“He who would govern others, first should be master of himself.” – Philip Massinger. We must have hear similar sayings though-out or lives, be it by our parents (explaining to us how we can succeed in life) or our bosses (explaining to us how to lead a team). I have however, thought of putting this in context of Customer Satisfaction. This is how I would say it: “He who wants his customers satisfied, first should satisfy his employees”.
If you look at an organisation, the employees make up the channel for all customer interactions. They are to an organisation much like the nervous system is for our body. If we feel heat in the summer it is due to the electrical signals flowing through our nervous system. Similarly, an organisation should be able to depend on their employees as a source of knowing the customers. It is the employees who are talking to the customers in call centres. It is again the employees who are selling the product/services. In fact, if you look at it, it is the employees who are building (if not manning) all the customer interaction touch-points from a self service web portal/kiosk to a one-to-one meeting.
Let me delve further into this simile. We say that a healthy body leads to an enjoyable and healthy life. Continuing with the concept of the employees being the nervous system of the organisation, a satisfied employee body would invariably lead to satisfied customers.
Well, I know a lot of people would have agreed to this already and others would still be sceptical and be saying, “It isn’t that simple. The customer’s relation with the organisation are much more complex than the sense of touch/taste.” Well, I ask you… “Are they really?”
Let us take a scenario where a customer is asking for a particular product which is currently not available.
If we consider a sales representative, who is burdened by meeting his targets or in some other way not really attached or satisfied with the organisation, the most probable reaction is “I am sorry to say, but we are currently out of stock and would not be able to sell you this product.” On the surface of the statement, the sales representative has tried to be “nice” to the customer.
Just hold this thought and consider an employee who feels attached/responsible to the organisation and is quite happy with being in the role that he/she is. What would he/she say? This is what one such sales representative told me. “Well, we do not have the product in stock at the moment, but I am sure we will get some soon. If you like, you can give me your number and I will give you a call as soon as we get it back in stock and help you with your order.”
In my humble opinion, I was much more satisfied hearing the second statement rather than the rehearsed speech of the first sales representative. Considering that I was looking to order a gift for a relative, I was quite satisfied to wait for a couple of more days and hear back from the person as the product in question was my first preference. And I did get a call a couple of days later and was able to order the product in time for the occasion.
What would you have said in such a situation? Would you have stuck to a well rehearsed speech or thought more about how to keep the customer as happy as you were with the organisation?
Originally posted here.
