology may be changing, but the fundamentals of customer service are not. Here are a few takeaways and reminders that stood out. Most reinforce what we already know, and at the same time, are a fresh take on what great customer experiences look like in an AI-powered world.
Customer Service Is a Journey
Consider that customer service used to be a department that people called with problems and questions. Today, in addition to getting their issues resolved, customers decide whether they made the right decision to do business with a company and whether they want to continue doing so. It has become support, marketing, sales and relationship-building all rolled into one. The support agent or digital experience is more important and relevant than ever.
When a customer contacts a company for help, even if the issue is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction, that doesn’t mean it’s the end. It’s part of the journey. It is what fuels the next interaction, which is hopefully more business.
The “Reasonable Department”
One of the keynote speakers at CCW, Bryan Stoller, the global VP of customer care at United Airlines, had an interesting idea. He posed the question, What’s the standard operating procedure for things that don’t have a standard operating procedure?”
His answer was a new department he called the Reasonable Department. Stoller explained, “This is the place where judgment, context and empathy come together. This is the place where we handle the hard stuff.”
Stoller explained the strategy in four words:
- Detect: Identify when an interaction, question, problem, etc., is outside of routine. This is the start of anything happening outside of what is considered standard operating procedure.
- Route: Who or what department should handle the issue? It doesn’t go to “the next available agent.” It should go to the right person or department that has the expertise.
- Resolve: This is where the “rubber meets the road.” Whoever is charged with handling the issue must have the tools and authority to resolve it. Don’t constrain people to black-and-white policies. This is where reasonable happens.
- Learn: If it never happened before, why did it happen today? Understand why it happened, how to handle it when it happens again, and how to possibly find a way to eliminate the problem from ever happening again in the future.
Finally, reasonable shouldn’t be a place customers have to search for. It should be a capability that is intentionally built into how we serve our customers.
Every Customer Interaction Is a Signal
When customers contact you after they buy, it’s a signal. It’s not just an opportunity to fix a problem or answer a question. Start by asking yourself, “Why do they have to contact us for this?” Once you understand why, consider if there is something you can do to eliminate the issue in the future.
In the 1980s, Jan Carlzon, the former president of Scandinavian Airlines, introduced his famous Moment of Truth concept, which is how every interaction the customer has with a company is an opportunity for them to form an impression. This is especially important when a customer has to reach out to us for a question or problem. But what would happen if we flip this concept 180 degrees?
Consider that every interaction a customer has with your company, specifically for help, is an opportunity to get better. Turn the interaction into an insight, and the insight into improvement.
A Higher Standard
We hold our people to a high standard. It’s time to hold AI or any other digital self-support solution to a similar standard—maybe even a higher standard. If the choice is between calling customer support and using self-service to check on an order, if the customer chooses self-service, the experience should be improved. It should be about ease and efficiency that save the customer the time it normally takes to make a call, be put on hold, be authenticated and anything else before simply asking to check on a recent order.
Imagine an airline passenger whose flight has been canceled. The traditional experience requires waiting on hold, explaining the situation and hoping an agent can help. Today’s AI-fueled self-service should automatically recognize the disruption, proactively contact the customer, present alternative flight options, make the change and send the passenger the new itinerary in a fraction of the time. Self-service should never be harder, and it should not only fix the problem but also impress the customer with the ease and efficiency of the experience.
Final Words
CCW showcased plenty of new technology, but the biggest lessons weren’t about technology at all. They were reminders that customer service is evolving from a support function into a driver of revenue, growth, loyalty and trust.
The companies that will win their customers’ loyalty won’t be the ones with the most technology. They will be the ones that use technology to remove friction, empower employees and create better experiences. In the end, customers don’t care whether you have technology or not. They just want their questions to be answered and problems resolved. Keep that in mind, and your customers will say, “I’ll be back!”
