CUSTOMER SERVICE THE ACCUCONFERENCE WAY · PDF fileIf you wanted to change a credit card on file or make a payment, that same person could do it. ... CUSTOMER SERVICE THE ACCUCONFERENCE

CUSTOMER SER VICE THE ACCUCONFERENCE WAY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION1 Philosophy of Customer Service ............................................... 1

SECTION2 Organization ...................................................................... 4

SECTION3 Resources .......................................................................... 7

SECTION4 Employees ......................................................................... 12

SECTION5 Customers ......................................................................... 16

SECTION6 Problems & Complaints ........................................................ 21

SECTION7 Philosophy Revisited: Thoughts from the Vice President .............. 25

PHILOSOPHYOF

CUSTOMERSERVICE

SECTION1

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SECTION1PHILOSOPHYOFCUSTOMERSERVICE

When you think of customer service, what comes to mind? Perhaps you

think of a special desk in a store off to the side with someone ready to

handle returns and exchanges. Maybe you think of avoice on the other

end of a toll-free number there to listen to complaints or provide tech

support.

Both of those are parts of customer service, and the most common parts

that people encounter. Unfortunately, much of the time, valuable, and

beneficial customer/business interaction is wasted since people and

many businesses see customer service as a department to deal with

unsatisfied customers, a necessary expense to fix the problems.

True, fixing problems is important, but when the customer walks away,

will they ever come back? Will they choose to try more of your products,

or are they just happy to get what they originally paid for? Another

way to look at “fixing the problem” is to ask, “How can we avoid having

problems in the first place?” Even better, we should ask, “How can we turn

an unfortunate customer service problem into an opportunity to have a

customer for life?”

[3]


The scope of this eBook is largely about customer service, but as the title

suggests, much of the information will be how AccuConference does

it. Potential customers are drawn to our great web, video and audio

conferencing products. Our customer base knows that customer service

is where we strive for greatness.

And we haven’t done too badly. Customers stop using our services

because they stop using conference calling altogether. Rarely has anyone

left us simply because they don’t like our products.

This didn’t happen automatically. We didn’t get lucky. We sat down on

day one and planned out how we were going to make customer service

a priority. Then throughout our years in business, we had to work at it.

This eBook isn’t a claim that we provide the best customer service in the

world. We’re not even trying to say our methods are better than others.

Simply said, this has worked for us and we hope it will be insightful and

helpful to you.

This is customer service… the AccuConference way.

ORGANIZATION

SECTION2

[5]


SECTION2ORGANIZATION

Customer service is not something you can just throw together. At least,

not if you hope for anything but average, or even sub-average results. The

basic definition of customer service is doing things that raise customer

satisfaction before, during, and after the sales cycle. And of course, this

extends to potential customers as well.

This means that you can’t just add a customer service department. You

can’t just throw up a 1-800 help line and hire a few people—or outsource

to another country—to answer the calls. Technically speaking, you can,

but you won’t get happy customers. In fact, there’s a chance you’ll get a lot

of angry people and a few less customers.

No, you’ve got to start at the beginning—build the entire company from

the ground up--with customer service in mind. I know this may seem like

an exaggeration, but it’s not. As customer service supports a business, so

too must the business support customer service.

For example, take the addition of the customer service helpline to an

existing business. Someone just bought a widget and the flange isn’t

working properly. What does the employee on the phone do? They’re not

tech support so they transfer the call to someone who isn’t really trained or

paid to deal with customers. They are just trained and paid to fix the tech.

[6]


What about the customer with the late order? The new customer service

department can check to see when the order is supposed to go out and

calm the customer down, but can they get the production department to

expedite an order? Will the production floor listen?

When we started AccuConference, a big part of our plan was to have great

customer service. Reguardless of how tired and cliché that sounds, it’s

true. The tricky part was going from saying it, to making it happen.

The first thing we did was to agree to not have a customer service

department… at all.

