Like everyone, I was recently very excited about choosing a new smart phone. I chose a network operator of the many in the UK and went to the store to make my purchase, I was advised to order the new mobile over the phone in store as that was how to get the best deals. However, when the phone arrived it was broken. I took it to the store hoping to exchange it but I was told because it was ordered via the phone it would have to be resolved in the same way. Not ideal.
After the new phone arrived it worked for a month and then due to a technical malfunction stopped connecting to the internet. Very frustrating! I called the network to complain and even threatened to leave them when my contract ended. In order to improve my customer experience the company offered me a free upgrade to a better phone and didn’t charge me for the first two months of my contract. I was relatively satisfied with this outcome.
So what can the business learn from this? One thing that is certain is that the company need to strengthen the link between the call centre and the store. Ultimately I was a customer of one company, and so should have been able to choose the channel I did business with them, not the other way round. This example shows the importance of ensuring that all channels across the customer journey deliver a consistently good experience, channels such as eChat, calls, and stores should all deal with issues in the same way. Getting consistency across all aspects is vital in keeping customers satisfied.
Yet with this said, because the recovery process was managed effectively the company were able to keep me as a customer for the time being. I can’t understate the importance and value of an effective customer recovery program, as this example clearly shows, even the worst situations can be recovered from!
Finally, this example also shows the value of matching product details (inferred VoC data) to customer feedback (direct VoC data) to better understand the customer experience. I may have not been the only customer that had problems with this type of handset. One way in which the business could address a potential issue would be to leverage a VoC program and compare scores for all customers with this handset. This would enable the business to actively predict potential issues with customers and be able to deal with them effectively. Distinguishing between whether this is a one off, an issue with sales or a problem with the manufacturer is vital in resolving the problem.
Even from one customer journey the business has better understood and could potentially improve three key elements to their business strategy (this is not to mention the countless others not highlighted in this post). It is only through implementing an effective Voice of the Customer program that you can not only effectively manage this one customer journey, but additionally scale to cover every customer across every channel across the enterprise.
Vivie Goodger
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