What The Customer Believes Is Your Brand
by Michelle Laxa on June 20th, 2013
WARNING: The story you are about to read could be disturbing to most people – reader discretion is advised.
Regardless of what your organization does or sells, your brand is really what your customers believe about you. A smart, forward-thinking big box electronics retailer, known for marketing strategy, creative advertising, and attracting the best talent, had enjoyed the top position in the electronics category for years. The last 24 months they have struggled as they continue to lose market share and perform poorly financially. Hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in creating, marketing & advertising their brand.
Last week I saw a television commercial for the retailer and I was immediately reminded of the ridiculous experience I’d had with them – and it reinforced my commitment to never shop there again. It happened again when I came across their newspaper insert. It made me wonder if customer experiences like mine could have played a part in their current position.
Am I On Candid Camera?
“I don’t know who told you that, but that’s not correct – your contract will probably not cover the repairs”, says the twenty-something girl with an unconcerned air as I stand there with my computer. I wait for her to continue the sentence with “but help me understand what’s happening & we’ll figure out how we can help” or something similar – but there is nothing. We are already 5 minutes into the conversation about how I had purchased a service contract that covers the computer I bought at this store.
All I care about is getting the computer to work because I am realizing that most of my life is connected to something saved on this computer. When I called in the tech on the phone had called the symptoms I was experiencing the “blue screen of death”, and am anxious to know if the hard drive is bad and I’ve lost all of the information I hadn’t backed up in the last 3-4 weeks. I tell the girl, “The guy I worked with was named Dan – maybe I should talk to him and he’ll remember the discussion.” This is where it all starts to go terribly wrong.
“We don’t have a guy named Dan working here – I have no idea who you’re talking about. We have a lot of turnover. If you want help you’ll have to talk to me.” Standing beside me, my 12-year-old nephew quietly gasps at the rude tone she is using. Keeping my mission in mind, I ignore the tone and the erroneous information about their turnover problem, and press ahead, “When I called they said it may just be the battery. Can I get someone to test it – can you put in a good battery to see if that fixes the problem?” In a sarcastically sweet voice she says, “Certainly – if you just fill out this form, then we will get back to you in 3-5 days.” I ask, “Can’t we just test it quickly now to see if that’s what it is, and I can just buy a new battery?”
She rolls her eyes, sighs loudly, and in an exasperated tone, waving her arm to indicate the space around her replies, “Ma’am there is no way we can keep all the different kinds of computer batteries in stock – we will have to order it. We would have to have a building 3 times this size to store all of the equipment we might need. Do you want to leave it or not?” My nephew utters, “Uh oh” and anticipating what might come next, moves over to the rack of video games nearby and out of the potential line of fire.
I am so angry that I know I shouldn’t speak immediately so I just stare at her. After a moment I respond in a purposefully even tone, “I am a consultant that works with companies to help them teach their team members how to provide good customer service. So far this conversation has been very dissatisfying and is not working for me. I need you to find someone else to speak with me.” She says, “Great! You just made me feel really good about myself – thanks a lot!” I actually look around to see if there are hidden cameras – maybe I’m being filmed for one of those shows that set people up to see if they can get them to lose their tempers?
Turning and walking away, I head for the nearest employee, who finds the manager for me. He is unsurprised, and listens passively as I describe my experience. He does not really apologize, but introduces me to a lovely young woman named Sarah who is concerned with understanding what’s happening & with helping me. She says, “I am sorry they have been trying to work with Erin for a year, and she still has trouble with customers sometimes.” WHAT?!! A year? Are you kidding me?
While I wait for Sarah to run some quick tests on the battery (which apparently they DO have in the store), I feel badly seeing two elderly people walking out of the front door looking confused and discouraged after talking with Erin. Over the next 15 minutes I witness three more people struggle to work with Erin and her attitude. I am astonished. Luckily Sarah is great to work with, and after 5 days they fixed my computer which was mostly covered under the service contract after all.
Marketing or Unmarketing?
Even though it turned out alright, I will never buy anything at that store again. This company is not aware or not concerned with the customer experience that Erin is providing. Either way I choose not to deal with a company that is obviously not connected, engaged or interested in their customers. In fact every time I see their logo, pass a store or see an advertisement for them, I am reminded of how I will never shop there again – in effect they are actually spending money to remind me to keep away.
