Customer Service Reader

War on customers

Excerpts from Stop The War on Customers
Fred Reichheld

Company leaders realize that profitable growth is impossible without loyalty — yet they have failed miserably in their efforts to earn loyalty from either their customers or their front-line employees. After pondering this paradox for several years I finally began to realize the answer.

The first step is to set aside all that rosy rhetoric about customer focus. Most companies today are waging a war they cannot win — the war against their customers. They cut corners on product and service quality. They impose hidden fees and charges. They force customers to endure aggressive sales tactics, endless airport lines, and virtual or voicemail hell. They don’t tell the truth in their advertising and marketing, nor do they own up to their mistakes.

Ironically, this is a war most of the generals do not want to fight. CEOs spend countless millions of dollars on customer-focus initiatives, improved service quality, and enhanced customer experiences. They extol customer loyalty as the ultimate strategic advantage. Satisfaction surveys rain down on homes and businesses with implicit messages of care, concern, and promises of a better future.

Yet this undeclared war is escalating. Cellular phone providers trap customers in long-term contracts, and then abuse them with outrageous overage charges. Car dealers mislead and manipulate consumers. Banks charge unconscionable nuisance fees. Electronics store clerks flog extended warranties more desperately than their flat-screen TVs. Printer manufacturers price-gouge on refill cartridges. Computer companies make sure that calling their customer help-line is more painful than a trip to the dentist.

Yes, what is really going on is an undeclared war that is destroying corporate reputations, alienating employees, and decimating economic prosperity. It is the reason that nearly 80% of the world’s major corporations failed to achieve a modest 5% real, sustainable rate of growth over the past decade. This war is the reason why society has concluded that business ethics and good profits are both oxymoronic.

The reason I wrote The Ultimate Question was to expose this war and its full range of guerrilla activities. I hoped that I could provide a manual of the tools and tactics required to stop this war for good—and clarify how corporate leaders are unwittingly motivating their troops to book bad profits that destroy loyalty and growth. My goal is to help leaders revitalize good profits and true growth by showing them a practical path for holding organization members accountable for building good relationships and for standards of behavior that are consistent with the Golden Rule and respectful of human dignity (of customers, employees, suppliers and investors alike). We must all blow the whistle on bad profits.

See also:
Reichheld on "The Ultimate Question"
Reichheld on Loyalty
A Survey of Surveys

Emotional competence in customer service

Emotional Competence Framework
Distilled from multiple sources by
The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

This model is based on emotional intelligence (EI) competencies that have been identified in research at hundreds of corporations and organizations. Unlike mental competencies (as measured by IQ), which tend to stay static, emotional competencies can be learned and developed. This development reaches a tipping point at which top performers break away from the average. Outstanding performers in an organization typically exhibit excellence in at least six competencies, and demonstrate strength in at least one competency from each of the clusters.

CSReader codes:

* Basic competencies for customer service providers
** Higher-level competencies for customer service providers
*** Competencies for customer service leaders

PERSONAL COMPETENCE

Self-Awareness

EMOTIONAL AWARENESS: Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects. People with this competence:

* Know which emotions they are feeling and why
* Realize the links between their feelings and what they think, do, and say
* Recognize how their feelings affect their performance
** Have a guiding awareness of their values and goals

ACCURATE SELF-ASSESSMENT: Knowing one’s strengths and limits. People with this competence are:

*Aware of their strengths and weaknesses
* Reflective, learning from experience
* Open to candid feedback, new perspectives, continuous learning, and self-development
**Able to show a sense of humor and perspective about themselves

SELF-CONFIDENCE: Sureness about one’s self-worth and capabilities. People with this competence:

**Present themselves with self-assurance; have "presence"
**Can voice views that are unpopular and go out on a limb for what is right
**Are decisive, able to make sound decisions despite uncertainties and pressures

Self-Regulation

SELF-CONTROL: Managing disruptive emotions and impulses. People with this competence:

*Manage their impulsive feelings and distressing emotions well
*Stay composed, positive, and unflappable even in trying moments
**Think clearly and stay focused under pressure

TRUSTWORTHINESS: Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity. People with this competence:

*Act ethically and are above reproach
*Build trust through their reliability and authenticity
*Admit their own mistakes
**Confront unethical actions in others
**Take tough, principled stands even if they are unpopular

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS: Taking responsibility for personal performance. People with this competence:

*Meet commitments and keep promises
*Hold themselves accountable for meeting their objectives
*Are organized and careful in their work

ADAPTABILITY: Flexibility in handling change. People with this competence:

