Pleasing Customers is Easier Than You Think

Customer Rage Study Reveals Simple Truths About Complaining Customers

Last week I had the pleasure of being a presenter at the International Customer Service Association’s Annual Conference (ICSA) in Atlanta. Hands down, it was one of the best conferences I’ve been to in a long time. The multiple keynotes were terrific as were the topical seminars.

In Scott Broetzmann from Customer Care Management and Consulting keynote he shared the results of their latest “Customer Rage” study. The study demonstrated the role that “non-monetary” remedies play in customer satisfaction (highlighted in green in the chart below). You will notice that five of the ten things customers said that they wanted (Reassurance, Explanation, Thank You, Ability to Vent, and Apology) cost nothing. Scott categorized these five things as “psychological currency.” An unlimited supply of this “currency” is available to every one who handles customer complaints.

(Source: Article in the Wall Street Journal on 9/22/10, How to Keep Your Cool in Angry Times.)

Evidently, this type of currency isn’t being spent as frequently as we’d like to believe. Scott told us about a separate study in which a researcher posed as a bank customer that had called to get the address of the closest  location and was given incorrect information. When the “customer” called the bank’s service center to report the error, only 38% of the reps apologized.

This week, remind your service providers to tap into their stash of psychological currency and spread it around. No need to be stingy. There’s plenty more where that came from.

Have a great week.

Barbara Burke
2010 © Barbara Burke. All rights reserved.

This Monday’s Aha! is from my customer service fable about a service rep in a call center, The Napkin,The Melon & The Monkey.
> Buy the Book direct from the Publisher (at 50% off the cover price)
> Listen to Chapter One.

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