It’s not unusual to find ourselves in situations where two people are working with the same customer on the same project or issue. You might be bringing in a coworker to get some additional information. You might be escalating an issue to a manager or supervisor. You’re possibly having to connect your customer to a different department.
In these situations, one of the best approaches you can use is the “Good Cop – Good Cop” strategy.
We’re all familiar with the “Good Cop – Bad Cop” approach, where one person asks the tough or unpleasant questions, and a second person plays a more conciliatory and friendly role. The “Good Cop – Good Cop” scenario is similar in that you’re still playing off of a coworker, but in this case you’re both playing a positive role.
The purpose of it is to give your customers greater confidence with the second person, and to establish that their needs are not just important to you, but to everybody in the organization. Here’s an example of how it might work in a telephone conversation where you are connecting a customer to somebody in a different department:
YOU: “Mr. Smith, I have Susan on the line. She’s with our logistics department. She’s the best there is, and if anyone can figure out how to get this done for you, it’s Susan.”
“Susan, Mr. Smith needs to get this item within the next three days, and our normal shipping time is two weeks. How can we make this work?”
This simple approach has a number of very powerful benefits.
1. It sets Susan up for success by ensuring the customer of her expertise.
2. It positions you as a champion for the customers, and as someone who is genuinely interested in getting things right.
3. Because you’ve explained the situation to Susan, you’ve prevented customers from being annoyed at having to repeat themselves.
4. The customer will perceive the organization as one that is committed to its customers.
It’s a great way for building both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
“The more valuable customers believes they are to you, the more valuable you and your company will be to them” – Shaun Belding
