Eric Jacques

Customer Excellence Blog

Customer Service Excellence Advocate -- working as a Client Satisfaction Manager

10 Tips to Successfully Outsource Customer Service

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Posted on 2011-03-09

I’m not saying that companies should outsource their customer service operations. But, we have to admit that some do and will continue to do so. Furthermore, in some cases it may actually be a good idea when done right.

I worked for a number of years managing customer service teams for a large multinational outsourcer. Based on my experience, here are some of the things that you need to keep in mind.

Customer Service Outsourcing Tips

Clearly identify your objectives. If all you want is to save as much money as possible and you don’t care about your employees or the level of customer service, you can skip the rest of this list and go elsewhere. However, if you want a successful outsourcing that benefits your customers, read on.

Do your homework....

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Five Ways to Increase Customer Loyalty

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Posted on 2011-03-02

We often speak of customer loyalty as the holy grail in customer service and marketing. But, does it really exist today?

I really don’t think it does. However, it is possible to get to some approximation of loyalty. We can ensure that our customers’ experience with our organisations do more than meet their expectations. We can also see to it that our customers find it pleasurable to deal with our organisations and want to come back on an emotional level.

The 5 Ways to Make Customers Want More

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Do You Make These Mistakes When Looking for Customer Feedback?

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Posted on 2011-02-23

So, you’re the president, CEO or an executive in your company. You probably wonder now and again what your customers are thinking. Maybe you’d like to know what your customers want…

I sure hope you do! How else can you lead the company if you don’t have a clue about what your customers want and need?

How do you get this information from your clients?

Ask Marketing

Really? When did they last speak to a customer? Sure, they’ll have graphs and numbers but do they really connect with your customers? Some do, but I wouldn’t count on it…

You could always…

Ask Sales...

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Getting to the Root of the Issue

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Posted on 2011-02-18

When is a customer service issue not really the problem? When the root cause is elsewhere.

Sometimes complaints about customer service aren’t really an issue that the customer service “department” can solve. There are times when problems originate upstream.

For instance, when a client escalates or complains because it’s taking a long time to fix a product defect, have you looked at why the defect exists? There may be a step missing in the quality assurance process. Unfortunately, most companies will assume that the customer service team isn’t setting the right expectation or that the team that corrects product defects is understaffed.

All of these answers are potentially correct but you’ll never know if all you look at are the customer service “numbers”. You really need to dig in to find the back-end issue.
...

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I Quit! Really!

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Posted on 2011-02-16

I quit! Yes, I quit smoking a few days ago.

After being a pack a day smoker for many years, I know that there are also side-effects to quitting. (It also isn’t my first try.)

[Before you leave, I assure you that there is a segue to customer service here; bear with me a little longer.]

One of the more problematic side-effects to quitting (at least for me) is the mood swings. I know I can be irritable, snippy and a downright pain in the rear (and if I forget my wife reminds me )

Now, being irritable and a pain in the rear end is not a good trait in customer service situations. As many of you know, my day job entails dealing with customer complaints and escalations daily.

Self-Awareness

Obviously, to find a solution, we first need to...

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The Rules of Response – Presentation

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Posted on 2011-02-02

Last year, I posted “
The Rules of Response“. Since then, I’ve used it as the basis for discussion sessions with some of our customer service and professional services teams.

Recently, I’ve been asked to develop and deliver “training” sessions for the more than 100 customer service employees that our company has in North America.

I’ve always considered that the people who do the work are the experts. So, I don’t really do training sessions. I prefer to have a 15 minute presentation to set the subject and guide the general direction of the discussion and then use the rest of the time to get the people talking about it. (I often learn more during these sessions than anyone else!)

For...

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Smiling – Not Just for Customer Service

0 comments 1,191 reads

Posted on 2011-01-26

I’m back after an extended absence due to a huge project at work. On with this post.

We all know (or should) how important a smile is in customer service. We can even hear a smile over the phone.

But smiling is also great for you and your colleagues!

In the workplace

I work from home 90% of the time but when I go into the office I make an effort to walk around the office to say “Good morning!” and flash a sincere smile to all of my colleagues.

It’s one of the highlights of my day every time.

They look up, sometimes confused, from whatever they were doing and see me smiling at them. Inevitably, they smile back and sometimes...

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What do My Customers Want?

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Posted on 2010-11-13

I’m sure that you’ve heard it, maybe even said it.

What do my customers want?

Sadly, it’s a refrain that I hear often. I hear it from sales, support, professional services, finance, management, entrpreneurs…

People feel like they’re doing everything for their customers. But, they’re frustrated when they find out that those same customers are dissatisfied, unhappy, angry or have simply gone. At first glance, it doesn’t seem to make any sense.

Ask Them?

When we start looking at this issue, the obvious answer seems to be “Ask them!“

So we implement surveys, focus groups, send people out on tour, etc. And, what do we get? More confusion!

Our customers either say “Everything’s fine” or “Here are some minor issues where we’d like to see improvement” or even “I want this!”

But, they continue to be dissatisfied and they continue to leave…

Now, we’re really...

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Do You Make Assumptions?

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Posted on 2010-10-21

Well, I’m back. The last six weeks have been very interesting and I did a lot of work on a specific customer account along with some projects that were/are heating up.

As you may already know, my primary role is as a Client Satisfaction Manager. I handle complaints and escalations from customers, listen to them, establish a listing of what’s wrong, identify actions, “nag” co-workers to get it done and follow-up regularly and often.

This is easy when the problems are specific and technical. It becomes much more difficult when the complaints are generic and/or process-based. Changing processes and the habits/customs that go with them is a long, drawn-out job and absolutely requires executive support. (Which is why I now report to a VP.)

One of the complaints this customer had was that they had to continuously repeat to us what they wanted from the relationship. This had been going on so long that in the year I’ve been...

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Customer Service Delivery – What media?

0 comments 1,043 reads

Posted on 2010-09-10

The #custserv chat this week posed the question “Interacting with your Customer: Text? Voice? Video?” Unfortunately, I didn’t participate (my evenings are normally reserved as family time) but I did get a chance to review some of the discussions.
One comment from Ted Coine really resonated for me :
One channel or 12, you’ve got to get #custserv right. I’d rather a bad channel than a bad result.
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