Top 5 best customer experiences in 2016

You might have read my Top 5 worst customer experiences. Now it's time for the Top 5 best customer experiences. The year is coming to an end, so it's time to look back at 2016 through the CX lens. I must tell you, there were more bad experiences than good ones. There is a lot of Customer Experience work to be done! But now, sit back and I hope you read this list with a big smile. Since these businesses and their employees made me happy and will see me back as a loyal customer.

5. Budget Rent A Car (Dublin airport location).

When traveling I sometimes need a car. This time I had appointments in pretty Dublin and friends suggested to book the car in combination with my KLM ticket. I was surprised with the friendly fee, only €46 for 2 days, including insurance. I decided to go for a small car, since I didn't have to drive far. The day of my travel, I arrived at Dublin airport and went to the Budget desk, where they directed me outside to wait for a shuttle bus that would take me to the right location. Within 3 minutes the shuttle bus arrived, a friendly driver put my luggage in the back (thank you for this gentleman's act) and in a whizz we were at the car hire location.

Let me cut this short, I got a brand new Opel Corsa (nice spacey car, by the way), had a little shock because I had to drive on the other side of the road. But I managed perfectly and off I went. When I returned, I brought the car back at the right time and they inspected it briefly. They complimented me bringing the car back safe and sound and took me back to the correct terminal within 5 minutes. Wow. From a Customer Experience perspective, they made it easy for me. No hassle, just helping me on my way. Friendly gestures by the driver of the shuttle bus (both times) and deliver on their promise to consistently deliver value and quality. I think that is kind of vague, but in my case they succeeded. Thank you Budget, next time I'll hire one of your cars again.

4. Yoox

This is my favorite app; now you know. Yoox is part of the Net-A-Porter group and they are my leading shoe supplier. Just have a look at their app or their website. Browsing is easy, I love how you can choose from the male or female perspective, but also from a product perspective. They have the best of quality products and brands that speak for themselves. I love Italian leather shoes and they have a wide variety. They keep me well informed with good content via their newsletter. Also, when the sale starts, they make their promotions very interesting. They give me promotion codes that give me a 20% extra off and they keep track of my searches, since their offers are personalized and I feel recognized as a loyal customer.

Last year I think I bought about 6 times from Yoox and every time the delivery has been perfect. Nice boxes, well packaged and wrapped. In two instances, the shoes didn't live up to the expectations and I had to return. Their return policy is also easy, I had to fill out the online return form and bring the package to a UPS Access point, or even had it picked up by UPS. Within a week the refunds were done! Chapeau Yoox, you'll see me back as a regular in your online domain. I love your products, services and the way you present your pretty shoes (and dresses and other products) and it is easy to buy from you. Customer Experience looks easy done by Yoox.

3. The Rat (my local bar).

Why do you put such a small bar in this list, you might ask? Well because they do a lot of things right and everybody can learn from Erik, the owner of the bar. I just love going there, they give me a welcome feeling and not only because I spend money. Let me tell you about DeRat. It is a bar with a wide collection of beers and whiskeys. They always have 5 beers on draft and about 150 bottled beers. All bartenders have extensive knowledge of beer and can help you picking one that is right for you. They know which beer I like: I love a local beer named 'Saens Zoentje' - if you translate it, it reads 'Saens Kiss', which is really lovely for a name. They always have the bottled beer in stock, and once in a while Erik buys a barrel so it is available on draft. I know he has me on his mind when purchasing this beer and for a customer, that feels great!

The bar is located a little outside the city center of Utrecht, but often travelers find their way to this small bar. Why? Because they score high in the RateBeer app. This app is used to review bars and beer breweries and in Utrecht, DeRat is the highest scoring bar. I have met people from South Africa, the Dominican Republic, the United States of America, France, China and the United Kingdom at the bar. All beer lovers are curious for Erik's collection of beers. They often have something to eat on Friday evenings and serve bread and a variety of cheeses on Saturdays. Free of charge. What can you learn from DeRat from a customer experience point of view? Make your customer feel welcome, make sure you are known via the right channel (the RateBeer app being important for bars) and know your customer. Offer something extra, so they become thirsty for more :).

2. ING

A bank in my top 5 of 2016. Who would have thought? Not me, because I am rather picky when it comes to banks. But let me share my story. I have been a customer with ING for all my life. What is it they do right? Their app is perfect for me. Easy to use (just a 5 digit code) and it provides the functionalities I need for daily banking. No hassle, not too many extras. They had some troubles last year with their operations, but this year they have managed to be of service most of the time. What I know is that they use customer panels to decide which features should or shouldn't be added to the app. Listen to your customer, that works brilliantly.

