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I bookshelved my regular article this week because
conditions in my home were so inspiring. Tuesday afternoon my
assistant and I were both faced with early dismissals at our children's
schools due to impending weather. And Wednesday, was a snow
day. It's not one of those fun snow days with 12 inches of new
white fluff. It's a miserable icy rain that makes driving
treacherous.
 My inspiration doesn't come in the form of a happy story
where everyone still showed up for work, and valiant efforts are
rewarded. Wednesday just stank for everyone involved; me, my
assistant, our kids, my home care provider and my wife, whom picked up
a lot of the slack despite leaving for work on time.
Rather than bore you
with details, let's look at ways you can improve your customer crisis
management.
Open Lines of
Communication -- The old adage that "no news is
good news" doesn't apply here. Your customers need to be
kept informed at the earliest possible moment. The sooner that
you let your customer know there is a problem, the better.
Listen
-- Your customer will give you some direction. Ask questions and
listen to their answers rather than offering empty assurances.
Find out what they need. Figure out what is the most critical
point of stress. Also try to gauge one customer's reaction
compared to others. Sometimes their stressor is not "Will I
get out of bed today?", it's "I have something important to
do." or even "I hope my caregiver is safe."
Define Customer
Expectation -- Great customer service doesn't mean you
never have problems. It means that you exceed customer
expectations whenever possible. Before you can exceed customer
expectations you have to identify and define them clearly. If
your customer says "I have a doctor's appointment at four
o'clock." (coincidentally as I do today) then you have a clear
objective. If your customer says "I just want to note that
Mary Ellen is safe.", assure the client that you will check on
your caregiver and call back with an update.
Exceed Customer
Expectation -- Your mission is clear. Your
objective defined. Now impress us. Whenever possible exceed
the expectation. You can turn a customer service problem into an
opportunity to be a hero.
Meet Customer
Expectation -- Sometimes exceeding expectation is
impossible. In this case, do your best to meet the customers'
expectation. They may say thank you, but maybe not.
Regardless, you aren't a hero here. Your customer sees you as
"doing your job". While this isn't a big win, it's why
you're here.
Falling Short
-- Sometimes their needs cannot be met. In this case follow,
through the process again. Be open and honest about your
abilities and how you know they aren't going to live up to the
standards your customer expects. Do your best, but be
honest. Rarely, but occasionally, you'll need to help your
customer redefine their expectations. "I have to be
somewhere in 30 minutes." is probably an impossible
objective. Apologize, explain why this is impossible, and try,
with the help of the client, to identify a solution.
The #1
rule! -- Keep communicating! Keep your clients
and their families informed when you're in a crisis.
Absolutely nothing feels worse than not knowing what's happening.
Let them know you're working for them. Report progress, even if
there isn't any. Finally, when you do get to be a hero, accept
praise graciously because the next crisis is probably just around the
corner.
Your shining customer service moments aren't when everything is going
well. When your company shines is when things are going bad, but
you handle it well.
Finally, I need CEOs, owners, schedulers and every member of your
office staff to understand something. From your client's
perspective your company doesn't provide them care, your caregivers
do. Your company is there to provide caregivers and manage issues
as they arise with those caregivers.
Ninety-nine days out of 100, the caregiver shows up, provides good
care, and everything is good. You don't need to lift a finger
from the perspective of the client. That one day
out of 100 when you need to work hard for your client is when
you're being judged.
I know I've said it before, but it warrants repeating. I've never
left a private duty agency because of the caregiver or the quality of
care. The only triggers that have inspired me to switch agencies
were based on schedulers, case managers, and other people in your
office failing to meet my expectations.
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