Self-imposed rules and regulations can often rule, rather than serve, our relationships with customers. In this document, Jack Burke urges you to be sure that your rules serve the needs of your customers.
A friend recently told me a story about his experience with the bureaucracy of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. A month earlier, he'd stopped by one of their offices to make a request for service and was told to come back in two to three weeks. Three weeks later he returned with the expectation of having his request met. The counter clerk told him that they'd research his request and verify the action to be taken, a process that would take approximately two to three weeks. He explained that this was his second visit and he was trying to get everything settled that day. The clerk didn't budge on the issue, so my friend asked to speak to a supervisor.
A thunder of angry footsteps preceded the arrival of the supervisor, who immediately began berating my friend for having the audacity to interfere with her busy schedule over his nonsensical request. Acknowledging defeat, he quietly apologized for the interruption to her day, handed her the paperwork, apologized again and left. Later that day he received a call from that same supervisor, who, in turn, apologized for her behavior toward him. She went on to say that she'd checked everything out and that he could come back that afternoon to accomplish his task.
This story first got me thinking about the power of an apology — on both the side of the consumer and the vendor or bureaucracy. But the real lesson here is that sometimes our self-imposed rules and regulations (the bureaucracy) often rule (rather than serve) our relationship with customers.
This has become obvious to me in my recent dealings with Blue Cross. Priding myself on a general understanding of the insurance business, I've spent hours studying the coverage booklet as I sort through the pile of bills from my recent hospitalization and heart procedures. Occasionally, I call their customer service department for clarification on a deductible assignment (gone are the days of one deductible on a policy). During one such call, I told the representative that her explanation didn't seem to match what was stated in the coverage booklet. She replied, “Yes, it's very confusing. We have a difficult time figuring it out, too!” That obviously didn't engender a lot of confidence in the accuracy of their coverage statements. Again, it appeared that Blue Cross was more concerned with policies and procedures than with the customer.
AVOID THE TRAP
It's easy for large and small businesses to fall into this bureaucratic trap. We tend to become enamored with our rules, forgetting the impact they might have on our customers. My particular pet peeve is the agency that closes from noon to 1:00 p.m. for lunch and takes no calls or visits during this sacred time. Ironically, this is the one time of day that might be the most convenient for our customers to contact us — during their lunch hour.
For instance, since many companies have taken over 100% of the claims process, some agencies will do nothing more than refer their clients to the insurer for initiating and processing a claim. After all, that's the job of the company, not the agency. Yet we bemoan the fact that customers are going direct, bypassing the “personal service” agent. But if the all the agent does is sell the policy, why not buy it direct? If an agent focuses on the customer, rather than specific rules, the customer just might find value in the relationship. Everyone likes to feel special. A little handholding during the claims process goes a long way toward cementing the relationship that binds the customer to the agency.
In recent years, technology has begun to come full circle to serve the needs of customers, rather than the needs of the business. Make sure that your bureaucratic rules and regulations serve the needs of customers — not yours!