In order to have customer service, but without a CS department, the

second thing we did was to make everyone a customer service agent in

addition to their normal job. In essence, we spread the responsibility—

and authority—to all of our employees.

So, if you were a potential customer and wanted information about

conference calling, whoever picked up the phone could tell you everything.

If you wanted to change a credit card on file or make a payment, that

same person could do it. If you were having a technical issue with a video

conference, yes, anyone who answered the phone can help troubleshoot.

Of course this meant extra training for each employee, but we felt the time

and money was worth it. But see for yourself; call 1-800-977-4607 and ask

what they can do for you.

[7]


RESOURCESSECTION3

[8]


SECTION3RESOURCES

AccuConference is an office-based company, no retail space, with a small

products and services inventory that is completely ordered, purchased,

processed, and delivered online or over the phone. So to have all our

people cross-trained and available is not only realistic, but easier than

expected to accomplish.

I realize that our setup may not work well with other business models.

Is it realistic with a major retailer to have every employee trained and

knowledgeable on all of their diverse products? Not really.

These retailers could train a percentage of employees to be knowledgeable

about everything in the store. It could mean a promotion, salary, and a

new uniform to make them stand out. They would need to educate the

public a little as well. They would want the customer to know that when

they have a question, ask the super-employee—who will not only answer

it, but help them with the rest of their shopping list.

At a mechanic’s garage would it be a good idea to have greasy hands and

overalls interacting with customers? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to keep

the customer talking to the clean and pleasant employee behind the

service desk?

[9]


I don’t know about you, but I’d like to know the person that is responsible

for my safety on the road. Moreover, I would much rather bring my car

back over the years to the person who knows it best. To make this happen,

a garage could supply fresh overalls each day—or for whenever they

were needed—and train their mechanics on the finer points of customer

relations.

Perhaps then company-wide customer service is a possibility for every

business. I suppose all it takes is some planning and creative use of

resources.

At AccuConference, phones and conference calling is our core business,

so we have plenty of resources to use. We have our own company servers

and a robust network. This allows our employees to be able to access

billing, troubleshoot system problems, sign up new customers, and

whatever else is needed.

AccuConference is open for business 20 hours a day, seven days a

week. (We were 24 hours a day, but no one called from 2am to 6am.) To

accomplish this, we have to have operators at the ready, all day and--

almost--all night. Our payroll would be more than a normal company’s

payroll with a 9-to-5 work schedule, but with staggered shifts it works out

to be about the same.

Have you ever called a company, navigated its switchboard, waited on

[10]


hold, got a live person on the other line, told that to get what you want you

have to talk to a different department, and then got disconnected during

the transfer? This is inexcusable. If you have a phone-transfer system,

the employees must be well-trained in its use, and it must work perfectly

every time.

Or have you called a company, explained your issue, and then been told

that you have to talk to a different department, that they have a different

number, that you have to hang up and call it yourself? Has that ever made

you want to ask, “Why can’t you dial it for me?”

These may seem like minor annoyances. The customer will call back if

they have a big problem or issue, but what if they were trying to reach

sales? Do you think they would bother to try again, or do you think they

will call a competitor instead?

When a customer calls us, they should only have to talk to one person, but

how they get to talk to that person is another, special, part of our customer

service strategy. We feel that directories, uncaring receptionists, and

multiple-choice switchboards are not only frustrating, but also one more

barrier between us and a happy, satisfied customer.

Because of that barrier, one of the biggest decisions we made at the

beginning regarding operations and customer service was to NOT have

an answering machine, PBX, or virtual directory… not even a receptionist.

[11]


And to this day, we still do not have a phone maze. If you were to call us

right now (800-977-4607) a live human being would answer your call. But

that’s not our only number. We have several numbers for sales, customer

service, technical issues, etc. The main difference, however, is that all of

those numbers ring the same group of live operators, ready and waiting

to deal with anything.

[12]


EMPLOYEESSECTION4

[13]


SECTION4EMPLOYEES

As a business owner, you could treat every single customer you come

across like a king, go above and beyond in every way. But you are just one

person. If your employees don’t follow your lead, all your personal hard

work is for nothing.

