Insights

Richard Dayman

Supply Chain Consultant, Bluefin Solutions

Armchair customer service or what “world-class” customer service really means...

A few weeks before Christmas we ordered furniture, having been assured it would arrive before the 25th. However a few days before the scheduled delivery date we received a phone call to inform us that some of the pieces were not in stock because of the bad weather and others were in the wrong place – they were somewhere, but they didn’t know where. The Retailer wasn’t able to give us a new estimated delivery date. 

From then we were contacted by multiple customer service representatives all with completely different and often contradictory status updates about our order – oh and we also received a call from their offshore call centre asking what we thought of their service.

I found it difficult to comprehend how a UK FTSE Retailer didn’t have some basic knowledge or visibility on order tracking and their inventory and thus wasn’t able to communicate real order information to a customer.

I’m currently working on an ERP retail project which will deliver a premium customer service experience. The client is pitching the importance of customer-service at all levels, customer-experience is a significant theme throughout all meetings and is the highest priority for the project and the team. 

This in itself is pretty unusual in my experience as main priorities are usually cost and a fast delivery. Customer service is normally an important and necessary section for the annual report and website.

So I started to wonder why such a large and reputable Retailer could still be so poor at service...or were my expectations too high?

• Was it because people and processes were not linked up across the organisation, instead operating in silos?
• Or was it just me? Working with an ERP system everyday I’m far more aware of what can be built and provided.
• Or maybe because so many online Retailers offer such great visible and graphical customer service I now see it as a norm – a basic necessity.

I think it’s a combination of all of them.

Nowadays when we order online we generally expect to be told when our order will be dispatched and when it will arrive. Some websites show moving pictures of drivers and trucks to show the status of an order. And some pizza delivery sites can tell you exactly when your pizza goes into the oven. And whilst this is all great, it only works if you received your order on time.

Six key requirements to good customer service

I know a number of people who will return to a store many times over despite bad poor service. However as competition grows and people can tweet, post feedback and compare prices, this will inevitably change.

With our recent expedition into the world of furniture and my current client’s aspirations I suggest there are six key requirements as opposed to the one “call-centre” and single catch-all approach. My definition of “world-class” requires the following...

1. The human factor - employ people who really want to help and are helpful instead of being there just to answer the call or process the latest ticket.
2. True real-time visibility - have an IT system which gives your employees and your customers the detailed order status – and whilst this might seem scary make it the same single website and with graphics. I really like seeing a little cartoon man making my pizza!
3. Make it a complete experience – employ life’s simple comforts; a warm approach, friendly people and contact with the same person every time – all these make it memorable and mean your customers will want to do it again.
4. Choose the right people for the role and train them well - ensure they know the business, the systems and how to get round a problem. Encourage them to visit the warehouse (where possible) and speak to the people that work within it, giving them a broader view of how things run and work.
5. Trust and honesty – always be upfront and honest with your customers. And meet their expectations – if you say you’re going to email or call back then do it!
6. Granular information inside integrated systems - use the Web as one tool to increase your customer-service channels and use your ERP system to communicate the detail to your customer that you see.

So when you combine excellent human customer service skills with outstanding IT capability you’ll be well placed to really deliver a world-class service and a really competitive edge.

And just to finish my story...we did eventually receive individual and personal customer service from a nice woman who gave us her name and direct contact number. And we did finally receive the furniture we ordered (in January)...but would I ever order from them again? I doubt it.