What really gets them in my top 5 is the following. At the start of the year, I wanted to pay a bus ticket with my credit card, but it bounced. I got a message in the app, that I should contact the Service Center, fraud management. I did this straightaway. A friendly lady told me that my credit card information had been stolen and a criminal had tried to buy products at Harrods and an online perfume store for more than 900 Pounds. They recognized that this could not have been me, since I don't spend those amounts of money on these products and that I used my normal bankcard that day in the Netherlands. Fraud! They refunded the fraudulent payments, even got the chance to cancel the criminal purchases and protected me from worse. She offered to send me a new credit card within 4 days and wowed me. Proactivity and friendly service. Banks should make us feel safe and I know now that my money is safe with ING. Thank you very much and I'll keep banking with you.

1. Worldhotel Cristoforo Colombo

This is the best experience of the year. It is recent, so maybe the Peak End rule applies, but read and I hope you are also wowed... I needed a hotel for a business trip to Milan, with a leisure element, because I also had some spare time. So, I went to Booking.com, my search engine when it comes to hotels and a perfect offer for the Cristoforo Colombo showed up. €90 for the night, including breakfast. Booked it and after landing safely with KLM on Milan Linate, I traveled to the city. First of all, the location of the hotel is perfect. Right in the city center, next to a metro stop.

The welcome was more than perfect. A well-dressed young gentleman welcomed me, smiled, asked for my passport, but didn't need my credit card as most hotels do (we trust you madam). No bad feelings because I booked through Booking.com. He told me about the hotel, asked me whether I would like a free upgrade? Well yes please! So I got the key to an Executive room and he added "the mini bar is complementary". Really? Let me tell you, there was not just water in there. I have never encountered that before. But, let's get back to the reception area. He said "Just a moment Miss Flower", went away for ten seconds and returned with a rose. A real rose! "Especially for you." My mouth fell open. Amazing. When I came to my beautiful Executive room (with a balcony), I found a little vase to put it in. When looking into the bathroom, I found all toiletries were from Roberto Cavalli, what a luxury! But topping the luxury off: the hotel has a spa(Hado), which is complementary, with a sauna and a steambath. I completely relaxed in the luxurious and serene setting.

I slept like a rose that night. In the morning I went to the breakfast room, fully decorated with paintings of ships and Christopher Columbus discovering the west. The breakfast provided a perfect service, newspapers (yes also the Financial Times) and a comprehensive selection of foods and fruits. When I checked out, both men behind the reception desk enquired how I had enjoyed my stay. I told them that everything was perfect and offered them a Tripadvisor review. They liked that and when I paid my bill, I got a pair of knitted gloves, 'because it is getting cold outside madam Bloem'. Wow. What a service, what an extras, what a perfect stay I had in Milan. They did all they could to give me the best they had to offer, made me feel welcome, pampered me, made me feel like a real lady with the rose. Thank you for this perfect customer experience. They had everything down to a tee, the rose, the vase, the Cavalli toiletries, the breakfast room, the personal recognition. Everything was perfect and I would never have expected this. Congratulations to all staff at the Cristoforo Columbo in Milan: you are on top of the best Customer Experiences list in 2016.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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My 5 worst customer experiences of 2016

As the year is coming to an end, it's time to look back at 2016 and see in which ways organizations can learn from mistakes in Customer Experience. I've collected my five worst customer experiences this year so we can do better in 2017! And then look out to my five best customer experiences, which I will publish shortly.

5. Reaal (Vivat) insurance

As an entrepreneur I have some risks I want to insure, disability being my biggest risk. It is a big difference to being an employee, where in the Netherlands this is often arranged by the employer. That is why I decided to invest in disability insurance which covers this risk of income loss. It is a high cost, my highest recurrent cost besides my mortgage. I had great help of Geijsel Kroon in selecting the right cover, which was a Reaal Insurance policy. Reaal is part of the huge Chinese insurer Vivat.

The onboarding went perfectly, but then I started receiving these ridiculous letters. Impersonalized, with terminology that is insurance wording only and there were just too many of them. One would have been enough. Besides, I started receiving invitations to fill out their customer survey. As a CX expert, I always fill them out, but collect them and save them for a moment that is convenient for me. They decided I waited too long and started sending me reminders. Now we are at the end of the year and I am in doubt how to pay the annual fee. I have not received any information on that important matter and had to call and find out how this basic process is handled. For me Reaal are in my top 5 because they send a lot of information on non-issues in non-descript language and they forget the basics. Easy to solve from a customer experience perspective: just start working on customer journeys and find out how your customers are understanding and feel while receiving your information.