You could have highly detailed customer service sections in your

operations manual, stating how much the customer should be catered to.

But if it’s not integrated into the orientation process, or taught on a regular

basis, you will not see the results you want.

We’ve all experienced customer service before in one way or another. So

teaching a new hire doesn’t mean starting from scratch. However, the new

employee doesn’t know what level of customer service you want, nor how

best to care for the customer in this particular job. Plus, they could also

just have a rough personality.

When we hire a new employee to work with us at AccuConference, our

process includes numerous interviews with various people in the office.

We interview so much because we want to get a good feel for the potential

new hire.

[14]


There are a few things we look for that indicates a fit for our particular

company and services. For example, someone who would work out well is

a “busy chef.” A busy chef is a person that is juggling eight things at once

and doing a great job handling it all. On any given day, our operators are

stirring a lot of soups while still taking care of whoever else calls in.

Attitude is important as well. Because of the larger than average percentage

of time spent with customers, our operators must be outgoing. Introverts

need not apply. Our operators need to be able to reach the customer on

a personal level while maintaining their professionalism, and do it all in

a timely manner.

Sometimes when you call a company’s customer service you get a

cheerful, personable agent on the phone that is friendly and has great

stories. But while it’s nice to listen to such an upbeat personality, you

didn’t call customer service to spend thirty minutes not talking about your

issue. You need a friendly person who can manage to solve the issue at the

same time.

It’s surprising to some, but when it comes to work experience, we don’t look

specifically for someone with a conferencing or technology background.

We feel that what a new employee doesn’t know, we can teach.

For us the job type that speaks volumes on a resume is waiting tables.

An applicant that has some waiter or waitress experience seems to be far

better prepared than one who does not. It makes a lot of sense if you think

about it. Waiting tables teaches a person to be able to take care of at least

three to six people at a time, juggling orders, and synchronizing the flow of

things to and from the tables. Just as important, being a server introduces

people to the feeling of being overwhelmed—or “in the weeds” as the

industry calls it—as well as how to stay calm, overcome, and get back on

track, with a smile on their face.

The point is that people can learn vital skills in other jobs that may

translate perfectly into the new industry they are trying to work in. For

us at AccuConference, knowing how to set up an international video

conference call with full web capabilities is not nearly as an important

trait in an applicant as knowing how to keep a lot of customers happy at

the same time.

[16]


CUSTOMERSSECTION5

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SECTION5CUSTOMERS

As humans, we tend to grow accustomed to things. As such, there are

two times when dealing with AccuConference customer service that the

biggest impact is made on a customer. The first—the one we’ll cover

here—is when a potential customer calls us for the first time.

As discussed in the previous sections, we have organized our staff and

resources to be available when someone calls, and able to help them

regardless of what they need. It goes a long way towards separating us

from other businesses just by doing these two things.

Especially in the evenings, our operators often hear surprise in people’s

voices when they call us. “Oh, I didn’t think a person would pick up the

phone at this hour,” is a phrase we hear a lot. Right at the start we make

an impact by simply being available. “Pleasantly surprised” is a great way

to begin a relationship with a customer.

Even during the day, when someone calls us for the first time, they

are expecting to be greeted by a machine, offered some choices, and

transferred—hopefully for just that one time—before they get a live

person to help them. Personally, when I call a company I just give the bare

[18]


bones of what I need to the first human I get on the phone because almost

always I’m transferred to “someone who can help you.” Then of course, I

have to explain myself again.

To me, it’s a small thing to have to repeat myself to the correct person to

help me, but it’s still annoying. With how we are set up at AccuConference,

not only does someone pick-up, but they can help; no need to transfer.

It doesn’t matter if the person has questions about webinars, conference

calls, or billing, the operator that picks up the phone can handle it.

Sometimes this backfires in a small way. Since many people expect to

be transferred, sometimes it takes a little patience and encouragement

for the operator to get all the facts, needs, and wants out of a potential

customer. This is a good problem to have.

