Phew! What a day. I have spent more time talking to customers today than I have in a while. I rarely talk to the “I’m paying my bill” or the “I can’t login” customers any more. I usually get to talk to either the super users or the super angry or both wrapped up into one. Fortunately today was super users. The result of these calls was a handful of bugs and helpful suggestions on how we can improve our service.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and how our tendency (at least mine) is to see these callers as an annoyance and roll our eyes when they tell us yet another way we can improve our service. What is it about customer service that makes us want to get every call over as fast as we can? In a company where we don’t micromanage handle times, why not spend an hour or two (or ten in the case of Zappos) going deep with a customer here and there?
The fact of the matter is, it is essential that we reframe our view of our super user customers. We need to remember that we are lucky to have them and every suggestion they have is a gift that affords us the opportunity to improve our service. I’ll venture a guess that in most call centers, frequent callers gain a reputation. Here’s how I propose we handle these calls. Sit up straight, listen, learn and be sure to thank that customers because if you don’t, they will call another company that does!