4. My local doctor and health center

I had a mole I was insecure about. With friends and family having a history of skin cancers, I wanted to get this checked out. So I made an appointment at the health center and this appointment just happened to be on my birthday. In the waiting area there is a monitor with waiting times and it indicated 'no waiting' this afternoon. My appointment was at 2 pm and at 2.25 pm, I started to become insecure. Did I have the wrong date in my calendar? So I asked the reception lady, who looked it up on her computer (maybe she could see it was my birthday and she would congratulate me?!?), but no she confirmed that I had the appointment this afternoon, and the doctor was busy. Okay, I knew that already...

I waited a little less patient and 45 minutes after the scheduled time, the doctor called out my name. She looked at the mole, said it looked okay, but I had to be aware at potential changes over the next months. I felt relieved, walked towards the door (maybe she would congratulate me with my birthday?! But no!) and when I pushed the door open, while thanking her for her expertise and making me feel relieved that my mole was okay, she said: "Oh no", "I don't know if it is okay, but it looks okay. I can give you no certainty about that". And that was how I left her little doctor's office. Even more uncertain, not feeling relieved or confident at all. That day I received their customer survey and filled it out immediately. It took me 20 minutes to fill out (what a long list of questions...), shared my experience and asked to call me. No call came, but instead I received an extra questionnaire because they needed more info. I filled it out and I told my story again in the Open Space. When trying to submit, I got error that the Open Space couldn't contain more than 250 characters. I decided to cancel the survey, and stayed unhappy. Customer experience lessons to be learned: if you give information on waiting time, make sure it is up-to-date; when handling uncertainty, be careful in wording; when asking for customer feedback, make sure you're really listening and act upon it and when your customer is having her birthday, congratulate her.

3. AVI auto brokerage

Last year I bought a car. An 8 year-old BMW at a car trader. Within a month I encountered engine failure and when I came to the official BMW service point, they saw that the mileage had been reversed. I reached out to this car trader and he said, "You bought the car without guarantee, so I can't help you." I had the car fixed, feeling a little stupid, since I didn't check this out before I bought the car. But when I told this story to a befriended lawyer, he told me that reversed mileage is a reason to legally cancel the purchase agreement. I tried to solve this again in a friendly way with the car trader, but he refused to help me. He didn't react to any of my phone calls anymore, so I had to follow the legal procedure. First I sent the cancellation. When I got no reaction from his part, I got the help of a bailiff and finally went to court.

Let me tell you that I still hate this experience. Court should be your last resort as a customer, but this car trader should have solved this beforehand. He just wanted to bully me so he hoped I might even drop the case. I didn't and won this case in court a year later. As a customer, I have my rights and he should have helped me from the beginning. In this case he lost big time. Paying the money for the car and all legal costs. But let me be honest, I lost too. A lot of time and frustration. My lesson here: never buy at AVI Automakelaardij or at a car trader when you are not a car specialist yourself as consumer. And sometimes people are not to be trusted, listen to your intuition!

2. DHL

This year I needed the book 'Must Win Battles' for a last-minute workshop I hosted. So I ordered it from Amazon in combination with speedy delivery, for which I paid extra (a lot extra I must say). It would be delivered on Monday and I received a text message that delivery would be between 6 and 9 pm. I went out for yoga and received a text at 4 pm that they were at my office and found nobody there. Well... No book for me, which I really needed for the workshop on Wednesday. On Tuesday I spent 3 hours on the phone, on Twitter, waiting, hoping for my book to arrive.

The direct messages are of the worst I received this year. Explanation why their own processes failed, why I sometimes received wrong messages, because they shared the twitter account with another business line, a colleague having a day off (really, I don't care). The book wasn't there by Wednesday, so I wanted my Express Money back. Nobody from DHL could help me, I had to go back to Amazon, because that is what they agreed upon. DHL offered me flowers for all the hassle. But to top this story off, no flowers came to my house. So they got it wrong on all accounts: not delivering on their promises, wrong information from all channels, indifferent personnel and most of all, not solving the issue! Shame on you DHL.

1. US immigration services

Sheer horror. This year I traveled to America three times. Denver, Miami and Phoenix. All three times it was awful to enter the country at all airports. Long lines, rude immigration officers, unclear procedures and the worst: crying people who were missing connecting flights because of the waiting times. The uncertainty is driving all travelers crazy. The way in it is organized at the borders at airports needs some serious Lean Consulting. Get the waiting out of it, make us a little comfortable; it is not so difficult, REALLY!

