Customer satisfaction

I’ve posted some time ago on the dependency of a product on an employee’s/salesman’s bad day/mood that results into bad attitude towards the customer regardless of the brand name. As I said back then, employees are the company’s/product’s “face” when trying to sell or provide a service. It is their exact way of doing so making the difference on customer satisfaction. This stands for any interaction with the customer either before the sale or after. One parameter I was taking for granted (as I was not arguing about it), was the fact that companies themselves have an appropriate marketing policies/procedures for that close and direct interaction with the customer.

They do have, but it seems that they are not effective or not as effective as they could and should have been. Seth Godin is bringing up this issue by discussing who is answering the phone. He describes his experience with an operator when calling to complain for a product. The lady was doing as she was taught to do and in a very polite manner. However, going through a script, making remarks like “Your call is very important to us,” and “I’m sorry, I’m just doing my job,” does not offer any kind of satisfaction to a customer who is taking the time to call and is focused. Based on that, he argues the marketing policies are not meant to cover this aspect of direct interaction in a satisfactory way. It does not seem to be within marketers’ primary focus.

“And yet, even though the rules have changed, the lowest-paid, least-respected, highest-turnover jobs in the organization now do the most important marketing work.”

He concludes: “the goal of every single interaction should be to upgrade the brand’s value in the eye of the caller and to learn something about how to do better, not to get the caller to just go away.“

To sum up, I would conclude a brand’s value is dependent on both the employee (“face”) and the company (product/service). It’s just that one can have more control over the company’s attitude by the marketing policy/strategy/procedure imposed than the employee’s attitude, which is controllable to some extend since it’s obviously based on human nature. After all, we all have bad days at work!

Too much?

In Sweden, where topless sunbathing even in pools is accepted (The Bare breasts network or Bara bröst in Swedish) , the following ad of Jägermeister has been slammed by the Trade Ethical Council against Sexism in Advertising (ERK). The same thing happened in the past with a poster ad for Lavazza coffee (read here and here).I wonder what would have been the case in Greece or in any other country. Have your say, what do you think?

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Brand vs Attitude

I read an interesting story at enimerosi24.gr on how the product relies on the employee’s mood or attitude and not on the brand name. That is something I have experienced in the past and I’m pretty sure it must have happened to you too. No matter the brand and how well established it is, it doesn’t take more than an employee’s (the seller) bad day, bad mood, wrong attitude (whatever you call it) to stigmatize our perception of the product as customers. They are a company’s “face” when they are trying to sell or provide a service, thus their approach towards the customer makes the difference. Of course, that works in a good way as well. I’m sure there are plenty of times where not only were we pleased by our purchase but from the service provided as well and that is something we keep and associate to the product ad the brand as well. This discussion is fundamental and essential for marketing, sales, customer service, etc.
The story takes place in Piraeus, Greece in a Starbucks where the author being fond of their warm chocolate went in and ordered one to enjoy it there. After an initial delay the employee prepared it but to go, therefore, our author pointed out the mistake and the employee offered to make the change. It was then that another employee was involved (with a manager like attitude) having a bit offensive attitude towards her colleague. Her idea was getting on with the order quickly and move on, which resulted into having spilled the coffee all over the mug. To the author’s surprise and after asking to have it cleaned, the employee (with the manager like attitude) had a very rude attitude as if she was doing her a favor. Finally, in order to demonstrate her authority, she replied she should wait in the queue to get a new one, thus another unpleasant delay for our author. Based on the whole incident, the author realized how influential an employee’s attitude could be to the customer’s perception of a product or brand.
The full story available here but in Greek , I’m sorry !