What does flexibility really mean?

Considering the competitive environment today, companies KNOW they must be flexible and responsive, in-touch, and "on the grid" at all times. Yet it seems we have a problem achieving that. Here we are in the century Walter Cronkite hyped while I was a kid. Here in the age of instant communications, connectivity, and streaming video, we have the opportunity to leverage our own creativity to achieve the competitiveness that will differentiate us.

Yet, something gets in the way. I believe it's fear.

We put procedures in place that stifle responsiveness. We limit our creativity by ensuring we have all the "approvals" necessary to cover our butts. We can't be responsive because we have to have assurance that what we are doing has the blessing of our superiors. This attitude of minimal trust, and cover-your-backside behavior undermines customer service. It frustrates those who seek excellence.

Why does this exist?

Management has not yet learned to push decision making and authority down to the level of those who actually engage with the customer. They think they have to have the "final authority."

Let's ask why again. Why is this?

Vision, or the lack thereof. If vision is lacking, not practiced, or poorly understood, subordinates have no framework for, or context within which to make decisions. Thus, they "CANNOT BE TRUSTED" to make the right choices.

So, as to why, again let's ask...Why is there often a lack of vision?

I've always thought vision was the product of leadership. Does that mean we lack leadership? You tell me.

Don't Leave the Oil Filler Cap Off

Our local auto dealership has disappointed us for the last time. On my last trip into the service department they, for the third time, let me down. Fortunately there IS some competition in the metropolitan area so today, when it was time for an oil change, I visited the same brand at another dealership.

Before going to the dealership, I physically inspected the vehicle and realized the former dealer's service department had left the valve cover oil-filler lid off when they did the oil change. I didn't bother mentioning this to to the new dealer's service department when I took my vehicle in for service. (Had I brought it up, I doubt they could have recorded it as their computer systems were hosed!). Anyway, when I paid for the oil change I asked if the service agent had replaced the oil filler lid. Deer-in-the-headlights stare pretty much describes what I sensed. The cashier called the service department and, no, they knew it was missing but hadn't bothered notifying me nor did they take the initiative to replace it. I bought one while I was there and replaced it myself before driving off the lot!

Now, why did I have to do that?

As consultants, it is our obligation to be "trusted advisers" to our clients. Clients should have reason to trust us. I have every confidence that my clients won't have to buy an oil filler cap to complete the agreed service. Hey, it's not even about going above and beyond expected service. It's really all about doing what's right, keeping our eyes open and delivering solid, reliable, and trusted service.

"Touching" Your Customers

Many years ago we had a unique opportunity to work with the senior management of a communications company as well as their IT management and support staff in the same week. So what, might you ask, was so unique about that? Well, the dynamics of the engagement provided the freedom to relay feedback from support and operations to management and vice versa without damaging relationships or risking the jobs of those candid and honest individuals. The outcome came as a shock to corporate management: the company was totally out of touch with both its customers and its staff. Decisions were made in isolation without visibility to the downstream or, for that matter, even upstream impact.

This project came to mind when I distributed an article recently to my advisory team, "Taking a Whack Against Comcast," which relates a disturbing story reminiscent of the Michael Douglas 1993 movie, "Falling Down". The response to my email broadcast was interesting. One respondent shared their experience with a cell phone company over the past TWO YEARS trying to get an incorrect, yet recurring charge, off their monthly invoice. Another said they were transferring all their communications, email, cable and telephone, to another service because they were "tired of the poor customer service" practiced by their current provider. I have personal experience with a rented international mobile phone from my cell phone provider that never worked the entire time I was in Europe. And I'm certain all of us can relate to the frustration of dealing with phone trees, recorded messages and web interfaces that fall short of anything remotely resembling customer service.

That is why I found an article in Monday's "Investor's Business Daily" interesting. If you are a subscriber, look on Page A8 for the article on Netflix, "Wooing Customers With Call Centers." If ever there was an explanation of how customer service can be used to differentiate a business from its competition, this is it. The article starts off with a simple, direct and impactful sentence: "Humans matter." In short, here is the essence of the message:

• Netflix and Blockbuster are in direct combat in a highly competitive industry;
• Netflix must differentiate itself from its competition;
• Netflix has opened a new call center to deal with customer issues, acting on a desire to be aggressive in reducing "customer churn";
• Other industries, financial service firms in particular, have worked to improve their call center operations;
  
• Implementing automated call and email handling exclusively as a cost control mechanism has negatively impacted satisfaction;
• Call center outsourcing has impacted service quality (Dell);
• Netflix consulted best practices in call handling to differentiate their call center operations.
  

Many organizations implement technology solutions under the guise of enhancing customer service. Customers recognize this as a shallow ruse of concealing the real motivation: to cut costs. As Michael Osier, VP of IT operations at Netflix said: “Customer satisfaction comes down to treating people the way you want to be treated.”

Wow! What a concept!

