Every business owner, or executive I’ve met says that their organization delivers great customer service. But do they really? Does your company? My office move in mid-July set off a troubling sequence of events that brings systemic lack of customer service into sharp focus.
I went to the post office before my office move to file a Change of Address (COA) form. After reviewing the COA and my driver’s license the very helpful clerk assured me that all was OK (Story 1). About a week later, I received an email from the USPS informing me that the COA was not approved due to insufficient identification (Story 2). I visited the new post office and was told that the address on my driver’s license (my home address) did not agree with my new office address and therefore was not acceptable for a COA. When I inquired about what was acceptable identification, the clerk recited a list that was applicable to a residential COA. I pointed out that this was an office move and asked how to file a COA for a business? The clerk said, incorrectly, that I should contact every business and individual who sends mail to my office and inform them that my office moved (Story 3).
After telling a friend about the three stories, he told me of another example of customer service disconnect at the USPS. His house had a wooden mailbox that rotted about twenty years ago. When it rotted it was removed and not replaced. For twenty years his mail carriers have been putting his mail between his storm door and front door. Recently, a new mail carrier opened the storm door but did not leave any mail. When my friend asked why there was no mail delivered, the mail carrier told him that he could only deliver mail into a mailbox or slot. These two examples of poor customer service from the USPS are only the tip on the iceberg. Bad customer service is not limited to the USPS. I have been the recipient of poor customer service from businesses both big (cable, airlines) and small (coffee shop, car dealership).
Why write a blog about these tales of woe? The three conflicting stories I was told by USPS clerks and the lack of mail delivery my friend reported highlight the disconnect between management’s customer service expectations and the actual customer service being delivered.
There is hope! Coincident with my office move, I read an article by Scott Gilbey host of the Talkingcx podcast in the July-August edition of Entrepreneur Magazine that addresses this disconnect and offers some solutions to deliver true customer service. Mr. Gilbey was a corporate chief customer experience officer who took thirty months away from his corporate position to work in front line, minimum wage jobs. His “research” led to a number of suggested solutions to the disconnect. Among them:
The following quote from the article sums up the major point and task to add to your to do list:
“Companies must redefine the role of supervision, emphasizing mentorship and skill development rather than blindly focusing on compliance.”
Take a close look at the quality of customer service your organization is delivering. Is it great? Does it meet your expectations?