BCSG, LLC
Please Stand By ... Our Agents Are Currently Helping Other Customers
If you've ever called the 800-number for a telecommunications company, you know the rigmarole. You sit through minute after excruciating minute of easy-listening music, interrupted periodically by a recorded message affirming the importance of your call. You enter your phone number when prompted, but know it's a pointless exercise because the customer-service agent will always ask you to repeat it. And then—if you're lucky—the second or third person with whom you speak can actually respond to your request.
A major business enterprise spends a fortune on advertising and outbound marketing. How much of that budget would they have to allocate/invest in order to turn their customer service into a discussion-worthy best in the world?
As well as addressing the aforementioned issues, think about improvements like:
- Staying open 24 hours a day. Routing calls to a different time zone shouldn't be a problem, especially for a global company.
- Implementing dead-end safeguards. If a customer has been on hold for a certain period of time, escalate the call's priority to a more senior person who can take action.
The Point: You don't have to be a multinational corporation—or even facing these specific issues—to learn a lesson from these thoughts. Simply put, a huge marketing budget might all be for naught if it doesn't come with a great customer service experience.
Steven J. Beaman is the founder & principal owner of BCSG, LLC, a general business consultancy and coaching organization whose primary focus is independent professionals and small businesses. Steven helps businesses to determine the constraints that are causing them to become stagnant or unproductive. He also assists start-up businesses to determine the roadblocks or obstacles that they may not have perceived. He also guides organizations through the start-up process, rapid business growth, or a turnaround situation. He does this using his wealth of management experience gathered during his over 35 year career of managing a variety of business functions in both small and medium businesses. He has expertise in numerous types of businesses (for profit and non-profit).