It really hit me: In my case all that money has been spent to reinforce a completely opposite message & brand than the one they intend. Makes you wonder how much is being spent by all marketers, to actually remind people about why they remain ex-customers, rather than the messages they intend to market. My family will never buy the following items from the store: computer, television, iPhone, iPad, washing machine & dryer, vacuum, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, PlayStation, X-Box, video, DVD, headphones … that’s a lot of money that one household will not spend with that retailer. Multiply that by the number of people Erin has dealt with in the year that she’s worked there. Multiply that by the number of “Erins” they have working for them company-wide.
Customer Service Is Your Brand
Poor customer service isn’t always as apparent as it was with Erin. It can be quieter, like a sense the customer gets that an employee is not interested or doesn’t seem to care one way or another. How much could disconnected, disengaged employees be costing organizations every year? How much could they be costing your organization?
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We had an unfortunate experience recently that was food-related. My son and I ordered shrimp. However, when it was served to us, I could tell at first sight it was not going to be a good experience. Shockingly, the waitress alluded to us that she KNEW it was not servable. And even though leaving in front of us, also commented that she understood that it was not servable and wasn’t surprised that we wouldn’t be happy with it. In addition, she also indicated that complaining about it wouldn’t help and she was almost out the door of the company herself.
We ate what we could, asked to speak to the manager who actually was the owner AND the cook. While he did refund us our money for our meals, he put it back on us; ie I’m sorry the cooking wasn’t to YOUR preference etc. Um, cutting shrimp with a fork and a knife isn’t anyone’s preference I don’t think. So, yes, we were refunded our money BUT we will not go back to eat there again no matter what. Why? Because we felt insulted and not appreciated for being a good customer. We’ve eaten there many, many times in the last years. In addition, as if that wasn’t enough, to have employees complain as well and try to draw us into their work drama and unhappiness was even worse.
Suffice it to say, not only will we NOT go back there; I did post an unfavorable ‘review’ on Foursquare, an iphone app and we will not recommend any of our friends and family to eat there as well. It’s all about customer service with us or lack thereof. We would rather pay more money for quality service and product rather than pay less for just a product with less than satisfactory service.
Carrie,
Your response to your unfortunate experience by posting it on Foursquare illustrates so clearly just how much higher the stakes are in disappointing customers in the digital age. It also reinforces a statistic we’ve repeated over the last six years in our training classes: Of all customers who defect from a business, 68% do so not because of a breakdown in quality or even in customer service but because of an attitude of indifference from someone in the company.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
This reminds me of a visit I made to another big box store the other day. Even though there were three employees behind the counter, not one greeted me when I came in or acknowledged that I was at the counter waiting for help. After a minute or so, one passed by and I asked him where I could get a box. He handed me the most expensive one, since he assumed I was sending an electronic, when in fact it was an old laptop cord. (I wish he would have asked.) He also handed me a slip to fill out and never came back. Another employee saw I needed help a few minutes later and informed me I didn’t press down hard enough. Whoops, my fault but a warning from the first employee would have saved us both time. Without any conversation, he took a few minutes to put my information in the computer and then said with an apologetic voice, “It won’t be there until next week.” I thought that was odd, since I hadn’t mentioned needing it there by a certain time.
If it were myself, someone who has been trained in customer service, I would have done a few things differently. I would have greeted the customer and asked them how I could help. I would have found out what they were sending, so I could pick the right box. I would have given them a friendly warning to press down on the label and I definitely wouldn’t have left them to find another employee for help. If there was a delay on shipment, I would have found out if that was a problem before I apologized. And hey, anyone can start a conversation about the weather. :)
Not once did I complain but rather just observed, as most of us do. I left the store thinking that I would much rather go to a small store, knowing I will get the help I need, even if it costs me a little more. I know what it’s like to work for a big box company and be underpaid, overworked and mismanaged but I’m still just a helpless customer sometimes. In my opinion, small businesses really have an advantage here and making sure you have tip top customer service and knowledgable employees can beat out big box stores any day.
Amber,
Your comment about not complaining is what keeps me up at night as a business owner. Most statistics on customer behavior reveal that the vast majority of customers never voice their displeasure, they simply choose to go elsewhere. Persuading front line customer service employees that complaints are really a gift because the customer is extending an invitation to keep her coming back is not easy, but it’s hugely important.
Thanks for you insights!