Telepathy and business consulting

Sometimes I get really fed up with the service levels in the UK so when I get excellent service I really take notice.

Last week I got that superb service from a one Michelin star restaurant in a pub! The difference came from the politeness and attentiveness of the staff – not in my face but always there when needed, almost by telepathy. It helped of course that the food was also outstanding.

But what has any of this got to do with business consulting?

Well it goes without saying that fantastic service levels with our clients are an absolute must – but how do we go the extra mile; build a relationship that's 'telepathic'?

• Be in regular contact to find out what is on their mind and important to them in their business – even if it is not something we can help with
• After a project has finished continue the ‘after sales service’
• Be interested in them as a person not just about their business

Over 20 years, lloydmasters have worked with more than 100 clients and developed long-term client relationships that allow both parties to grow. If you would like to learn more about us and how we might work with your business email: info@lloydmasters.com.

Customers and their expectations

Helping clients deliver competitive advantage is one of lloydmasters enduring offers. We know customers are getting smarter – that's the underlying message found in numerous pieces of recent research – and what customers really want are suppliers who fully understand their market and have information that they can share about it. We also know they are becoming more demanding – the rise of procurement as a profession is driving sales people to have to behave in a different way and forcing them to build different and more complex relationships; as a result, selling is becoming much more of a science and less of an art, and organisations are having to constantly rethink customer strategies – both in terms of winning and retention. They are also having to better understand the capabilities they need. And of course this needs to be delivered against a backdrop of increasing cost-cutting in their own organisations.

A useful model, which can help an organisation focus on areas of improvement in terms of managing customers, is provided by Kano. Kano’s model was developed in the 1980s as a result of linking motivation and quality theories. Essentially the model leads us to consider three types of customer experience:

1. Basic – which relates to the quality of service expected, i.e., the must-haves. If the quality is not delivered, then dissatisfaction sets in
2. Performance – which relates to satisfaction received in proportion to the performance of the product
3. Excitement – which is what the customer receives when they discover an unexpected feature or benefit

The model can act as a simplistic diagnostic tool to assess which areas need improving and in which priority. To achieve sustainability of approach, however, it may be necessary to go further and define the capabilities that the organisation needs to have – both in terms of skills and competencies, as well as structure and processes. To deliver the customer service strategy, this capabilities blueprint can then be used as a measuring tool against existing reality, with the defined gap acting as the basis for a plan of action. Using capabilities in this way then ensures a long-term focus for customer service and for sales.

In 2000, a Gallup Survey of over 500 CEOs asked what delivered their most competitive advantage. While 46% stated product and service quality, 44% stated customer service. Such results suggest that regular reviews of how you can improve in this area are probably a necessity, not a luxury.

Compare the customer service

I’ve recently had two very different experiences of customer service; in one case they really went the extra mile and in the other they didn’t – actually they went quite literally zero miles in seven hours.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t blame Continental Airlines for the snow storm that closed Newark airport the other week, when 16 inches of snow falls in four hours you've got to expect delays but they are responsible for the poor, almost non-existent customer service provided to me and my fellow passengers during that time.

Turned-off flight CO112 as de-icing and re-fuelling had taken more than three hours and it was now snowing too heavily for us to depart, we were offered no advice or assistance from flight crew other than that as the airport was now closed, customers would have to re-book and queues would be very long. So, off we went back through security to find just three Continental staff handing out contact numbers (they were either unable or unwilling to communicate anything more) which, when you were finally able to get through, were recorded messages advising that 'due to adverse weather conditions and heavy demand we cannot take your call'. When through the magic of iPhone, I was finally able to load the Continental website to try to re-book, the system crashed at the final hurdle. Still no actual Continental personnel to talk to. The next day I boarded another CO flight bound for London but this time due to a catalogue of mis-communication and the resulting delay, the flight was unable to depart as the Heathrow curfew had been missed. Finally, three planes and over 40 hours later I arrive back at Heathrow – my luggage did not as they forgot to load the bags! and once again no Continental Airlines leadership communication nor support. I’m still waiting for a response from Continental to my feedback; still trying to find someone to talk to.

Now contrast this with Amazon. As I have mentioned in an earlier blog I was sceptical about the joys of the Kindle but since receiving one as a gift I’m a convert so it was really disappointing when the screen broke. Even though it was under warranty I expected a repair or replacement to take time so was more than happy when having spoken to a member of the Amazon customer service team I was told that a new Kindle would be sent immediately and that returning the broken device was a easy as boxing it up, applying the return label they would email me and using the web link to contact DHL who collected it from an address of my choice at a time convenient to me. Two days later my new Kindle arrive – that’s what I call customer service.