Ask most agency owners what distinguishes their firm from the competition and the answer is almost always, 'We give the best service.' Yet if you ask them what they mean by 'service,' they have a hard time giving an explanation.
I've always found it amazing that in an industry where we constantly claim that we sell 'service,' we have no common words to define it, no standardized system to measure it, no performance guidelines to enforce it, and no evaluation system to monitor it. More than 65% of the CSRs I've surveyed say they've never attended a workshop or read a book on customer service skills. What's even more astonishing is that the main quality control system for customer service in the agency business is Errors & Omissions insurance.
As an industry, we need to do more and do better at service. We should take lessons from customer service leaders like the Walt Disney Co. Disney theme parks get consistently high marks for service, despite the fact that they deliver that service via a young, minimum-wage staff who work in the blazing sun amid continually changing, technically sophisticated attractions, and which cost guests more money in a few hours than most of them earn in an entire week.
To further credit Disney, realize that they serve thousands of first-time customers each day plus thousands of repeat customers who expect more and better service with each visit. Our job seems pretty easy in comparison. Our agencies sit in the same locations for decades with the same staff, same customers, same companies, and virtually the same product. Yet we lose customers due to poor service. How does Disney do it?
I believe Disney and similar firms do what they do because they integrate customer service into their operation. For example, look at their hiring practices: Before Disney even considers hiring someone, the prospective employee must go through an elaborate screening process, agree to certain grooming and conduct restrictions, and sit through presentations on customer service philosophy and the Disney corporate culture. The majority of people who go through the pre-employment screening process never actually apply for the job. Disney is OK with that. Actually, Disney is more than OK - they're delighted. They want to hire people who are not only willing to do the Disney job, but who also are willing to do it the Disney way.
The first training every Disney employee receives - from CEO to street sweeper - is in customer service. Learning how to bake cookies, sweep sidewalks, or operate attractions is always secondary to customer service. In fact, technical skills augment customer service skills instead of vice versa. I know of no agency that spends time and/or money sending producers to customer service training. Why would we do a thing like that?
Now that's an interesting question.
In an agency, new service staff are usually directed to the largest stack of undone work, and that's what they learn first. This sends a powerful message that the importance of the work outweighs the importance of learning the agency way of delivering customer service.
Few agencies integrate the concept of customer service into new-employee orientation, staff meetings, or in-house training. If in-house training even exists, it's most often conducted by the agency owner, who probably has never studied customer service techniques and never functioned as a CSR. Knowing what you want other people to do and how you want them to do it is very different from being able to effectively teach them the necessary skills and motivate them to learn.
Attitude counts. Newspapers aren't sold on Disney property because the company doesn't want guests to be in a bad mood from reading negative articles. What do we do to focus on positive attitudes in our agency? How do we motivate our staff members?
Being friendly is important. Guests at Disney continually fill out satisfaction surveys listing the costumed characters as the most friendly contacts in the park. This is truly amazing because the actors who portray Disney characters are forbidden to speak while in costume. Apparently, it's possible to project a friendly, caring, and fun attitude without saying a word! I wonder if we've helped our staff members to understand that? Have we told them that appearance, grooming, listening, and organizational skills send a powerful message to customers? I wonder how our staff would rank if our customers filled out such surveys.
Although insurance isn't amusement and we aren't the Disney corporation, we can and should focus more time and attention on customer service excellence. Start by creating an agency that has customer service as its core. Root everything the agency does, on a collective or individual basis, in the service delivery process. When instituting new systems or revising workflow, ask how this will make things better, faster, or easier for the customer. If you can't readily answer that question, go back to the drawing board and think again.
Customer service requires monitoring. You can't assume that 'no news is good news.' Most customers who leave an agency because of poor service never tell anyone why they left. Design a system for customer feedback into your agency operation. Communicate to customers often - about ways in which your agency is working to improve its service delivery or about what you're doing for them that's new and different from your competitors' activities.
Most of all, work at maintaining a high level of staff motivation. Use learning, sharing, discussions, rewards, systems, support, and feedback to keep your staff fresh and enthusiastic in their efforts. Heroic efforts require strong and motivated individuals. If that doesn't describe your staff, get to work!
Grow big Mickey Mouse eyes and look around! Observing how service can be delivered helps you realize that what should be done for customers and what's actually being done are often two different things.
Use your Mickey feet to get out and gather customer service resource and reference materials. Go to the library, the bookstore, the video store, and the Internet. Travel the customer service road and look for answers and ideas.
Use your Mickey nose to sniff out mistakes and bad practices before they affect your customers. Who's responsible for them doesn't matter as much as correcting them. Keep a heads-up attitude in troubleshooting your agency's customer service practices and workflow systems. If you have a weak link, someone you feel isn't as good with customers as they should be, deal with it now. Bad habits spread, and your lack of action to address the problem sends a loud, clear message to your customers that you believe mediocre service is acceptable.
Lastly, make sure you aren't that weak link. If you're a manager or lead CSR, just preaching the old 'Do as I say, not as I do' sermon won't work. If I've learned one thing in my 30 years in the insurance industry, it's that if CSRs don't see customer service as being a top priority of their supervisors and managers, it'll never be a top priority for the agency. Be careful to set a good example and show respect and regard for every customer every time, especially when CSRs are observing your personal approach to service contacts.
Roll up your sleeves, managers and owners: It's time to take charge of improving customer service in your operation. Remember, when it comes to establishing and maintaining a high-quality customer service culture, having a Mickey Mouse approach might not be a bad thing.