Besides, why that rudeness from the officers in the vicinity? Are we all criminals, is that how you look at us? Is your job so awful? I don't know, but US Immigration must be the worst employer of the year. I have seen no smile from any officer. I hope they shake this indifference and hostility off at home. I would love to have a peek into their employee engagement survey. In all areas there are lessons to be learned: process management, cultural, listening to customers, caring about the insecurity in time for travelers, emotions management. Sorry to say, but this is the absolute winner of the worst Customer Experiences of 2016.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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5 steps to win the online review battle

You and I both know it. The battle for the customer has become a digital one. This week I was cleaning out my bookcase. Going through books I used in University (till 1994), some out of date, but most still valid. Flipping through a marketing edition, my eye was caught by the AIDA model.  As I was reading it, I realized especially the AID of the model has changed radically.

Attention, Interest and Desire; much of these are not only in the hands of businesses any more. Of course the business website, bannering, blogging and special offers in newsletters are in the hand of businesses. But more and more, customers take care of that themselves. They rely on each other for information. The rise of Review Sites has causes a major shift in marketing.

Are you (and your colleague leaders) aware what customers are saying about you on Review sites?

  • Are you active in monitoring and making sure you stand out there?
  • Do customers leave raving reviews?!

If yes, I give you a high five (and please react on this post). If no, start working on it right away through these 5 steps:

1. Assess

First of all, you need to assess the review situation. Make a list of all review sites you can find, (this blog will give you a head start) where customers leave testimonials, reviews etc. Ask a minimum of two colleagues to do the same. It helps to ask colleagues of different ages, together you'll get the holistic picture. If you want to be 100% sure, ask customers what review sites they use. Now it is time to prioritize. Number one becomes the most influential, and so on. You have your Review List. Now have a look what customers are saying. Analyze the facts and write a short report of your findings. Add customer quotes to bring the report to life.

2. Systemize

You need to build a system for reviews. Where listening, understanding, acting, learning is key. With responsibilities and tracking of results. Make sure you create a methodology with clear tasks, reacting times, evaluation of actions taken. Also think of ways to increase the number of reviews. How can the call center or Webcare agents help you? Start small and pilot your system. If it works, scale up and keep on tuning in to changes needed.  Share your plan with colleagues, work on it with a multi-disciplinary team. To get them to feel the problem, let them google themselves first (don't forget to bring the review situation to the boardroom. If you have sense of urgency of leaders, chances of success increase dramatically).

3. Monitor

You can look at the most important review sites every day or week yourself, but I would recommend systemizing this as well. Software is available to monitor (I am not a specialist in this, so if you know good software, please react on this article). Create a report that tracks result and is appealing to colleagues. Especially if you want them to act.

4. ReAct

One of the things that bother me most when I dive into the world of review sites is the reactiveness of businesses. No comments, even on compliments of customers but also no reactions on major complaints. This is your chance to solve issues and make your customer happy. Does he or she have a suggestion or complaint? Time to react and act upon it. Most review sites give you the chance to react. Find out who the customer is, so you can contact personally. If the issue is resolved, maybe send the customer a little gift? Log everything you do in the CRM system, so your colleagues also know about actions in regards with this customer.

5. Learn

The most difficult step of all. Is to learn from the reviews. What are customers saying what needs to be fixed in your company. Is it the tone of voice, or are you failing in delivery? Or is the problem with the product itself? A suggestion from my side: most companies are working with LEAN principles or have LEAN teams; team up with them. Or find out how the change motor of your company works to implement the changes your customers are craving for. A nice suggestion: if you solved the problems, let your customer know by closing the loop. Most often, they really appreciate that.

So, enough said. Time to get to work on those reviews! It is a pleasure to be of AID to you. Please let me know your thoughts on how to handle reviews in the comments below.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Big magic in customer experience

The book "Eat, Pray, Love" was one of my favorites. I could see myself eating pizza in Naples, working on my Yoga flexibility in India and of course enjoying love on Bali (who can't?!). This week I had the pleasure of reading her newest book "Big Magic, create living beyond fear". WOWW.

Right away I saw the parallel with my profession Customer Experience. Elizabeth takes us along in her world of creativity. As a writer and artist, she knows her ways. This book is about how to cherish creativity and yes, live beyond fear.

That is exactly what I often see in organizations. Fear of customers. Fear of failing. Fear of fear. That doesn't help one bit. Yes, it helps. It helps us down the drain. Fear is a bad advisor. Fear is an awful speaker. Fear is a disastrous coach. So. How to get over Fear?

