Don't Ask My Opinion If You Don't Want It

Customer service 101 story ~~ cranky customer alert!

On the recommendation of a trusted online colleague, I went to a web site yesterday and signed up for their free membership. The site has a track record of success at what they do, and they seem to offer a good value in exchange for my contact information. 

One problem - the site is dense, full of links, and while very well organized...I was left with 2 key questions:

• "How does your process work?" 

• "Where do I start?"

The first question is a central failing of many software tools and web sites. I think developers get so involved with their product, they tend to forget that customers don't have the same level of awareness of their site's capabilities...or intended purpose. 

You often find sites with lots of "how to's" or the mechanics of what the site does. The best comparison I can think of? Picture someone who's never seen a car. Now, hand them the owner's manual and let them figure out exactly what it does. At no point does anyone explain that the purpose of the car is to transport people, getting them from point A to point B quickly and efficiently. How useful is the owner's manual at that point?

The next question your web site visitors, or business customers, will ask is "where do I start?"

In the middle of all your links, lists, white papers, ads, titles, etc...how do I figure out the starting point? What do you want me to do first? Second? Third? 

In order for me to feel comfortable with your site (or membership, or social media profile, etc) right out of the box, hold my hand. Give me that clear starting point, and a roadmap of next steps. What is the typical progression of a new customer, or new member? What are the things that need to happen in order for me to successfully use your site and keep coming back?

This is even more critical when you have multiple entry points for your main site. Facebook Fan Pages offer small businesses great portals to direct customer traffic to their main web pages...as is the case with the site I joined last night. 

But - when neither the main web site or the Facebook Fan Page tells me the purpose, or where to start, then what?

Now - the customer service part....

At the bottom of every page on the site was a submission box asking me what I thought, how the site could help me and did I need any support. Cool - handy and easy to find...and I had those two burning questions I mentioned above. 

So, I typed in each question separately and submitted. I was very polite and helpful - when I've taught customer service classes before, I make a point of telling students that it's often the new employee or new customer who offers a company the best insights into their processes and how they can be improved. 

Today I received two nice emails in response to my questions...yet neither one really took the time to answer my concerns (more owners manual instructions). To top it off, one of them politely informed me that the appropriate way to contact them was a button in the top right corner of the screen, not the support form that I had used at the bottom of the page. 

Ooops - guess my "customer ESP" just wasn't working very well last night!

Sorry to sound a bit cranky, but it makes me wonder. This site is very successful at what it does (so, perhaps I'm the only one who's confused...wouldn't be the first time!)

But - what if this site could be even more successful than it is? Wouldn't the site/business owner like that?

Wonder how many folks sign up to join the site, but never really take advantage of what is being offered...and how many dollars are being lost....

Comments

[Laura Sheman]

It sounds a little like left hand and right hand not working together. I'm not sure how big the company was, but if you make the mistake of hiring someone inexperienced with customer service (as in this case) you will just lose clients.

There are certain companies out there who make the mistake of habitually hiring poor employees, who don't really care about the job (it's usually temporary) and therefore do not care if you stick around.

I prefer the mom and pop organizations whenever possible. They understand and respond well to feedback. I remember one time writing the owner of a restaurant when I was poorly treated. She wrote back with a coupon for two free meals, apologizing and thanking me for taking the time to write to her.

This was very different from the time I wrote Toys R Us to complain about the service and was told that the manager was correct in his actions and I wasn't. That still makes me laugh. Here I am with 3 children and I'll never go there again.

It all boils down to who is in charge of handling the clients.

[Jean Sarauer]

This post has given me food for thought as I build and grow my own sites. It's easy to focus on the customer when we're branding a new site or writing content, but later on we presume they've been with us all along, know what we know, etc. We need to have a call to action for our customers, but we also need to make it easy for them to complete that action.

[Jane Neumiller-Bustad]

Thank you both, for your excellent observations. Jean, I think that's an great "take away" - don't forget that your customers haven't been along for the entire ride. Easy to forget!

Laura, I also try to do business locally whenever I can. I like rewarding great service with return business.

[Katherine SOLO dot MOM]

This definitely helps me to objectively evaluate my own website/blog. Thanks for reminding us that just because we know the ins and outs of our own site like the back of our hand - we have to take a fresh new look as if we are the user viewing the material layout for the very first time.

Quite insightful.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jane Neumiller-Bustad]

Hi Katherine,

Thanks for your comment as well. It's one of my longstanding pet peeves regarding technology! I've done quite a bit of technical training in my day, and the technical team almost always fails to answer the "yes, but what does it *do* and why does it do it that way" questions.

Jane

[Phil Lauterjung]

Jane,
No, you are not being too cranky. I believe our expectations have been reduced to the extent that we are amazed when we do get good customer service. It is no longer the norm, so we tend to be almost apologetic when we do comment about it; or make suggestions to improve.

I think that if more people took your approach, and actually did comment about it, we could raise that bar back to where it should be for acceptable customer service.

Keep doing what you're doing and don't lose heart. There are many of us who agree with you.