Customer Service-Does It Pay?

YES! Customer Service does pay. OK, so if all you want to know is the answer, there you go. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't believe it. If you're still reading but have a few doubts, bear with me as we explore a lesson from the retail market of, oh, say laptop computers.

What is it about an Apple computer that creates such passionate, almost fanatical loyalty among a certain portion of its user base? Consider simple customer interface elements such as the tactile sensations transmitted through the keys, the feel of brushed aluminum, the appearance of the screen, illuminated keys, the elegant simplicity of the interface. A course ware developer with whom I was working last week uses both PCs and Apples. She says she likes her PC but she loves her Apple. The word "love" seems out of place in our cold, impersonal world of technology bits, bytes and hardware. But it's no more irrelevant than customer service. So let's think of love as that ephemeral quality that conveys a sense of "value-add" which builds loyalty. Lest you think this is not important I invite you to read a Financial Times article about HP and Dell ( Fashioning an image revolution for humble PCs ). These two manufacturers have finally come to realize how design that enhances the customer experience is important at the bottom line, in capturing (and maintaining) market share and ultimately profitability.

All of these features impact the customer at the critical point that really counts - the customer interface. For years I have advised my clients to place mirrors next to the phones of their Help and Service Desk agents to remind them to smile before answering a user call. Such practice changes the tone of the support technician's voice so very subtly. But the smile, conveyed through an altered tone of voice, can be heard by the caller on the other end of the phone.

There is an attitude among some in technical support (and I say "some" as this most certainly does not apply to "all" technicians out there - many of us DO get it) that seem to think jeans, tennis shoes and a "T" shirt are appropriate attire for their support function. I hate to burst the individualistic, "this is me-accept me the way I am" bubble, but attire must meet a certain level of professionalism. Why? Let's go back to the point of interface, the moment of truth at which the customer interacts with technology, or in this case, engages the technology department. The customers of an internal IT organization are professionals. They expect to be served by professionals. And in fact, if your organization is trying to align with the ITIL principles, your IT organization is, or soon will be, a professional organization. It only makes sense that, as a representative of a professional organization, you dress like a professional. Yes, yes, there are exceptions-if you're crawling around under a raised floor, running cabling through the ceiling or what ever. In such situations you do need to dress for the job. Similarly, if you are visiting a customer, dress the part for that job if at all possible.

But even if you cannot dress as you might wish to serve your customers, remember to act as a professional in the way you speak to and work with your customer. You may be the only experience the customer will ever have of working with IT. Those impressions have a way of becoming lasting perceptions. Such perceptions are very quickly transmitted through through the informal communication channels (grapevines) of the various business units that comprise your customer base. These customers, one way or another, are paying your salary. Their perception of what they are getting for this money is influenced by your appearance, attitude and demeanor. I wrote earlier about outsourcing ("Save Money - OUTSOURCE!" - Tuesday, September 11, 2007). Too often business sees support as a line item expense not as a value-add. Support is an easy target for outsourcing. Why add to the ammunition? Build customer loyalty by enhancing the user experience with your services.

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Customers

Two thoughts (only two, that’s all I can handle on a Saturday) came to mind this afternoon. First, an experience I had with the advanced program that granted me my master’s degree. A couple of months ago I was delighted to share my experiences using Six Sigma for information technology with a class that was soon to graduate into the real world of technology. During the audio presentation which I conducted remotely from my home in Minnesota one master’s candidate asked about the “standard” sigma level for information technology. In response I suggested the answer would be apparent once I completed the entire presentation.

The second experience I’m pondering is an article I read in Computer World magazine this morning. In this article a reader shared his experience with a programmer who held to the philosophy that he didn’t need to ask the user or customer what they wanted or needed in their business application. It was this contractor’s perspective that he “told the customer what they needed” and had no intention of talking to the customer. Ouch! Yeah, the project fell short of customer expectations and the programmer was unceremoniously dismissed.

It’s exactly that attitude that I must deal with regularly. And it’s probably that perspective that brought about the question about the “standard” Six Sigma level for IT. Here’s the lesson: There is NO STANDARD. The challenge is to take the time to:
1. Understand your industry
2. Understand your competition
3. Incorporate the business requirements into the solution you are building
4. Achieve a performance level that meets your customer needs.

How do you do all this? Oh well, geeze! Maybe we have to “TALK TO THE CUSTOMER.” To understand the “appropriate sigma level” we need to understand our industry and how the business makes money in that industry. It can’t hurt to know what the business challenges might be, including the competition in the marketplace. As a process guy, I’m also going to suggest that perhaps you need a mechanism to capture these customer requirements (initially captured as CTQ’s -Critical To Quality) and be certain you can deliver against those. This isn’t rocket science (OK, if you work for NASA it is). It’s simply common sense.

My final admonition to the virtual class I was conducting was simple: “Lose the IT-centric attitude. It’s about the business - not IT.”