Elizabeth has a solution. She says: "Keep moving, keep going. Whatever you do, try not to dwell too long on your failures." Every time she wrote a story, if it was a success or a failure, she kept going. Back to her words and write more. Or maybe do something else, like gardening, to get creativity flowing. But keep DOING. In movement things happen. Not in planning things, talking about things, but while doing things.

Your life is short and rare and amazing and miraculous, and you want to do really interesting things and make really interesting things while you're still here." – Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic is an easy read and I love the light words she uses to approach the theme. But she is also honest. She talks about Courage, Enchantment, Persistence and Trust. Let's be honest, all these are needed to work in Customer Experience. It isn't easy, but it is your job. Your calling. Your way of living. Make the best of it. Fail and keep going, have success and keep going. That is the only way to go. You will be fine.

Thank you Elizabeth Gilbert for your inspiration. Now it is time to get back to work. Doing my thing: Making customer experience work!

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2019, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Women in customer experience, let's celebrate!

Hip Hip Hooray; It is International Women's Day. Today I want to ask attention for Women in Customer Experience. To learn who they are and acknowledge them for their leadership, knowledge and experience. Lean in the Conversation!

What do we do on International Women's Day? We celebrate women, from a "general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love toward women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements." (from Wikipedia)

In my field of expertise, Customer Experience, I see many women take the stand. They do a great job in changing the world; making it a more beautiful place for customers and employees. Listening to customers, creating fans, engaging employees, organizing customer experience ecosystems, working on customer journey mapping. Some of them in leadership positions within companies, some from a consultant role. They write brilliant blogs and books, often sharp as a knife, witty and full of knowledge.

Who are these brilliant women?

I want to give praise to these 6 women below. Of course I know many more, but life is all about choices :-).

  • Kerry Bodine. She is co-writer of my Customer Experience 'bible' "Outside In. A must read for every CX professional. Besides she is an example in speaking and a specialist in Customer Journey Mapping
  • Marjolein Groenendijk. Director Customer Experience Design at KPN. My former colleague and a true inspiration. She leads with empathy with a strong business mind. Aligning stakeholders and creating the right vibe to make the change happen.
  • Beate van Dongen Crombags and Deborah Wietzes. They are both leaders in Customer Experience at VODW. They wrote the inspiring and practical book CEX Sells. The Dutch Inspiration book for branded customer experiences.
  • Jeanne Bliss. She is the Founder and President of CustomerBliss. And one of the foremost experts on customer-centric leadership and the role of the Chief Customer Officer. I love reading her blogs and am still waiting for the moment I will get the opportunity to hear her speak.
  • Lisa Burger, Head of Customer at EasyJet. A true inspiration as CX leader. She managed to change the way the organization thinks of customers. The times we met, were great fun and she inspired me with her witty remarks and honest feedback.

Which #CX women do you want to give your praise and put into the spotlight? Please tag yourself (YES, take the stand!) or tag a great female leader in Customer Experience. Let's get to know these women and share our knowledge and experience. Happy International Women's Day!

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Cupid in Customer Experience, how about some customer love?

The 14th of February, it's Valentine's Day. The international day of love. There are lovers and haters of this tradition. I can imagine. It sometimes feels like an obligation to show your love because somebody (who?) invented valentine's day. Like mother's day, father's day (where has child's day gone?), secretary day, world whale day (that was yesterday)....

Why are these days here? It's easy. Because we need them. Because we all have are own rhythm, are often self-absorbed as human beings and need to get out of the modus operandi. Especially in the field of love. We forget to express our love. We think our husband or wife know we love them, our friends feel our love and in case you have great relationships with your colleagues, they know you appreciate them dearly. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Love in business

Love needs to be expressed, shared and fueled to sparkle. Not only in our personal life; how about some love in the business environment? When I speak with leaders, I often hear much practicalities when customers are discussed. Revenue, churn, market share, number of new customers, call ratios, the cost per customer. I never challenge these facts, because they matter. But what lacks, are true feelings for your customers . Because let's be honest, if you don't feel for them, how are they ever going to have feelings for you?

Please read your mission statements and customer strategies. In case you recognize "Turn our customer into fans" or for example "Create a love brand", look in the mirror and ask yourself the next 3 questions:

  • What feelings do I have for my customers?
  • What kind of love do I show my customers?
  • As a company, how do we treat our customers?

Do you have the answers? Do you like them? Will your customers like them?