But it’s not just the availability and competence of our operators that

pleasantly surprise a potential customer, it’s also our services. While

many companies have complex pricing models for their products, we felt

that for AccuConference, it just didn’t make sense.

For example, if a potential customer asks for a rundown of what comes

with our conference call service, we list all the features—recording,

downloading recordings, lecture mode, etc. “It’s all included?” is an

incredulous question we get a lot. And it’s true; we include all of the

features available.

[19]


The reason we do this is to keep it simple for the customer. Simple choices

create less stress and makes for happier customers. We keep it simple

with our prices too. There are no sign-up fees, deposit fees, monthly fees,

maintenance fees, or hidden fees. We only charge per minute, per person

of actual conferencing time. Many new customers are amazed that if they

don’t make a single conference call in a month, there’s no charge and their

account doesn’t go away.

So when a potential customer finds us on the internet and calls, we try to

make the most of that one opportunity to show them how much we want

to have and keep their business. Think of all the expensive advertising

needed to catch a potential customer’s attention. What about the long

list of leads that needs to be qualified and contacted. And how much time

is spent on phone calls and meetings to turn those leads into customers?

If a customer is giving you their business, it means they like your products,

your company, or both. There’s no need to spend new business ad dollars

on them. And since they like what you have already, they will be open

to considering your new products. It’s this kind of customer relationship

that is pure gold, and should be treated as such.

It seems like many companies don’t realize it takes far more time, energy,

and money to get a new customer than to take care of an existing customer.

If a company has a larger sales staff than customer service staff, it should

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examine its customer retention and turnover numbers. There may be too

many people in the wrong department.

AccuConference has exactly the same amount of salespeople as it does

customer service representatives. It’s exactly the same because our

operators wear both hats—not to mention the technical support hardhat.

Ironically, when customer service is put on an equal footing with sales, it

actually becomes a selling point. That’s what we believe: our customer

service is one of the reasons to become our customer.

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PROBLEMS&

COMPLAINTSSECTION6

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SECTION6PROBLEMS&COMPLAINTS

No matter how much planning and training is done, there is always a

chance a problem will occur. When it does, how the situation is handled

is the true test of a business’s customer service.

Dealing with problems and complaints is what most people think is the

sole reason for a customer service department’s existence. This really isn’t

true. Apart from trying to present an overall good customer experience,

the customer service department does handle complaints, but should

spend most of its working to prevent problems from ever happening. At

least, that’s what we think at AccuConference.

With us, handling complaints begins long before a customer ever realizes

there’s a problem. We make sure to hire the right employees with the right

attitudes. Then we train them to know our products and services inside

and out. After that, we train them on problems that might arise and how to

correct them quickly. There’s a lot of training going on at AccuConference,

and it doesn’t stop after an employee’s orientation period. It takes a never

ending training cycle to make sure we get it right each time, all the time.

Occasionally though, a problem arises that hasn’t been seen before by the

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employee, or is a situation that they feel is too big for them. When this

happens, they are not only allowed, but encouraged to take it to the next

level of management.

Here’s another thing that’s unique about AccuConference: the next level

of management is the top level of management. As far as operations go,

there is nothing in our operator’s way between themselves and the vice

presidents. We feel that a lot of time—and precious customer patience—

would be wasted by the explaining of a problem to more than one

management level.

For AccuConference, a big part of dealing with problems is making sure

they don’t happen. To do this, we are constantly reevaluating our processes

and procedures. We ask that our operators come to us when they spot

kinks in the system or have an idea that could make things better. This

philosophy is best illustrated by Seth Godin in a video we once saw of one

of his lectures. It’s all about discovering if your company’s relationships

with customers are broken.

If there’s a new website but it only works with the most popular browser,

it’s broken. If a movie theatre doesn’t have enough employees to quickly

sell food and drink--95% of the theater’s total profits--to long lines of

hungry patrons, it’s broken. If a customer has to wait twenty minutes to

get a “quick estimate,” it’s broken.

