Customer Experience is different than Customer Service

If you give Great Customer Service, it doesn't mean the Customer Experience is always good.

Granted, great customer services leads to customer experience, but it's not always the sole or single reason that a customer appreciates the service level you give them.

In our company, we are typically dealing with customers who are upset, angry and just plain frustrated.  I always tell our employees that "If the customer is mad at the manufacturer of their computer, then they are mad at you, because to them, you ARE the manufacturer of the computer."

When you have an angry or upset customer, then from the first minute you interact with them, you are behind the eight ball....

You can give the best customer service on earth, but sometimes customer experience starts even before you walk in the door!

So, how do we insure a Great Customer Experience!?!

1.  Empathy:  Truly thinking through how the customer feels is key; understanding their feelings; putting yourself in their shoes;  figuring out what You would want done if you were the customer.

2.  Communication: Simple statements, "Mr. Customer I understand how you feel, I would feel exactly the same way.....let me try and make this right for you! That's my job..."  Don't bash other people "Yeah tech support sucks, but I am much better than they are" or "Yeah you're dealing with an American boy now, not some Indian on the phone".  That's totally unacceptable!  Don't be tossing folks under the bus!  Ever....

3.  Look Good - Feel Good:  Customer Experience is also based on 'PERCEPTION'.  If a customer perceives you to be professional, then you are...if they perceive you to be a silly person who doesn't know what they are doing, then unfortunately, you are.  Seriously-remember-Perception is Reality.  So, dress the part, stand up straight, be confident without being arrogant, and be the professional that you truly can be!

4.  Customers Pay You to be there!:  I worked for a hospital system back in the day with hundreds of employees.  Periodically the Administrator of the hospital would grab ten or fifteen paychecks and sign them personally.  This was just a way for him to remind people "who signs their paycheck" and who they work for....I've done this before also, just to remind someone who the boss is....not really the best motivation....but, what if your Customer signed your paycheck?  What if the people who you service were the people who paid you each week?  Would you treat them differently?  Would you 'up your game'?  Would you make sure their Experience with you and your company was excellent in every way???   Yeah, me too!

Customer Experience is about Perception. 

Customer Experience is about how the customer feels after you leave.

Customer Experience is measurable, and never predictable.

Customer Experience is the most important part of our jobs.

Let's work hard to make sure our customers experience excellent customer service.

Because they really do sign our paycheck every week!