Maya Angelou once said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  This is true in life and it is true in business.  Connecting with people on an emotional, personal level has always been the best way to win customers, keep customers and convert customers into raving fans.  But business gurus keep looking for a new approach to customer service.

In the 1980s and 90s, the focus was on customer care… showing customers how much they were valued and appreciated.  Think giveaways and concierge service.  By the 2000s, the focus shifted to customer engagement… finding new ways to connect and dialogue with customers in order to give them what they want.   Think blogs, email, live chat, mobile apps, and call-me-now.  And in the last decade, as companies gained a better understanding of the connection between brand identity and customer relationships, businesses sought to achieve customer entanglement… a mix of connection, trust and brand love.  Think corporate responsibility, social impact, social messaging, and a sense of kinship.

While most companies talk the talk about “great customer service”, few companies walk the walk of service.  Few companies do what’s right even when it is hard, complicated or costly or when it requires compassion and personal care.  But, according to research published by Zendesk, 63% of companies are now prioritizing customer experiences in 2021. This makes sense since customer support is a key driver of brand loyalty and 50% of customers say that they will take their business elsewhere after just one bad experience.  There is just no room for error.  That is why companies are positioning a friendly face and warm greeting of welcome at reception desks, hotel entrances and store entry points.  Dressing room associates, which have not been common since the 1950s, have returned.  And positioning staff throughout the showroom floor (in case a customer needs help) is in vogue again.  But that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what customers want and expect now.

Customers want speed and convenience without sacrificing privacy.  They want personalized service, but prefer to do business with companies that are upfront and transparent about their policies and don’t sell their information and behavioral data.  They seek empathy and commitment to the core issues they care about but want the company to care about their personal needs too.  The service benchmark is high and getting higher.  In this regard, some companies are better than others in delivering service that customers want and need.

To really understand customer service, it helps to look at companies that have mastered the art of “service”.

1. Amazon:  A Love/Hate Relationship

You’ve heard of companies that people love.  Think Patagonia.  And companies that people hate.  Think Comcast.  But what about companies that people love and hate at the same time?  That’s the crazy case with one of the biggest companies in the world:  Amazon.

Beyond the fear that Amazon will drive brick-and-mortar shops out of business and will end up taking over the world, and how much Zellennials detest Jeff Bezos (even more than the average billionaire), there are many other reasons people hate Amazon.  Amazon is accused of exploiting workers and fighting unions.  Amazon has double the employee injury rate of the industry average, 24,000 serious injuries reported in 2020 alone.  Tied to that, Amazon is believed to create dangerous working conditions for delivery workers, with 49% of delivery workers reporting pain or injuries that caused them to miss work and 89% of those injured delivery workers reporting that their injuries were related to production pressure or speed. Amazon is also considered a major climate emitter, equal to that of the country of Denmark.  At a time when global emissions fell, Amazon’s climate emissions grew 19% in 2020.  While Amazon has committed to using 100% renewable energy by 2025, it has a long way to go to get to zero emissions.   It also creates excessive packaging waste, generating 465 million pounds of plastic waste in 2019 alone.  That’s enough air pillows to circle the earth 100 times.  The company is also accused of price fixing of e-books, penalizing small businesses that use its platforms, and using the data from 3rd party sellers to create its own products.  Perhaps worst of all, Amazon paid zero dollars in federal income taxes on its $11 billion profits and even received $129 million in tax rebates in 2018.  It similarly raked in billions in taxpayer subsidies for its new headquarters buildings in Virginia, despite being worth over $1 trillion.  That means one of the world’s most valuable companies is tapping into taxpayer money to build a headquarters.