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With that mentality driving us, we constantly look to see where we are

broken, and to fix it before someone else sees it. Because, in Seth Godin’s

own words, “If I think it’s broken, it’s broken. And I don’t mean just me.

I mean if you think it’s broken, it’s broken. If anyone thinks it’s broken,

guess what, it’s broken.”

And that’s how we handle problems. We train and empower our operators.

We encourage them to come to us if needed. We constantly look to see

where we are broken and where we can improve.

We actively work to reach our never-ending goal: a happy, satisfied

customer.

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PHILOSOPHYREVISITED:

THOUGHTSFROMTHE

VICEPRESIDENTSECTION7

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SECTION7PHILOSOPHYREVISITED:THOUGHTSFROMTHEVICEPRESIDENT

In 1998, before we designed and built the operations side of

AccuConference, the other vice president and I were having lunch in a

restaurant where a friend of ours worked as a waiter. Since we were

talking about our future company image and customer service, we looked

around the restaurant for examples of what was good and what could be

done better. We only saw good things.

We asked our friend the waiter about it, who responded with an

unexpected answer, “No rules, just right. That’s our advertising slogan,

but it’s actually the motto of the company. There are no rules to keep you

from making sure your customer service is ‘just right’. And when they say

‘you,’ they mean everyone; the wait-staff, managers, cooks… everyone.

We all do well, or no one does.”

A slogan from a business in a completely different industry inspired us

to create a similar attitude and culture at AccuConference. Because at

the end of the day, we know that we have a very limited window of time

to overcome an issue and keep a customer happy. We know that a lot

of times we only have one chance to take care of a problem before our

customer becomes someone else’s customer.

[27]


We realize that while great customer service is a big part of our success,

it’s all for nothing if we didn’t have a product that was reliable and of good

quality. Fortunately for us, we believe we have a phenomenal product,

and that it deserves a phenomenal level of customer service.

Anytime there is a problem that needs input from us vice presidents, an

operator can use the intercom, email, or simply get up and talk to us.

We’ve set it up so a problem can go from the frontlines to the generals in

as much time as it takes to walk down a short hall. And our door is always

open.

That is, except for when it’s not. Despite that usually metaphorical cliché,

sometimes we have to close the door for meetings. Even so, an operator

has full authority to open that closed door, interrupt whatever is going on,

and get our help to resolve an issue. This goes for our office, the conference

room, or anywhere else there might be a barrier to our attention.

Since we are a 20 hour, seven days a week company, sometimes a problem

will happen outside of normal business hours. Even then our operators

can contact us with questions. They have our email addresses. They have

our personal cell phone numbers. Most important though, they have the

authority, responsibility, and encouragement to use them.

When there is a problem and we have fixed it, the situation isn’t over. What

can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? How did it affect the

customer? Did we resolve it to their satisfaction? Are they still happy to be

[28]


our customer? We train our operators to ask themselves these questions

as an informal checklist to make sure they have done everything that can

be done.

As the vice presidents, part of being so accessible to the operators is being

an example. If we are brought a problem, we have to go through that

mental checklist ourselves. Because the operators are always watching

how we handle a problem, as well as our attitude towards the problem

and the customer. Leading by example is vital because the operators will

mimic us with future customers and future issues

The problem with talking about customer service is that other than the

fundamentals—which everyone should already know—everything else

is dependent on each individual company and its products or services.

However, like how the restaurant ad slogan helped make AccuConference

what it is today, the customer service you personally encounter can help

inspire you to do something similar in your own company.

That is what this eBook is about, helping by inspiration to spread success

by the discussion of improvements to just one part of a business. But

we can’t tell you specifically how to improve customer service at your

company.

We can only tell you about customer service, the AccuConference way.

Documents

CUSTOMER SERVICE THE ACCUCONFERENCE WAY · PDF fileIf you wanted to change a credit card on file or make a payment, that same person could do it. ... CUSTOMER SERVICE THE ACCUCONFERENCE