*Smoothly handle multiple demands, shifting priorities, and rapid change
*Adapt their responses and tactics to fit fluid circumstances
*Are flexible in how they see events

INNOVATIVENESS: Being comfortable with and open to novel ideas and new information. People with this competence:

**Seek out fresh ideas from a wide variety of sources
**Entertain original solutions to problems
**Generate new ideas
**Take fresh perspectives and risks in their thinking

Self-Motivation

ACHIEVEMENT DRIVE: Striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence. People with this competence:

**Are results-oriented, with a high drive to meet their objectives and standards
***Set challenging goals and take calculated risks
**Pursue information to reduce uncertainty and find ways to do better
*Learn how to improve their performance

COMMITMENT: Aligning with the goals of the group or organization. People with this competence:

**Readily make personal or group sacrifices to meet a larger organizational goal
**Find a sense of purpose in the larger mission
*Use the group’s core values in making decisions and clarifying choices
**Actively seek out opportunities to fulfill the group’s mission

INITIATIVE: Readiness to act on opportunities. People with this competence:

***Are ready to seize opportunities
**Pursue goals beyond what’s required or expected of them
*Cut through red tape and bend the rules when necessary to get the job done
***Mobilize others through unusual, enterprising efforts

OPTIMISM: Persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks. People with this competence:

**Persist in seeking goals despite obstacles and setbacks
**Operate from hope of success rather than fear of failure
*See setbacks as due to manageable circumstance rather than a personal flaw

SOCIAL COMPETENCE

Social Awareness

EMPATHY: Sensing others’ feelings and perspective, and taking an active interest in their concerns. People with this competence:

*Are attentive to emotional cues and listen well
*Show sensitivity and understand others’ perspectives
*Help out based on understanding other people’s needs and feelings

SERVICE ORIENTATION: Anticipating, recognizing, and meeting customers’ needs. People with this competence:

*Understand customers’ needs and match them to services or products
*Seek ways to increase customers’ satisfaction and loyalty
*Gladly offer appropriate assistance
*Grasp a customer’s perspective, acting as a trusted advisor

DEVELOPING OTHERS: Sensing what others need in order to develop, and bolstering their abilities. People with this competence:

***Acknowledge and reward people’s strengths, accomplishments, and development
***Offer useful feedback and identify people’s needs for development
***Mentor, give timely coaching, and offer assignments that challenge and grow a person’s skill.

LEVERAGING DIVERSITY: Cultivating opportunities through diverse people. People with this competence:

*Respect and relate well to people from varied backgrounds
**Understand diverse worldviews and are sensitive to group differences
***See diversity as opportunity, creating an environment where diverse people can thrive
*Challenge bias and intolerance

POLITICAL AWARENESS: Reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships. People with this competence:

***Accurately read key power relationships
***Detect crucial social networks
***Understand the forces that shape views and actions of clients, customers, or competitors
**Accurately read situations and organizational and external realities

Social Skills

INFLUENCE: Wielding effective tactics for persuasion. People with this competence:

**Are skilled at persuasion
**Fine-tune presentations to appeal to the listener
***Use complex strategies like indirect influence to build consensus and support
***Orchestrate dramatic events to effectively make a point

COMMUNICATION: Sending clear and convincing messages. People with this competence:

*Are effective in give-and-take, registering emotional cues in attuning their message
*Deal with difficult issues straightforwardly
*Listen well and seek mutual understanding, and welcome sharing of information fully
***Welcome sharing of information fully
***Foster open communication and stay receptive to bad news as well as good

LEADERSHIP: Inspiring and guiding groups and people. People with this competence:

***Articulate and arouse enthusiasm for a shared vision and mission
***Step forward to lead as needed, regardless of position
***Guide the performance of others while holding them accountable
***Lead by example

CHANGE CATALYST: Initiating or managing change. People with this competence:

***Recognize the need for change and remove barriers
***Challenge the status quo to acknowledge the need for change
***Champion the change and enlist others in its pursuit
***Model the change expected of others

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: Negotiating and resolving disagreements. People with this competence:

*Handle difficult people and tense situations with diplomacy and tact
**Spot potential conflict, bring disagreements into the open, and help deescalate
***Encourage debate and open discussion
**Orchestrate win-win solutions

BUILDING BONDS: Nurturing instrumental relationships. People with this competence:

***Cultivate and maintain extensive informal networks
***Seek out relationships that are mutually beneficial
**Build rapport and keep others in the loop
*Make and maintain personal friendships among work associates

COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION: Working with others toward shared goals. People with this competence:

**Balance a focus on task with attention to relationships
**Collaborate, sharing plans, information, and resources
***Promote a friendly, cooperative climate
**Spot and nurture opportunities for collaboration

