Have you ever dealt with a company where you’ve felt you are rolling the dice on how policies will be implemented? If so, you’re not alone. And neither are your customers. Talk to any group of people and you will be inundated by stories that sound like this:
I was confused about a particular product, so I called up the customer care line. After speaking with the representative, I felt I had the information I needed regarding the product and its pricing. But when I later had an issue regarding pricing at checkout, I spoke with another person from customer service and I was told something completely different from what I’d been told the first time! Frustrated, I cut the conversation short and tried my luck again. This third time I spoke with yet another person and was given another answer, somewhere between the two I’d heard prior. Who am I supposed to believe? Does anyone know what is going on?”
A customer should never feel as though they don’t know what to expect when it comes to a company’s policies and he should never, ever feel that a company’s policies will change based on the mood or personality of the representative with whom he’s dealing. Not only does an experience like this frustrate the customer in the moment, it also breeds mistrust and sets a customer up to feel he’s being treated unfairly.
Having continuity in the implementation of policies is key to building proper customer expectations and to ensuring customers do not feel they are “unlucky” or “being punished” when policies are enforced.
I spoke with one lady and she was so insistent that she could not do anything for me. I bothered to talk to someone else and it was so easy with her! She just said O.K.. Problem solved. I don’t know what the first lady’s problem was.”
Ensuring that all customer service team members are well versed in your company’s policies is the first step to creating continuity of service. They should know things like:
How is pricing determined?
Do you price match?
Under which circumstances are refunds given?
When and how can a customer cancel an order?
How much freedom does each representative have to make any given situation right?
Having definitive guidelines for representatives to work within allows the customer experience to be more static, which is crucial to your service brand. The more a customer feels like he will have the same experience and the same outcome whether he has an issue at 10:00 in the morning or 4:00 in the afternoon, or speaks with Joe or Caroline, he will be more satisfied at the conclusion of his case and more content with your company. Nobody wants to feel as if he’s playing the lotto when it comes to customer service, so do everything in your power to create continuity in policy implementation. Your customers will thank you for it.