Now with all of that bad publicity and offending behavior, one might think that Amazon would be hurting for business.  However, Amazon is doing more business now than ever.  How did this powerhouse company beat out every other business to dominate ecommerce?  It boils down to one thing:  Amazon delivers incredible service.  People love Amazon because the platform provides a convenient “one stop shop” where consumers can see almost every possible purchase option (even obscure items) in one place, narrow down the list of choices by scrolling through the product reviews, order it quickly and easily with just a few taps, and get it delivered free for Amazon Prime members.  And, returns are also extremely easy.   Amazon is not always the cheapest option and the company does not necessarily have the best reputation.  They just excel at service.  Ease is service.  Convenience is service.  Options is service.  Frictionless purchases is service.  That is the epitome of superb screen-to-screen service.  Service is not about fluff.  It’s about giving customers what they want, when they want it, and how they want it as much as possible.

2.  Zappos:  Sells Service not Shoes

Zappos is now owned by Amazon.  But when the company started in 1999, Zappos focused on delivering the best possible service experience to their customers. Their motto is that they are “powered by service.”  That’s not just empty talk (although ironically talk is the number one way that they service their clients).   As they put it on their own website, “Zappos is a service company that just happens to sell all the nifty shoes, clothing, accessories and whatnot found on Zappos.com.”

They don’t just claim to be “maniacally obsessed with making sure our customers are happy and proud to do business with us”, they actually deliver such amazing service that their customers are happy and loyal.  And it shows in everything they do and say.  Their call center workers (which in most industries are subjected to sweatshop practices and treated poorly) are called the Customer Loyalty Team and they are viewed as “famous and fabulous.”  That’s because the team sincerely engages with customers via phone, chat and email for as much time as it takes to give the customer what they want/need in a wonderfully personal way.  They call it “wowing” their customers. The company sees it as “a daily quest for every Zapponian to “WOW” our customers in new and wonderful ways.”  There is an entire language and culture that reinforces superb service.

Super-powered service is how a company selling shoes online goes from $0 to $1 Billion in valuation in less than 20 years.  This is a company that understands Maya Angelou’s wisdom about making customers remember you by how you make them feel.  So what does service mean in practical terms (and it is not just about having nice, friendly call center employees, although they recruit and train employees for that).  Here are just a few things.

Easy-to-find contact info – Their customer service phone number is on every page of their website, company vehicles, Google search results, and well, everywhere.  They want customers to call so their phone number simply cannot be missed.  As they put it, “when customers have a problem, they want fast solutions. Being able to quickly and easily find Zappos’ number, and give us a call is a huge step toward making that happen.”  To that end they also offer.

Unlimited call times – Length of calls are not limited or dictated by company call time parameters at Zappos.  If a customer needs help with product fit, their CLT rep can work with the customer to figure it out.  If a customer needs assistance with their shipment carrier, we can contact them while on the line. And if a customer needs to exchange everything in a 19-item order – there’s plenty of time to do that, too.  The record for their longest customer service call is almost 11 hours!!!

No phone tree – They despise automation, phone trees and bots.  Zappos sees it as “one of the Worst. Things. Ever.”  They have a live human being generally answering all calls in less than one minute because “being on hold is for the birds”.

No scripts – Every conversation between Zappos representatives and callers is as different as the personalities of the participants.  They engage in real conversations specific to the customers’ needs in a deeply personal way. Depending on the timetable and mood of their customers, conversations can range from no-nonsense order taking, exchanges and returns, to chats about everything from current events to kids, pets, sports, weddings and the weather!

24/7 call center – They know customers don’t have time to deal with unexpected extra tasks, like handling an online order issue, until late in the day, early in the day, during work lunch breaks, or on their days off, which could be either on the weekend or during the week.  So Zappos is open and available 24/7, just in case.  It’s not something every company can or wants to emulate, but it sure says something about how high they set the service bar.

Next week, we’ll wrap up the year by looking at other companies that are really taking service to a new level.  That’s an article that should help your company really start to up their service game in 2022.  Don’t miss it.

Quote of the Week
“If we can keep our competitors focused on us while we stay focused on the customer, ultimately we’ll turn out all right.” Jeff Bezos

© 2021, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.