TEAM CAPABILITIES: Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals. People with this competence:

***Model team qualities like respect, helpfulness, and cooperation
***Draw all members into active and enthusiastic participation
***Build team identity, esprit de corps, and commitment
***Protect the group and its reputation; share credit

Customer service can kill you

Excerpts from
Emotion Regulation in the Workplace: A New Way to Conceptualize Emotional Labor
Alicia A Grandey, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
in Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Customer Service Performance

• In the service industry, managing emotions (showing happiness and empathy, not fear or anger) is an important facet of maintaining loyal customers and repeat business.
• As a means of presenting a positive image of the organization and inducing the appropriate feelings in customers, managing emotions may result in good customer service performance.
• However, the personal effort of emotion regulation may impair cognitive performance.
• Burnout is a stress outcome typically found in employees in the helping industries.
• Several authors have mentioned the importance of emotional displays being seen as “genuine” in service settings.
• Emotional expressions that are perceived as insincere may negatively impact customer service. Emotion research has found that when people “fake” emotions, there seems to be “leakage” so that observers can detect the deception. Surface acting is negatively related to service performance.
• If employees are not showing genuine expressions, emotional labor may be dysfunctional to employees by creating a need to dissociate from self.
• Individuals generally do not like to feel "fake", because suppressing true emotions and expressing false emotions requires effort that results in stress outcomes.
• Research has linked the inhibition of emotions to a variety of physical illness, including higher blood pressure and cancer. Inability to express negative emotion is one of the strongest predictors of cancer.
• When employees really feel the way they act, it is perceived as genuine, and is positively related to customer service.
• Servers who don't feel "false," have more job satisfaction than those who fake emotions.

Autonomy

• Feeling a lack of control over events has been identified as a source of life stress, as well as job stress.
• Those who have high autonomy have lower emotional exhaustion in both high and low emotional labor-typed jobs. Job autonomy is negatively related to emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion, and positively related to job satisfaction.

Supervisor and coworker support

• Support from coworkers and supervisors creates a positive working environment. An employee's perception that she works in a supportive climate has been found to relate to job satisfaction, lowered stress, and turnover intentions, and higher team performance.
• Those who perceive high levels of supervisor support may report high levels of emotional labor but not burnout because support acts as a buffer against the stressors.
• Support may help employees cope with the stress of service jobs. Talking to other people is a method of coping with difficult customers. Disclosure of emotional events helps individuals cope with stress and buffer against health risks. Social support in service settings helps protect individuals from stress, and is a buffer against job dissatisfaction.
• In customer service settings, where positive expressions are expected, feeling positive about the social environment may mean that less emotional labor is necessary. One may genuinely feel the emotions that are expected in a service environment if the interpersonal relationships are positive and supportive.

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Moral of the story:

For the Manager: Forcing people to serve customers is counter-productive. Instead, you should hire the right people, serve them as you would have them serve the customer, and give them the power to serve.

For the Provider: We all have to pretend some of the time. But if you have to fake it most of the time, customer service may kill you. You should probably get a less stressful job.

No takers for fakers

Notes from Is “service with a smile” enough? Authenticity of positive displays during service encounters
in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 
Alicia A. Grandey, Glenda M. Fisk, Anna S. Mattila, Karen J. Jansen, Lori A. Sideman, Pennsylvania State University

• Previous research (Pugh 2001, Tsai & Huang, 2002) has shown the value of “service with a smile” on customer attitudes and intentions. This present study shows that the effect of positive displays is weakened if the smiles are inauthentic.
• Even in short, one-time service encounters, the authenticity of the service employee’s smile makes a difference to the customer.
• It is counter-productive for companies to require employees to “Smile!” despite their true feelings:
• (a) It causes service workers to behave inauthentically (Ashforth & Tomiuk, 2000). False smiles occur as negative reactions to the monitoring and enforcement of the display (Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987).
• (b) Focusing on meeting display rules may take cognitive resources away from task performance (Richards & Gross, 1999 and Sideman & Grandey, 2003).
• If display rules are to be enforced, rigorous emotional skills training is needed in techniques, for instance, to regulate mood via cognitive reappraisals (Totterdell & Parkinson, 1999).
• Rather than putting the burden on the employee to create an authentic display, management would benefit from inspiring authentic positive emotions in workers through positive leadership (George, 1991) or increased autonomy (Spector & Jex, 1991).
• “Service with a smile” is not a sufficient requirement for service excellence. Provided tasks are performed well, a truly happy worker, or at least a worker who can appear to be truly happy, provides the most satisfying service encounter.