The Outside In discussion group on LinkedIn continues to examine how organizations approach processes and service. One such conversation connected terminology most often used to describe encounters between the company and its customers. Following recent service experiences, I found several worth sharing: MOT (moment of truth), Pain Points, and SCO (successful customer outcome). Fellow consultant, Dick Lee, provided industry definitions:
customer service
How's that corporate responsibility working for you?
The Retail Banking Group on LinkedIn held an interesting discussion post about consumer reaction to banks. Two truths exist without doubt, more regulation is coming, and secondly, financial model assumptions aren’t effective in this economy. Having worked for both banks and credit unions I’ve learned valuable lessons. The first is banks must rethink fee structures in this economy. I don’t agree with higher fee proponents for small to mid-size commercial borrowers.
Follow the leader
There are plenty of books, experts and opinions on leaders today. I'm not going to attempt to join the fray. I would prefer to challenge your ideas and definitions of what constitutes a good leader. Will you follow along for a minute?
Expect more
Most companies develop tag lines to differentiate themselves from the competition with a catchy phrase or word. Everyone recalls Nike's Just Do It. But I would be willing to bet that most consumers take a cynical view of tag line promises based upon the common service experience that rarely delivers on the promise.
Putting service back in service
I confess to high service standards and expectations for any industry. For those service managers who believe mediocrity is the best one can expect, I clearly state my position. There's something about a little process called payment for services I believe entitles me to expect something in return. This removes all doubts related to shared comments about service failure experiences, also known as the "every unhappy customer tells at least 10 others rule. Today I'm an unhappy customer. Let me explain.