You can’t expect your customers to know everything. Yes, today’s customers are more connected and have access to more information than any other generation of customers in history, but they still can’t read minds (at least not yet). So why do many companies create situations where customers need to figure things out for themselves?
I recently upgraded my phone, and in doing so had to re-login in to most apps. Some apps are linked to the physical device, so I also had to update that in several cases. This was mostly an easy process, except for one app: the commuter train line that I take to work. I had previously purchased a couple of 10-ride virtual tickets, and when I logged into the app with my new phone, they were gone.
After trying and failing several times to fix the problem on my own, I contacted the company through the app, and in about 24 hours I received a phone call from a lovely “Miss Jackson” who proceeded to reinstate my tickets with no questions asked.
“This happens when people switch phones,” she said matter-of-factly, which surprised me a bit. The company knows this is an issue but hasn’t bothered to fix it. Instead, it relies on customers figuring out that the answer is to contact Customer Service to have the tickets manually reinstated.
This is what’s called a “known error,” which Wikipedia defines as “software bugs which have yet to be fixed but have a known root cause and either have little disruptive impact on the end user or a known work around.” Let’s dissect this definition as it pertains to my experience:
- This is indeed a “software bug” that has “yet to be fixed” – and logging in to see nearly $100 in tickets gone was not a good customer experience.
- The bug has a “known root cause” – when customers switch devices. Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence, as millions of customers do that every year.
- The bug did not have “little disruptive impact on the end user” – I had to wait 24 hours (and purchase additional tickets in the meantime for my daily commute) and move to a different channel than what I preferred. It is critical that companies service customers in the channel of their choice – not the one that’s easiest on the company.
- There was a “known work around” – me having to talk with Miss Jackson on the phone to get the problem resolved.
As nice and helpful as Miss Jackson was, this is not an acceptable workaround, especially for an issue that is likely to surface on an annual basis for many customers. By fixing the root cause of the problem, the company can vastly improve the customer experience and free up Miss Jackson to handle other issues.
Ironically, I experienced another, similar issue with my phone upgrade but with a different company. I purchased the new phone at a major wireless company’s retail store, and at the same time I purchased an Otterbox case (Otterbox, incidentally, is a company that gets customer experience right).
When I got home, excited to try out the new phone and protect it with the new case, I realized that I had purchased the wrong-sized case. While my first thought was to blame myself for not checking the package carefully enough, my very next thought was how could the salesperson have let me out of the store without confirming that I was buying a new phone but a case for a different model?
This should have been an easy catch for someone who spends all day working with phones and cases. Proactive customer service can be a game-changer for customers and the companies with which they choose to do business. Anticipating customers’ needs makes them feel like you’re looking out for them, that they are safe and secure in your hands. Forcing them to figure out their own mistakes creates the opposite effect.
Unfortunately, the saga didn’t end there. After walking a mile from my downtown office to another retail location of the same wireless provider (I had made the original purchase in the suburbs), I was told that I needed to return the item at the same store from which I had purchased it – a completely unnecessary and customer-unfriendly inconvenience.
By the time I got around to returning the case, I had already purchased the correct size on (you guessed it) Amazon – with same-day delivery. That was a lost sale to the wireless provider that could have been avoided had the salesperson been looking out for the customer.
Whenever possible, don’t make customers do extra work. If there is a “known error” in your process – it doesn’t have to be software-related – either fix it immediately or communicate to customers proactively.
Imagine how my experience would have been different if the commuter rail app had popped up a message that said, “We see you have a new device. Let’s help you find your tickets.” Or if the wireless provider salesperson had simply asked, “Are you sure you want to buy this case? It doesn’t fit your new phone.” These are simple fixes, but they go a long way toward reducing customer pain points and creating a more positive customer experience.