I pledge for more customer love! Because if you want to succeed in raising NPS, in working on customer ambassadors... You'll have to show your love in your leadership. On this Valentine's Day, I dare to challenge you. Start this discussion in your boardroom tomorrow. If it is difficult and you feel it is important, ask me for an inspirational workshop and lighten the fire. Or if you organize an event, hire me as your keynote speaker! I will be your cupid and enlighten the customer love.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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Digital and yet personal, that's great

In the digital world, the personal touch is often hard to find. Are you a number as a customer or are you left to your own devices in, for example, an FAQ or a digital Karin. Yet there are companies that DO succeed. That are digital and human. This week I was surprised by a bank I didn't know very well.

Background

Of course you should read the book "When digital becomes human" by Steven van Belleghem, if you are interested in this service theme. Digital yet human. Because that's what it's all about in the customer relationship of the future. But this is a side step, now quickly to that bank that surprised me.

The reason

On nu.nl I was tempted to read an advertorial (in a nu.nl sauce, reads nice!) with the title "This is how personal an online bank can be". I love contrasts and this intriguing title tickled me. I enjoyed reading the article and saw NPS mentioned for the first time in an advertisement. That got my Customer Experience professional's blood pumping!

Customer Promise

Something else distinctive also caught my eye. Knab specifically mentioned what they are good at and what sets them apart. Then you immediately know what to expect as a customer. A clear online banking environment and good service. That digital picture was immediately coloured by a personal touch from the director.

It's that personal

If you become a customer of Knab, you will receive a welcome email with his mobile number. You can always call! A colleague told me that he had called that number and indeed got René Frijters on the phone. This element inspires confidence. This bank stands for something, has nothing to hide. Let's call it transparent. (Now I know from regular visits to Bagels & Beans that you can always call that director. His number is on the menu, is this a trend?)

Girl on film

But that's an advertisement, that's not enough for a blog... I tweeted about this clever advertorial + customer promise and was only then really surprised. I received a tweet from @knab_nl with greetings from Judith. When I read the tweet, I didn't understand it right away. I didn't know Judith, but when I opened the tweet I was shown the video below starring Judith van Knab. She immediately showed how Personal Knab is.

That's a big WOW, isn't it?! I think it's Knab! Compliments for this personal attention via Social Media. I hadn't seen that before. Digital became Human to me.

What can we learn from this?

Give service a face. Communicate what you promise. Be vulnerable with, for example, a phone number of the director and respond with a smile. That makes me happy as a customer.

There is a world to be won in this digital service area. What examples do you know of of digital yet personal service? I and my fellow readers would love to hear it. To learn from and together make the world a little more beautiful.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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I love China, but does China love me?

This summer I traveled in China with my 16-year-old daughter and 23 other great travel companions. From Beijing to PingYao, Xian, Chengdu, LiYang, Dali, Kunming, Pingan, Yangzhou and leaving the country from Hong Kong. What a beautiful things we have experienced! Business is booming in China, many products we use come from China, but how do they score in Customer Experience? Is this topic just as hot as in the Western World?

I can answer that straight away. No it is not. I didn't experience real hostmanship. The drive to deliver real service and go the extra mile for me or my travel companions was absent.

Two examples still strike me. I wanted to exchange Euro's to Chinese Yuan in a bank in Beijing. It was 16:15 and I had fill out a form. Identified myself with my passport and was told to wait. I could see what happened behind the bulletproof glass and got a feeling of being in the television series "Tower C". Bureaucracy, people passing papers, counting money, my passport going from one employee to the other, all dressed in the same androgynous outfit. After 30 minutes I started feeling real unease and asked how long it would take (my travel companions were waiting). I was told to wait again and at 17:00 they gave me back my euros and passport. The bank was closing and there was no possibility to change any money now. I had to sneak out the backdoor, the front door was already fenced.

In PingYao we went to dinner (with the whole group) at Sakura Café, a backpackers institute in China and even Laos and Thailand. We ordered food and drinks, but the employees were more interested in each other. They faced their backs towards the restaurant, let the dirty plates on the table for 2 hours and were never eager on filling up on drinks. What a waste of sales and service opportunities! This was no exception. Ignorance, loudness, drivers that smoked on the tour bus, rudeness and most of all no possibility to communicate because of a lack of knowledge of the English language.

The focus is on getting the job done

The lack of service attitude was something our Beijing tour guide recognized and felt bad about. She certainly did everything she could to make us feel welcome and happy. But she explained the lack of interest and drive to improve service. This lays in the upbringing of generations in the Cultural Revolution and the influence of the Communist Party. People had a job, did what they have to do and didn't have to listen to customers. They are trained to follow the rules and most important: listen to their bosses. They are not encouraged to improve, learn and go from Good to Great.

