Comments on: Why Your Customer Experience is Directly Tied to Your PR – Now More Than Ever

By: Jeannie Walters

Jeannie Walters — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:00:35 +0000

You’re so right, Dan. I love Gini’s point about putting aside ego to really listen. It’s vital to make the changes necessary to improve.

By: Jeannie Walters

Jeannie Walters — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:59:46 +0000

Wow, Kara, AWESOME! So many organizations skip the step about documentation and it’s a really great point. I also talk a lot about acknowledgement. It’s sometimes all a customer wants and it’s enough to diffuse what could become a bigger situation. Thanks for sharing this, it’s a good road map for anyone.

By: Jeannie Walters

Jeannie Walters — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:57:43 +0000

Hi Nikki -
I think unfortunately the day-to-day operations sometimes just take over and CEO, teams and even PR folks lose sight over what will really have an impact. One complaint on Twitter might not seem like much, but we have all seen what can happen. Thanks!

By: Jeannie Walters

Jeannie Walters — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:31:31 +0000

Love your point about being a mother hen. Sometimes you need to peel the layers of the onion to really determine what the complaint is about. It might not really be about your team – it could be about a fixable process that’s currently broken. But you can’t know that unless you really listen.

By: Jeannie Walters

Jeannie Walters — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:29:40 +0000

Thanks, Karen!

By: Daniel Hindin

Daniel Hindin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:23:25 +0000

Thanks for the great post, Jeannie! Customer experience IS your brand. I guarantee that CEO won’t last long — or he’ll drive sales into the ground before he’s done.

Being good at selling will work wonders in the beginning, but eventually those you sell to the first time will decide whether they want to buy again or not. That’s where customer experience comes in.

And I agree that you should thank the customer for complaining — but not just for the purpose of showing you care. Hearing about customers’ experiences is the best way to learn and continue to make the experience better.

By: Kara Vanskike

Kara Vanskike — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:22:37 +0000

Hi Jeannie,

I think customer service should be the top priority for any company (isn’t that a no brainer?), but unfortunately that’s not the case. I take note of bad service and will go out of my way and maybe even pay a little more for good service. Providing good customer service isn’t rocket science.

About three years ago, I helped create a customer service manual for our staff and we train on customer service at our company meetings. Your three points above are right on and are included in the five steps we list in our manual.

The Simple 5 Steps:
1. Acknowledge the customer’s complaint.
2. Sincerely apologize.
3. Take action to make things right for the client.
4. Thank the customer for complaining.
5. Write it up. (We want to document complaints so we know where we need to improve.)

By: Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:07:47 +0000

Jeannie, great conversation starter! I’m with Nikki. I would not want to work with that CEO! I always say that I would much rather a client complain than tonget fed up and walk away. It took me a long time to grow into a leader who didn’t get defensive when a client complained. But now I’m able to put my ego aside, stop acting like a mother hen about my team, and actually listen so I can thank them for the feedback. Great, great advice!

By: Nikki Stephan

Nikki Stephan — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:02:59 +0000

Yikes, I’m sure glad I’m not the PR pro working with that CEO. But sadly, I know there are many executives out there who operate with this same mindset.

Your customer experience suggestions are great! I agree with you that one customer complaint can create serious reputation damage, especially when that complaint is shared online.

By: Karen Rocks

Karen Rocks — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:33:11 +0000

Jeannie,

How awesome to see you on Spin Sucks! Once again your post is spot on and such good advice for business leaders. It is amazing sometimes the large gap that can occur between customer and upper management. Thanks for the wonderful words.