There is hope. We finished our trip in HongKong. Now a special administrative region of China, where there is no censorship on social media and the service levels are Pico Bello. With a special mention of Aqua, a great restaurant/bar on the 29th floor with spectacular views on the HongKong Skyline. Let's hope this service attitude of HongKong will spread across China.

Although the service attitude was lacking, the Chinese did love us. There was a large drive to take pictures and selfies with these long Dutch (strange) people to show at home, school or the office. We were greeted by people on the streets, monks, older ladies in the park that wanted to show their grandchildren to us. So yes, China loves me. Not in the Customer Experience way, but in a human way and I must say "It feels mutual".

Do you recognize this service experience of mine, do you have other explanations or funny stories? Please share below.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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3 Ways to Make CUSTOMERS Cramp Up With a Complaint

There are those moments when you can't believe what an employee does and says. That you stand in a store totally bewildered and feel as if you have been put to shame as a customer. That you would prefer to say something very angry out of sheer impotence. Do you know that feeling?

It was a while ago for me, but last week I experienced it again in person. What happened and what can you learn from it? Read and Weep...

My 16-year-old daughter really wanted to go to Appelpop and camp there with her friends on the festival grounds. That would require someone at least 18 years old to come along, and the ladies persuaded me to accompany them. We used to call it Camping=Cramping at home, so you know I wasn't cheering. But you do anything for your kids! I had no camping gear, so I headed to the Outdoor Sports store for a tent and an air mattress.

I was helped perfectly. Was even lucky that the tent was on sale. So I happily went home with my purchases, where the tent was set up by the two adolescent ladies in no time in the living room. The first test was successful.

The festival

Friday, September 11. We arrived at campsite de Betuwe and were assigned a nice spot, also with top neighbors. Tent set up, airbed inflated and we headed for the fantastically fun festival Appelpop (I'm a fan!). After a musical party, we arrived home in the middle of the night and as I crawled into my tent, I immediately noticed that the airbed was a bit soft. "Had I not screwed the cap on properly?" Fortunately, the pump was within reach and I eventually fell asleep. Halfway through the night I woke up and my bottom touched the cold Betuwe ground. Oh dear, an air bed that was slowly deflating. LEK.

Anyway, it's a festival, "you win some, you lose some." It kind of goes with the territory. Saturday was just such a festival day with several musical highlights. Unfortunately, it had turned rainy and when we got back to the campsite at 1am, it was raining cats and dogs. I quickly crawled into my Wildebeast tent and once I was lying down, I heard "Drip, Drip, Drip." After a brief investigation, the zipper of the awning turned out to be as leaky as a basket. Water was running right into my inner tent. Fortunately it dried up after a few hours, but I was bummed. During the night I had to inflate my airbed twice more, because unfortunately no gnomes had come to fix the leak. Sunday morning I came out of my tent pretty broken and decided to go right back to the store that day. With tent and airbed, because this couldn't be the intention.

Returning

There I stood at the counter. A girl stepped up to me. Asked what she could do for me. I explained the situation and she called a colleague. Did I still have the receipt? Of course! They looked hard and asked if I had set up the tent properly. Whether I knew that zippers in awnings always leak when the rain is on them. I told them I couldn't imagine that. That I wanted a new airbed and my money back for the tent. Because the camping season is really over and suppose if I also get tent with a "flaw" now, I won't find out until next year. They couldn't do that, but they were going to figure out what they could do for me. Turned their backs to me and walked away. "You wait here."

Sure. There I was. Between tents, hiking boots, backpacks. There was no empathy for two broken nights on a leaky air mattress. No "annoying that you bought a leaky tent." I couldn't believe my ears, and because of that broken night, my capacity for empathy wasn't optimal either. But I decided to control myself. Waited and yes there came the Sunday helpers again.

"Hello madam, in principle we don't give money back. But for this time we do". So, could I squeeze my hands for a moment.... And then it came. "But next time you buy a tent, and it's important that the awning doesn't leak? Make sure you inform yourself better. And then buy a more expensive one. " My mouth fell open. I got my money back and now a kick in the teeth that I had misinformed myself. In an angry voice I replied " I was here on Thursday and got advice from a colleague of yours and he didn't ask if I wanted a leaky zipper in the awning. I relied on his advice and therefore bought this tent. Then provide better advice yourself and in all honesty; don't sell junk.".

But I still wanted another air mattress. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. They were sold out in the store, but I could just order a new one at home. In the corner of my eye I saw a tablet, of course they could have done that for me. But no, that thinking and doing was not in the cards. So I got my money back for the airbed and tent. It was a whole hassle with receipts behind the cash register and the money would be refunded to my account. Even though I had my money back, I didn't have a good feeling about it. Lightly sneering, I went home.

How not to deal with a complaint

What lessons can you learn from this? Especially what NOT to do in case of a complaint.

1. Tell customers exactly what they themselves have done wrong

Without any empathy for the two broken nights and the hassle, these ladies told me that I must have set up the tent wrong. That I was so stupid that I didn't know that all awning zippers always leak. My tip: Show empathy. Empathize. Ask through. Nod, hum. But drop all criticism. You'll only make things worse.

2. Tell what is not possible

The moment I indicated, what I wanted in terms of solution, they immediately told me that this was not possible. They didn't give money back in this kind of situation. And they no longer had airbeds. Strange that the solution in the end was that I got my money back. Thinking with me about other scenarios, that was not an option. My tip: Listen carefully to what the customer wants. Ask through to why they want this solution. Then find out what the possibilities are and think along with them. Ask if this satisfies the customer, then you can be sure you are right.

3. Give a kick after

After they explained that I would get my money back, it was also explained to me in great detail that I should do better next time when choosing a tent. In other words, the tent with the leaky zipper in the awning was my own fault. Because I hadn't done my pre-work properly. My tip: when you have come to a solution, ask if this is a good solution. Then take stock of whether you can help the customer with anything else. I would have liked help buying an air mattress.

Is this only about this outdoor sports store? No! Because this happens a lot more often. Unfortunately. The ladies who helped me were weekend workers, earning extra money as students. Sure they could sell well, but were seriously lacking in the service area. Probably had learned nothing about resolving complaints and the importance of empathy. They followed the internal rules and knew how to explain them to me perfectly. Make sure you have qualified staff. Not only in terms of product knowledge, but also in terms of solving problems. Invest in that, because this costs customers and is bad PR.

The nights over the weekend I had gotten through camping pretty ok, despite the discomfort/ But when dealing with my complaint I felt like I had gone CRAMPING. Unfortunate and unnecessary.

What do you most want an organization to do when you have a complaint? What is crucial to you in resolving it? I'd love to hear it in response to this blog!

PS. I took this photo as a selfie while setting up the tent on Friday.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

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The Big Four in Employee Engagement

In june I visited the Gartner Customer Strategies & Technologies Summit 2015. Besides listening and engaging in sessions and workshops, I hosted a panel discussion titled "For the love of your customers, make employee engagement work!" With this blog I share the insights from this engaging discussion.

With me on stage, were two leaders with best practices in the Employee Engagement field. Both Rob Graham (Customer engagement center director of Tesco) and Graeme Gabriel (Strategic Back Office WFO Consultant at Verint) shared their learnings.

Employee Engagement is often seen as soft. Both men obviously had a different opinion. They said that Employee Engagement is an important driver towards business success. They both showed their professionalism from a leadership perspective and told snappy examples that triggered the audience.

What are their 4 Do's to get real Engaged Employees and happy customers?

1. Ask your employee for feedback and Act upon it

Too many surveys are sent out to employees, where no actions are taken upon. Take actions that will really impact their happiness or possibilities to serve customers in a better way. If you are not able to act upon, be honest about it. Transparency is KEY.

2. Hire the right people for your company, find you Goodliness

At Google they have described what kind of people they want and if they match the criteria, they have the Googliness factor. Only people that have that Googliness are hired and Google doesn't make exceptions. So find you own Googliness and make sure only people that fit your wishes enter the company. Engagement ensured.

3. Act not Add

Give your employees the freedom to act. Especially on social media. Let them handle complaints or emergency situations in a human matter. A woman called in to Tesco and had to cancel her delivery, because she unexpectedly went into labor. Instead of following the rules, the agent send her a bouquet of flowers. The customer posted a photo of the flowers on Facebook and this received more than 100k likes. Another example was not so fortunate. A guide dog and blind woman were banned from a store and the company tried to resolve, but the public didn't take it. The learning is still: Let your employees act upon what happens. Sometimes they get it wrong, but much more often they get it right

4. Get the C-Suite to See

This is actually an open door, but so true. Get the leaders to see and experience how customer service is done. Let them walk through stores, get them to help customers themselves, listen to telephone calls, interact with employees. It works both ways. In employee engagement of the customer facing employees, but also in the decision making of the leaders. They can walk the talk and act upon what they have seen. A big driver of Employee Engagement.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

 

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